Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. X X I S E P T E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 4 6 State looks to resolve labor issue e state of Maine will take a long, hard look at its pay structure — and mean- while, give $2,000 checks to employees — under an agreement between Gov. Janet Mills and the largest labor union representing state workers. e deal between the Mills administration and Maine Service Employees Association SEIU Local 1989, announced Sept. 5, resolves a complaint filed by the union in February with the Maine Labor Relations Board. e MSEA, which represents over 9,000 employees within the state government's execu- tive branch, had called for a review of worker pay classifications. A review was last conducted in 2020. Under the new agreement, however, the state will hire a third-party vendor to perform an in- depth study of the classification system, with findings due by Dec. 31, 2025. 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 awarded $298,000 to the state of Maine to protect children from lead in drinking water at schools and child- care facilities using its 3Ts program — Training, Testing and Taking Action. The agency also announced that the Passamaquoddy Tribe Indian Township was selected to receive $7.4 million in a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to begin construction of a microgrid and the installation of solar powered panels. Inertia Resources, a national energy brokerage firm in Boston, announced that it is expanding its footprint with new licensing in Maine. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced that six health care organizations in Maine were awarded a total of $1.4 million through the Health Resources and Services Administration's Rural Northern Border Region Outreach Program. The funding will support critical initiatives aimed at improving access to health care services for rural and underserved communities across Maine. Recipients included Healthy Acadia in Ellsworth, Rangeley Region Health and Wellness Partnership and the Harry E. Davis Partnership for Children's Oral Health in Yarmouth each received $250,000; Medical Care Development Inc., Hallowell, $249,972; Northern Light Health, Brewer, $208,882; and MaineHealth, Portland, $167,334. Covered bridge could take months to repair After a dump truck crashed through the deck of a covered bridge in Gorham, the Maine Department of Transportation said it expects Babb's Bridge to remain closed to traffic at least until spring 2025. e repair work can be accomplished by MaineDOT crews, but the lumber will need to be milled to match the species and dimensions of the lumber on the bridge, the department said. Procuring the materials is expected to take sev- eral months, meaning construction is unlikely to happen before the spring. e bridge has a posted weight limit of three tons. According to Gorham Police, the dump truck was loaded with crushed gravel, which would have made the weight of the vehicle several times the posted limit. e truck entered the bridge from the Gorham side and fell through the first panel of the bridge deck into the river below. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N The Portland Museum of Art and the International Union of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America an- nounced the ratification of a contract for all security positions within the museum. The contract includes average wage in- creases of 6% in its first year as well as 3% increases every year thereafter. The city of South Portland changed the name of its municipal services facility to the Russ Lunt Municipal Services Facility. Lunt was a staple at City Council meetings and champion for the city and especially the Public Works de- partment, where he worked for 34 years. Saco & Biddeford Savings donated $10,000 to the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club in support of its efforts to construct a splash pad for the community. Maine Water in Saco said its employ- ees and customers reviewed more than 37,000 water service lines to com- plete a service line inventory ahead of the October deadline mandated by the 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 In early 2020, oddly accurate pre-pandemic predictions B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n I n the past year, we've been using the 30th anni- versary of Mainebiz to look at topics that came up in past issues. Now, as our anniversary year winds down, we're taking a look at more recent events. The past five years have been marked by the pan- demic. Even at the beginning of 2020, it's interesting how many concerns only became larger issues when the pandemic took aim at Maine. From the Mainebiz "economic outlook" issue of Jan. 13, 2020, we outlined "5 warning signs for the economy." They were: Worker shortages are affecting every industry. Rising construction costs could sabotage certain projects. Health care costs continue to eat at the bottom line. Rising consumer debt could affect big- purchase spending. The 2020 elections at all levels will be hotly contested. All of those concerns did in fact become even more major issues with the pandemic — more so than we ever could have predicted in early 2020. That's not to say, "We told you so." I think the expression, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while," might be more appropriate, given what was still to come. SP ONSORED BY FUN FACT: On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, two days before the pandemic health crisis effectively locked down travel and in-person business activities, Mainebiz toured office space in Portland for a potential move. Our publisher at the time, Donna Brassard, told the real estate broker we wanted to think about it over the weekend. Two days later, everything changed, and workers were being sent home for an extended period of remote work. We ended up giving up our old office space, working from home. Two years later, the same office space was still avail- able and we signed the lease.

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