Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. X V I J U LY 2 2 , 2 0 2 4 6 Travel mag says 2 Maine hotels among world's best Two Maine hotels were named among the best 100 in the world by Travel & Leisure magazine. e Norumbega Inn, in Camden, ranked No. 52, and Quisisana Resort, in the Oxford County town of Lovell, came in at No. 85. e Norumbega, at 63 High St., was acquired two years ago by New York City architect William Tims for an undisclosed price, after the property listed for $3.5 million. Quisisana Resort, at 42 Quisisana Drive in Center Lovell, also ranked on Travel & Leisure's 2023 list (at No. 22), as Mainebiz photographer Fred Field noted in a picture essay last summer. e rustic getaway sits at the edge of Kezar Lake, and offers a variety of outdoor recreation. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E The Maine Real Estate & Development Association elected Shannon Richards, founder of Hay Runner, as president for a two-year term. She succeeds Craig Young, a partner and senior broker at the Boulos Co. Fraudulent PPP claim nets guilty plea A North Berwick man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland 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 W W W . S H E R I D A N C O R P . C O M BUILDING ON OUR PROMISE. Jim Robinson Field House Dover-Foxcroft, ME General Contracting Construction Management Design-Build SP ONSORED BY FUN FACT: A Mainebiz poll published in the Nov. 17, 2008, issue showed that just over half of the 529 respondents, 51%, said Maine's economy was worse than that of 2007. Just over a quarter of respondents, 26%, said the economy was the same. And 22% said the economy was better than the year before. Election and recession marked coverage in late 2008 B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n I n the fall of 2008, the nation's economy was headed into a recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was in a nose dive, with Wall Street reeling from the bank- ruptcy of Lehman Brothers. It was just the beginning of a prolonged economic downturn. Here at Mainebiz, the cover of the Nov. 17, 2008, issue reflected the gloomy outlook on the economy. The lead story bore the headline "Crisis control." "The current crisis is distinguished by the speed with which it has unfolded and the complexity of the relationships that have manifested," economist Charlie Colgan told Mainebiz. A business owner in the retail recreation field told Mainebiz that "traffic has virtually stopped and people are not shop- ping for extra items that they can live without." An Augusta entrepreneur was even more blunt about it: "It is very bleak and I believe it will worsen as time goes on." Just as the economy hit full froth, on Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected president. And he immediately faced questions over his pledge to reform the tax structure. A Mainebiz headline read: "Tax shift: Obama's victory is expected to add $77 million more to the wealthiest Mainers' tax bill." Still, at least one voice in the issue of Nov. 17, 2008, took a tried-and-true Mainer point of view: "Fortunately, Maine does not have big highs, so misses the big lows." Those are words that have gotten Maine through many a crisis. The Nov. 17, 2008, cover of Mainebiz reflected an economy headed into a tailspin.

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