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V O L . X X I X N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 2 1 , 2 0 2 3 6 Child-labor violations underscore worker shortage With more Maine employers hiring younger workers to meet growing staff shortages, child labor violations and work-related injuries are both rising, a report by the Maine Department of Labor shows. During the second quarter of this year alone, the depart- ment completed investigations into violations by a dozen employers, and continued to see an upward trend in the number of violations involving youth workers. e violations include employing youth workers without a work permit, working outside of hourly restrictions for their age and working in hazardous occupations not allowed under the law, which in some cases led to serious injury. In one case, a 14-year-old was injured while driving a company logging truck at 4 a.m. Michael Roland, direc- tor of the department's Bureau of Labor Standards, said there has been a "marked increase in the numbers of work permits denied, violations of child-protective labor laws, and most disturbingly, in reported injuries to minors in Maine's workplaces." Pingree seeks funds for women farmers U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and two fellow Democratic female representatives are putting pressure on the federal Department of Agriculture to ensure money intended to compensate women farmers for past discrimination actually reaches them. e demand comes about a year after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which pro- vides $2.2 billion in financial assistance for farmers, ranchers and forest land- owners who experienced discrimina- tion in federal farm lending programs before Jan. 1, 2021. To settle claims, the U.S. Judgment Fund provided $1.33 billion, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided $160 million for female and Hispanic farmers. Nearly 54,000 claims were filed for cases of discrimination that occurred before 2000. But an audit by the Office of the Inspector General found that USDA only compensated about 3,200 claim- ants and expended only about $207 million, while dismissing nearly 60% of claims due to paperwork errors, according to the Aug. 11 letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E B R I E F In East Boothbay, Smuggler's Cove Inn changes hands B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r E a s t B o o t h b a y — An oceanfront inn in East Boothbay has sold to a buyer who bought his first property in Maine before the pandemic. Om Sai Ram LLC bought the Smuggler's Cove Inn, at 727 Ocean Point Road, from 727 Ocean Point LLC for an undisclosed price. Roger Daigle and Bridget Conley of Daigle Commercial Group Inc. brokered the transaction. "The buyer was someone who had been in the hotel business and had purchased a property in southern Maine through us in 2019, just before the pandemic, said Daigle. "He was ready to buy a second property and he wanted a waterfront property." Confidential marketing The inn is fronted by a sandy beach on Linekin Bay. The property includes a heated pool and fire pit and provides kayaks, paddleboards, a rowboat and lawn games. Facing westward, the inn is set up like a motel, with six freestand- ing structures that house 54 updated guest rooms and suites with semi-private balconies. The facility includes a full-service restaurant and bar. The property was sold as a confidential off-market list- ing, said Daigle, whose firm represented the seller and secured the buyer. Although it wasn't officially on the market, Daigle's firm put together marketing materials in order to expose it to a couple of buyers on a confidential basis. Recent upgrades Jayshree Patel, the inn's new manager, credited the sellers with doing "a fantastic job" with renovations. "There had been a lot of work done in the last two years," she said. Earlier this summer, the property was seeing a lot of group reservations, including wedding parties, she added. "It's definitely for families and people who are celebrating events and love this location," Patel said. The plan is to maintain the property as a spot affordable to average guests. "We're more of a place that offers a lot of value for people who want a resort type experience without paying resort prices," Patel said. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E S WA N A G E N C Y R E A L E S TAT E / S WA N H O S P I TA L I T Y G RO U P Smuggler's Cove Inn in East Boothbay sold in an off-market deal to a buyer who purchased his first property in Maine before the pandemic. It's definitely for families and people who are celebrating events and love this location. — Jayshree Patel Smuggler's Cove Inn

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