Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. I X M AY 4 , 2 0 1 5 6 Fees on bags being considered by more towns Just after the city of Portland enacted a fee on paper and plastic bags, three more Maine communities are con- sidering measures to limit the use of single-use bags at retail businesses. In Topsham and Brunswick, a citizen group called Bring Your Own Bag- Midcoast is lobbying both towns to pass ordinances that would levy a 5-cent fee on single-use bags, similar to Portland's ordinance, e Times Record reported. In York, the town's Board of Selectmen may consider an outright ban on plastic bags while keeping paper bags available and free, SeacoastOnline. com reported. e proposal may come before York voters this fall, but it will have to fi rst be approved by a newly reconfi gured Board of Selectmen, when two new members are elected in May. Maine unemployment rate down in March Maine's unemployment rate in March was 4.8%, down from 5% the previous month and 1% less than it was a year ago. e Maine Department of Labor reported that an estimated 32,100 people were unemployed in March, 7,800 fewer than a year ago. e national unemployment rate in March was 5.5%, unchanged from the previous month and a decrease from 6.6% one year ago. Maine's unemployment rate remained under the average of 5.2% for the New England states. Home sales in Maine outpace Northeast Sales of existing single-family homes and the median sales price in Maine continued to increase in March. Maine home sales reached 950 units in March, a 6.5% increase over the 892 units that were sold the same month last year, according to the Maine Realtors Association. e median sales price in March increased 4.94% to $170,000. On a national level, home sales increased 10.9%, while the median sales price increased 8.7% to $213,500 during the same period, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales in the Northeast increased 1.6%, while the median sales price increased 1.6% to $240,500. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E USDA Rural Development's Rural Community Development Initiative program awarded a $249,900 grant to the Genesis Community Loan Fund for energy-effi cient housing for elders and seniors that will benefi t Maliseet, Micmac and Penobscot tribes as well as Chebeague Island and North Haven residents. The Maine Women's Fund, a Portland foundation focused on advancing women's and girls' economic se- curity, awarded 2014-15 Economic Security Initiative grants totaling $98,000 to 11 Maine organizations. Recipients were Elder Abuse Institute of Maine, Portland; Girl Scouts of Maine, Bangor and South Portland; Mabel Wadsworth Women's Health 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 Providing solutions for diverse hiring needs for Maine companies 207-854-2422 directpersonnel.net 1-800-639-8802 mainestaff.com • Finance/ accounting professionals • Skilled laborers • Flaggers • Administrative experts • Health Care professionals • Engineers Call us today! A corporate division of Maine Staffing Group No more for a spot searching per day $10 open 4:30Am to 1Am or later. Drive 100 yards past baggage claim, look for our green sign. www.parknjetportland.com 747-5650 Valet parking At the Airport Blue Hill tech company raises $3M Hydro-Photon Inc., a Blue Hill developer of ultraviolet technology for portable devices that can purify drinking water, has raised $3 million of a $4 million equity offering, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document. The company plans to use the equity from an investor for new products and new business development, Neil MacKay, presi- dent of the company, told Mainebiz. It raised $2 million in 2009 to expand its business. Miles Maiden, an avid outdoorsman, started the company because he thought there were better ways to purify water in the wild than fi lters or chemicals, according to the company's website. He focused on using the same type of ultraviolet-C technology used in municipal water treatment plants. The company started selling its SteriPEN portable purifi cation device in 2001. It holds 38 patents, including eight U.S. patents and others throughout the world. About 15% of revenues are overseas, not including Canada, MacKay said, declining to give revenue numbers. The company employs 15 people. The product is sold through REI, Amazon and other retailers. In 2011 it was named one of Time magazine's "Top 100 All-Time Gadgets." The company claims the handheld device destroys viruses, bacteria and protozoa, including Giardia and Cryptosporidium, when held inside a liter of water for 90 seconds. A separate fi lter for a water bottle can screen out sand and other sediments, he said. Depending on the model, it runs from $50 for a home emergency kit model to $165 for a high-end military version. Only the military version is made in Blue Hill and a site in Gouldsboro. Other products are manufactured outside Maine because of cost and other issues, he said. Hydro-Photon said most models can be reused to purify more than 8,000 liters of water. The smallest version of the device can fi t into a shirt pocket, MacKay said, averaging 1-inch wide, 5-inches long and ¾-inch thick. Various versions of the product weigh from 2.6 ounces to 7 ounces. Competitors include the Katadyn Pocket Micro, a high-end system running $286 to $700, all the way to a low-end fi ltration system called the LifeStraw for $25 and even tablets dissolved into water. — L O R I V A L I G R A Blue Hill tech company raises $3M P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y H Y D RO - P H O T O N Hydro-Photon Inc.'s SteriPEN Class 3 water purifi cation device.

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