Mainebiz

V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 F E B R UA R Y 2 4 , 2 0 2 5 From the Editor To the Editor I wanted to draw your attention to a new column that Mainebiz has launched this year. Made in Maine focuses on products you might already know about, but we hope there will be a few pleasant surprises as well. As much as the outside world knows Maine for its mountains and scenic coastline, there's also an awareness that there are some distinctive products coming from here. Woodstoves, surfboards, handtools, artisan cheeses and drumsticks might come to mind, but so do biotech products, offshore wind turbines, packaging materials and insulation made from the byproducts of logging. For the Made in Maine column in this issue, I visited Grain Surfboards in York. Mike LaVecchia, the owner, has been in business for 20 years this May. He hosts classes to teach traditional building techniques but is also developing new ideas to make the surfboards more sustainable. Innovation wasn't invented in Maine, but has a foothold here. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Mainebiz offers all the latest business news with the Daily Report and Real Estate Insider newsletters. Here's the top online content from Feb. 4–18: 1. Baby, it's cold inside: $56M waterfront facility is poised to turn Portland into regional logistics hub 2. Aldi supermarket to open its first Maine store, in Portland 3. Five-story hotel breaks ground at Thompson's Point 4. Former Muddy Rudder property in Yarmouth heads to auction 5. Yarmouth's Muddy Rudder restaurant sold for $1M to unnamed buyer 6. Developers get creative to build more affordable and 'missing middle' housing 7. Three Joann stores in Maine among 500 slated for closure 8. Yarmouth startup wants to streamline EV charging process for fleet drivers 9. Portland's Eastern Promenade to see new condo construction 10. Friday Food Insider: A Portland neighborhood cafe will close after 3 months P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R 1 We're attorneys. But we're people first. Meet Joel. Strategic advisor to energy businesses and public entities, Joel effectively leads multi-disciplinary teams through complex regulatory processes, achieving client goals while preserving critical relationships. bernsteinshur.com N. Joel Moser Shareholder Co-Chair, Energy & Environmental Practice Group Nice scenery, yes, but we also make stuff Portland warms up to cold storage at was a really good, interesting article that Renee Cordes wrote about Portland's new cold storage facility ("Baby, it's cold inside," from Feb. 10 print edition). anks for having that timely and informative piece in Mainebiz. I was on the city planning board when we started work on approving the structure. It was certainly an important addition to the port. And it took a while to get through the review and to convince some of our city residents that the structure would not be eyesore, block water views, or draw an unreasonable amount of truck traffic to the area. I hope the facility proves a beneficial addition and even "force multiplier" for our local economy. However, all the recent, worrying news about potential tariff wars between the U.S. and seem- ingly everybody else has me concerned. I hope these recent trade disputes don't depress the economic value of this important project. anks for your excellent publication — I'm a dedicated reader. Bill Hall Peaks Island E D I T O R ' S N O T E : The Ask ACE column is taking a break from this issue, but will be back in the print edition of March 10. Mainebiz launches the Made in Maine column

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