Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. X I M AY 1 3 , 2 0 2 4 6 Feds crack down on illegal pot operations ere may be some good news for Maine's legal cannabis businesses, who say the industry is saturated with sellers. Federal prosecutors are cracking down on illegal marijuana operations in Maine. U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced on May 3 that more than 40 ille- gal marijuana operations have been shut down over recent months. Authorities believe they have identi- fied about 100 operations in Maine, with the most in rural areas in the central part of the state, according to McElwee. at number fluctuates as law enforcement continues to shut down the grows or people abandon them to avoid arrest or prosecution. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Maine Governor's Energy Office was selected to receive $62.1 million through the Solar for All grant competition to de- velop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar. The agency also said $28.6 million was awarded to Maine to help identify and replace lead service lines, preventing exposure to lead in drinking water. USDA Rural Development Maine an- nounced 20 Rural Energy for America Program grants totaling $2.1 million to 20 Maine businesses located in Cumberland, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo and York counties. Among the grant recipients, each of whom must match at least half of the grant awarded, are five farms, four builders, two contractors, two heating companies, three auto businesses and four other small businesses. The Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future announced that seven Maine communities were awarded a total of $607,000 in Energy Efficiency Priority Grants for clean energy and energy efficiency investments to in- crease energy resilience, stabilize ener- gy costs and curb greenhouse gas emis- sions. Recipients included Millinocket, Norway, Otisfield, Stonington and Deer Isle, Waterville and Whitneyville. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Public Housing Capital Fund Formula Grant program awarded a total of $11.6 million to 17 public housing authorities in Maine to support the development, financing and modernization of public hous- ing projects and for management improvements. TD Bank to close two branches TD Bank, one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S. and the bank with the larg- est market share in Maine, plans to close 20 branches nationwide includ- ing two in the Pine Tree State. A 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 S O U T H E R N An op-ed that railed against pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and one 'vicious' meter reader B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n I n the December 1995 issue of Mainebiz, an opinion piece devoted 600 words or so to "our magnificent obsession" — parking. The piece decried the demolition of buildings — former theaters, supermarkets, toy stores and the like — to make parking lots. "It is doubtful that citizens in any city four times the size of Portland moan and gyrate over parking half as much as we do," the op-ed ranted. It went on to suggest that even if we paved over Lincoln Park, Congress Square, City Hall, the Custom House and the Portland Museum of Art, "we would still cry, 'The trouble with downtown Portland is, there's no place to park.'" The rays of sunshine kept pouring from our writer (it was an unsigned op-ed), railing against a range of other topics: Pedestrians, "who, when they cross against the green light, put their heads down and do not look to the right or left in the common belief that you can't be hit by a car if you're not looking." Cyclists, "who, for reasons not under- stood, do not obey traffic lights." Motorcycles — "an overblown bike used by lunatics and parade cops." "A particularly vicious ticket-writer, [who] is sus- pected of double parking long enough to let a few meters run out." That was a lot of ranting. We can all be thankful Mainebiz did away with the opinion pages. SP ONSORED BY F U N FA C T : The March 1996 issue of Mainebiz reported the Boulos deal for Mangy Moose Shoppes, taking over space at 112 Main St. in Freeport. Going on three decades, Mangy Moose is still there — a remarkable achievement in any retail setting.

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