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V O L . X X X N O. I X A P R I L 2 9 , 2 0 2 4 6 Home sales in Maine grew by 3.5% in March compared to a year ago, with 888 existing single-family homes sold, according to data released April 18 by the Maine Association of Realtors. The median sales price for homes sold reached $380,000, an increase of 12.6% from March 2023. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its issuance of Clean Air Act Outer Continental Shelf air quality permits for Sunrise Wind; Park City Wind, New England Wind 1 Project; and Park City Wind, New England Wind 2 Project. The permits allow for construction to begin on these three offshore wind develop- ment areas located in federal waters. Maine's unemployment rate showed little change in March, at 3.3%, after remaining at 3.4% for the prior five months, according to preliminary data released April 19 by the Maine Department of Labor. Med Matrix, a medicine clinic and spa in South Portland, launched a Functional Medicine Membership program that provides stem cell therapy, exosomes, advanced test- ing and peptides. The South Portland-based engineer- ing firm Gorrill Palmer has been acquired by a Dayton, Ohio-based company. All 40 employees of Gorrill Palmer, including the entire management team, will stay with the enlarged LJB Inc., bringing its workforce to just under 300. LJB is backed by Copley Equity Partners LLC, a private equity firm with of- fices in Boston and Denver. Portland-based Noble Barbecue plans to move to the former Deering Center home of Elsmere BBQ this summer and rebrand as Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue. Elsmere BBQ closed its location at 476 Stevens Ave. in Portland in 2022, but con- tinues to operate in South Portland. The original Noble Barbecue, at 1706 Forest Ave., will remain open until the July move. With less than three months to go until the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth, runners have already raised nearly $50,000 for this year's beneficiary, Preble Street Teen Services. The event will be Saturday, Aub. 3. HighByte, a Portland-based provider of industrial software, has raised $12 million in venture funding to use for research and development and other purposes. The Series A round, announced April 23 during the Hannover Messe trade fair in Germany, brings the company's eq- uity funding total to $16.5 million. In addition to R&D, HighByte will use the funds for strategic partner management and to accelerate mar- ket penetration and expand deploy- ments in existing accounts. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state Over three decades of covering the business of sports (of all kinds) B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n M ainebiz is not a sports publication, but over three decades the publication has covered the business of an array of sports, from Double-A baseball and G League basketball to curling and pickleball. The Portland Sea Dogs took the field the same year as Mainebiz, 1994, so coverage started when the team was affiliated with the Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins) and has continued as the club realigned with the Boston Red Sox. More recently, Mainebiz has cov- ered efforts to renovate the team's longtime home, Hadlock Field. Slugger, the team mascot, has been featured on these pages many times over the years. The Maine Celtics, the G League affiliate of the Boston Celtics, were until 2021 known as the Maine Red Claws. The team's president, Dajuan Eubanks, was featured in a Q&A in 2014. Last year, Mainebiz honored Alicia Milne, director of corporate partner- ships, as a 40 Under 40. Coverage of hockey has been a bit more sporadic, but has covered the exit of the former American Hockey League's Portland Pirates after the 2016 season, and the 2018 debut of the East Coast Hockey League's Maine Mariners (now an affiliate of the Boston Bruins). Mainebiz has covered efforts to launch a USL pro- fessional soccer team to Maine. But there's also been a host of smaller sports covered. Mainebiz has covered celebrity golf tournaments. We've written about the fundraising aspects of the Dempsey Challenge, Tri for the Cure, TD Bank Beach to Beacon and Drive Fore Kids Charity Golf Tournament. We've written about the economic impact of the Millinocket Marathon and Gorham Bank Maine Marathon. We wrote about the creation of the Belfast Curling Club. We've had a few stories about the rise of pickleball. We've written about the Maine Pond Hockey Classic — and, this year, the canceling of the event due to lack of ice. We're not a sports publication, but we've definitely covered sports. SP ONSORED BY FUN FACT: In 2019, sporting events contributed $155.6 million to the Maine economy and attracted 253,071 out-of-state visitors, according to a study conducted by the University of Southern Maine's Center for Business and Economic Research. Some 55% of the people who attended and participated in the events came from out of state. P ROV I D E D P H O T O / P O R T L A N D S E A D O G S The Portland Sea Dogs were originally affiliated with the Florida Marlins, and the uniform featured what were then the team's trademark teal colors. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R N N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E S T A T E W I D E

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