Mainebiz

w w w. m a i n e b i z . b i z 11 Ja n ua r y 1 2 , 2 0 1 5 in the last few months to announce that it would close a store at the Aroostook Centre Mall. Sears was expected to close its mall location in January. UMaine finishes test for Spanish wind firm e University of Maine's Offshore Wind Laboratory has completed test- ing of a 184-foot wind turbine blade for a Spain-based wind energy company, its largest project yet. UMaine recently announced that its offshore wind lab completed static strength testing of the blade for Gamesa. e blade's strength was tested by subjecting it to wind loads in four directions, ensur- ing that it meets international strength standards. e wind lab is part of the UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center N O t E w O r t h y n o r t h e r n & e a s t e r n Husson University in Bangor and the Pittsfield-based construction firm Cianbro announced that they entered into an agreement to transfer credits from the construction firm's corporate training programs toward degrees in the university's college of business. With the Dawn of a New Year, Eaton Peabody wishes Maine businesses a prosperous and healthy 2015! Augusta | Bangor | Brunswick | Ellsworth | Portland 1-800-564-0111 | eatonpeabody.com First Dawn of the New Year in Acadia National Park. s tate government is back at work and lawmakers are already losing sleep drafting bills for the legislative session. In Augusta, Gov. Paul LePage was busily getting ready to submit the bien- nial budget at press time. But Adrienne A. Bennett, press secretary for the office of the governor, said his second term in office will focus on five key areas: "So this next legislative session you can expect a heavy dose of reform in a few key areas," Bennett writes in an email to Mainebiz. ose areas, she says, will be wel- fare reform, tax reform, reducing the size of government, lowering energy and electricity costs for businesses and residents and improving infrastructure. "Lower energy costs are vital to attracting major employers, such as manufacturers and high-tech indus- tries," Bennett continues, adding: "e costs of doing business in Maine must be competitive with other states if we are to attract the kind of good-paying jobs that will encourage young people and families to stay in Maine." LePage also hopes to address the skills gap, to "match" workforce devel- opment programs with employer needs. Politics & Co., 19th-Century style e late Burton Hatlen's dream for a "Historical Atlas of Maine" has finally come to fruition. e University of Maine Press in Orono just published the oversized book, which is stuffed with charts, maps, graphics, diagrams, photographs and, of course, words. Hatlen (1936- 2008) was a beloved professor and American literary scholar at UMaine. Stephen King once said of him, "Burt was the greatest English teacher I ever had." Hatlen jump-started the atlas. It was completed by two editors, Stephen J. Hornsby and Richard W. Judd, who worked with cartographic designer Michael J. Hermann. Its 203 pages cover Maine's history from the Ice Age to the present. Anyone still reeling from Maine's 1820 separation from Massachusetts will find interesting reading in the section about the War of 1812 and statehood. Seems that then, like today, there were differences of polit- ical view depending on where you lived. Going back to the Revolution, there was a divide between "seacoast elites," who benefitted from trade agreements with Massachusetts, and "backwoods farmers," who were "chafing under heavy tax burdens and rents" and pushed for independence. Meanwhile, there were Federalists down in Boston who were just as willing to cede eastern Maine to Great Britain. Separation talk started coming to a head 200 years ago, in 1815. By July 1819, Maine voters over- whelmingly backed separation in a vote and Maine was granted state- hood on March 15, 1820. e bad news for anyone want- ing to read more about this is that the UMaine Press reports the first edition of "e Historical Atlas of Maine" has already sold out. p o l i t i C s & C o. B Y P E T E R V A N A L L E N LePage administration's reform list includes business initiatives

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