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V O L . X X X N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 4 6 Maine ranked No. 7 on the 2024 list of "top inbound states," based on movein data compiled by Atlas Van Lines. Maine fell from the No. 1 it held on the 2023 list. This year Arkansas claimed the top spot. Maine followed other states that have taken oil companies to court over allegations that they know ingly deceived the public about the negative impact of fossil fuels on the climate. A suit, filed by Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey in Cumberland County Superior Court, names Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, Sunoco and the American Petroleum Institute as defendants. News Center Maine said it raised a record $264,552 to support Maine's veterans through its Honor Flight Maine Telethon. Lowe's Cos. Inc., a nationwide home improvement retailer with 11 stores in Maine, has agreed to improve accessibility for custom ers with mobility impairments as part of a settlement with federal prosecutors, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine. Lowe's has stores in Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, Brewer, Brunswick, Portland, Presque Isle, Sanford, Scarborough, Thomaston and Windham. Maine's public infrastructure received a grade of C in the "2024 Report Card for Maine's Infrastructure" re leased by the Maine Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Grades across 16 categories ranged from B for aviation to Dplus for bridg es, dams, levees and transit. A C grade means Maine's infrastructure is in fair condition and will require at tention to ensure it remains reliable in the future. Oxbow Brewing Co. said it plans to acquire Rising Tide Brewing Co. Looking back at the outlook issues B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n F or at least the past two editors at Mainebiz — a decade under my watch and five years under Carol Coultas — the first issue of the year has been devoted to an economic outlook. Under Carol's watch, the "economic" aspect was quite literal, with a lineup of economists making predictions. In recent years, we've opened it up to leaders of all kinds — from small businesses, publicly traded companies, nonprof its, professional services firms and health care institutions. There were highlights and lowlights, ontarget predictions and wildly offtarget misses. Here are some samples: In 2015, when Maine was still feeling the effects of the 2008–09 recession, Charlie Colgan, former professor of public policy and management at the University of Southern Maine, foreshadowed later challenges with labor shortages: "Maine has about 10,000 jobs to recover before we get back to prerecession levels, and we should make it most of the way back by the end of 2015 or 2016. But Maine is also at the leading edge of labor shortages that will characterize the economy for the next several decades, and our ability to add jobs is becoming constrained." A year later, in 2016, Jonathan Reisman, an associate professor at University of Maine Machias, took an even more pessimistic view of Maine's ability to tackle labor short ages: "Not with our current business and political climate. The answer, short of a time machine to go back and raise fertility rates, is immigration, but you need a 'pull' factor to compete with other states or countries, and improve our attitudes toward capitalism and immigrants." In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, forecaster Jim Damicis of Camoin Associates said he was encouraged by the growth of multifamily housing. "Changing market dynamics call for multifamily and workforce housing, and housing to meet the needs of an aging population." All that was true, but we had no idea what was ahead with the hous ing demand as the pandemic saw a wave of urban refugees seeking Maine's more rural living. In January 2020, just two months before COVID19 lock downs, the business forecast was eerily rosy. One financial advisor cited a "continued positive outlook," while a banker was buoyed by the economy's "very robust pace." Yet in early 2020 there were also concerns about worker shortages, rising construction and health care costs, not to mention the upcoming elections, which were expected to be "hotly contested." All of this foreshadowed a historically challenging year. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state SP ONSORED BY F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 » M O R E I N S I D E T H E L I S T A U G U S TA / WAT E R V I L L E C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 4 » B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r S E E W H O ' S N E X T O N PA G E 2 6 » Looks like a better year, but chronic weaknesses need to be addressed S TA R T I N G O N P A G E 11 Æ J. Scott Moody Æ Jonathan Reisman Æ Amanda Rector Æ Charles Lawton Æ Garrett Martin $2.00 January 11, 2016 VO L . X X I I N O. I www.mainebiz.biz F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 M O R E I N S I D E $2.00 January 7, 2019 VO L . X X V N O. I www.mainebiz.biz Y E A R S www.mainebiz.biz Y E A R S F O C U S 2 0 1 9 E C O N O M I C O U T L O O K EXPECT UNEXPECTED 2019 surprises S TA R T I N G O N P A G E 10 " " " " F u l l c o n t e n t s o n pa g e 4 » M O R E I N S I D E T H E L I S T B y J a m e s m c c a r t h y C o n t i n u e d o n pa g e 1 2 » C e n t r a l & W e s t e r n M a i n e s e e W h o ' s n e x t o n pa g e 3 0 » January 12, 2015 Vo l . x x i n o. i www.mainebiz.biz Maine's economy is a hot topic any time of the year, so we asked five economists to give us their outlook for 2015. S ta r t i n g o n P a g e 16 » Amanda Rector | Charles Lawton | Charles Colgan | Jonathan Reisman | Joel Johnson F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 M O R E I N S I D E S TA R T I N G O N P A G E 12 20 Maine leaders weigh in on what's ahead for Maine's economy for 2020. Changes are on the horizon — though it remains to be seen which ones will materialize. F O C U S 2 0 2 0 E C O N O M I C F O R E C A S T $2.00 January 13, 2020 VO L . X X V I N O. I www.mainebiz.biz We really can't forecast all that well, and yet we pretend that we can, but really can't. — Alan Greenspan Chair of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006 This is the last in a series of 'Look Back' features that mark the 30th anniversary of Mainebiz 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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