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 From the Editor M ainebiz recently returned from the annual Alliance of Area Business Publishers confer- ence in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. It's always a major event for us and we come back with a lot of ideas. It's great to meet the pub- lishers, editors and reporters at other business publi- cations and see how they do things. It's also a chance to compete against publications from around the U.S., Canada and Australia. On that note, I'm happy to report that Mainebiz earned eight awards, including silver for Best Newspaper in the Medium Tabloid category. Entries in the annual contest are judged by fac- ulty at the Missouri School of Journalism. Mainebiz Art Director Matt Selva netted gold for Best Overall Design in the Medium Tabloid category for 2025 editions published on May 19 ("Trouble in Toyland"), July 28 ("Portland at a crossroads"), Sept. 8 ("Maine snack attack) and Oct. 6 ("40 Under 40"). Mainebiz also received a silver award for Best use of Photography/Illustrations and swept the Best Newspaper Medium Tabloid category with its sister publications in Hartford, Conn., and Worcester, Mass. All three are owned by New England Business Media. For the second year in a row, Mainebiz won a sil- ver award in the Best Ancillary Publication category for Fact Book, praised by the judges as both infor- mative and visually compelling. Mainebiz won four awards in journalism catego- ries for Medium Tabloid publications, including top honors for Best Recurring Feature and Best Beat Reporting — Real Estate. "Made in Maine," a series introduced in 2025 to showcase small manufacturers producing a range of products, garnered gold for Best Recurring Feature, based on submissions by Alexis Wells, Renee Cordes and me. Gold for the real estate beat recognized cover stories by Tina Fischer, Laurie Schreiber and Renee Cordes. Cordes, who joined Mainebiz in 2017, won gold for Best Beat Reporting — Economics and Finance for stories including "Trouble in Toyland" and "Capital gains." She also won gold for Best Feature — Single Story for her "Portland at a crossroads" cover story, adding to recent accolades from the Society for Advancing Business Writing and Editing and the New England Newspaper and Press Association for her in-depth report on the city's downtown struggles. 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 the latest business news in the Daily Report and the Real Estate Insider newsletters. Here is the top content from May 1–21. 1. Sale of Wells diner still on the table as foreclosure auction looms 2. Midcoast sports complex now under construction has been a 'vision for several years' 3. Lajoie Brothers building new home for Tucker Chevy in Wiscasset 4. WEX bows to hedge fund demands, agrees to remove CEO from board chair role 5. Stage set for explosive WEX shareholders meeting 6. WEX names new chair of reshuffled board as hedge fund wins seats 7. $15 million, 51-unit housing project breaks ground in Freeport 8. Androscoggin Bank, Mascoma Bank announce merger of parent companies 9. New hotel taking shape on Portland's Monument Square 10. Allied Cook Construction is renovating Avesta housing complex in Sanford F I L E P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R 1 We're attorneys. But we're people first. Meet Rachael. Focused on clean energy and decarbonization, Rachael guides developers, investors, and financial institutions through every phase of renewable energy development—from solar and wind to hydro and biomass— delivering the practical, strategic counsel that gets projects across the finish line. bernsteinshur.com Rachael Becker McEntee Shareholder 3 J U N E 1 , 2 0 2 6 Mainebiz takes home eight awards from annual conference F O C U S S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 21 Matt Chappell, left, and Ben Slayton, co-owners of Harvest Maine. $9.99 September 8, 2025 VO L . X X X I N O. X X www.mainebiz.biz F O C U S S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P Startups aim to take a bite out of $173 billion US market B y R e n e e C o r d e s F O C U S S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 21 Matt Chappell, left, and Ben Slayton, co-owners of Harvest Maine. $9.99 September 8, 2025 VO L . X X X I N O. X X www.mainebiz.biz snack snack F O C U S S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P Startups aim to take a bite out of $173 billion US market B y R e n e e C o r d e s F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 F O C U S R EAL ES TATE / C ONS TR U C TI ON / ENGI NEER I NG F O C U S R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G 24 18 Congress and Free streets circa 1930–45 $9.99 July 28, 2025 VO L . X X X I N O. X V I www.mainebiz.biz F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 F O C U S R EAL ES TATE / C ONS TR U C TI ON / ENGI NEER I NG F O C U S R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G 24 18 Congress and Free streets circa 1930–45 $9.99 July 28, 2025 VO L . X X X I N O. X V I www.mainebiz.biz F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 F O C U S S M A L L B U S I N E S S 24 F O C U S S M A L L B U S I N E S S S TA R T I N G O N PA G E 1 6 B y R e n e e C o r d e s +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MAINE'S TOY COMPANIES ARE GRAPPLING WITH EVER-CHANGING TARIFF POLICIES AND SUPPLY-CHAIN HOLDUPS. 'WE JUST NEED TO RIDE THIS OUT,' SAYS ONE BUSINESS OWNER. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF $9.99 May 19, 2025 VO L . X X X I N O. X I www.mainebiz.biz F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 F O C U S S M A L L B U S I N E S S 24 F O C U S S M A L L B U S I N E S S S TA R T I N G O N PA G E 1 6 B y R e n e e C o r d e s +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MAINE'S TOY COMPANIES ARE GRAPPLING WITH EVER-CHANGING TARIFF POLICIES AND SUPPLY-CHAIN HOLDUPS. 'WE JUST NEED TO RIDE THIS OUT,' SAYS ONE BUSINESS OWNER. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF TARIFF $9.99 May 19, 2025 VO L . X X X I N O. X I www.mainebiz.biz Mainebiz Art Director Matt Selva won gold for Best Overall Design in the Medium Tabloid category for three 2025 print editions.

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