Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X I X A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 1 5 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E GWI, an Internet and phone services company in Biddeford, introduced two new business phone solutions to help small- and mid-sized companies em- ploy sophisticated call management technology that previously required contractual relationships with large calling centers or large capital outlays. Three historic Norway buildings headed to market ree historic buildings in downtown Norway are being put on the market. e Sun Journal reported that Maine Preservation, a statewide nonprofit, will help with the sale and transition of the three buildings: the Crooker House at 20 Deering St., L.M. Longley & Son at 419 Main St. and the adjacent 413 Main St., which houses 100 Aker Wood Frame Shop. e Crooker House was expected to go on the market the week of Aug. 16, with the other two to follow. All three buildings are owned by the Higgins-Crooker Trust. Craft-Mania to close in Auburn Craft-Mania in Auburn, Maine's larg- est independently owned craft store, is closing its doors this September because of decreasing sales and increas- ing local competition. Lee Duguay, co-owner of Craft-Mania, told the Sun Journal that he and his wife, Barbara, decided not to consolidate the store into a smaller space. Fifteen people will lose their jobs as a result. Duguay cited national retail chain Hobby Lobby as one of Craft-Mania's local competitors. MaineGeneral's bond rating drops a notch Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the credit rating of MaineGeneral Health, parent com- pany of MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta and the ayer Center for Health in Waterville, from Ba1 to Ba2. e Kennebec Journal reported that Moody's cited a weak financial performance in making the downgrade, which the newspaper said affects about $280 million in state bonds issued in 2011. Terry Brann, MaineGeneral's chief financial officer, told the newspaper the health care organization is financially sound and has seen an improvement in its cash reserves and cash flow since install- ing a new payment collections system. "We're performing very well within our metrics, and there are some very good stories to tell about our financial picture," Brann said. "We just need to get the revenue cycle issues behind us." N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N The Maine Health Access Foundation in Augusta awarded $100,000 to sev- en nonprofit dental clinics to work with the DentaQuest Institute's Safety Net Solutions program to help increase ac- cess, improve quality, and strengthen their financial viability. The Trust for Public Lands was awarded $2 million in funding from the Department of Defense's Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Challenge to support mili- tary readiness through conservation efforts around the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape school in Redington Township. The Denmark Arts Center received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town pro- gram to support its Something Rotten in Denmark" project. BIW gets $13.1M contract modification Bath Iron Works has landed a $13.1 million modification for its exist- ing contract with the Department of Defense for planning yard services of the Littoral Combat Ship program. e Bangor Daily News reported that the modification expands the scope of the original contract from sup- porting work for two LCS ships to supporting the entire LCS program. All options available on the contract make it potentially worth more than $100 million. Boston energy firm signs option for Rockland properties A subsidiary of Boston-based Energy Management Inc. has signed an option-to-purchase agreement for Rockland's City Hall and public ser- vices garage properties. e Bangor Daily News reported that the city's sale of the properties to Rockland Energy Center LLC, which wants to build a $200 million natural gas plant there, requires votes of the Rockland City Council and a public referen- dum. e company is paying $1,000 a month for the option and stipulates that discussion on a purchase-and- sales agreement must happen by February 2016. e newspaper noted that a citizen group called Renew Rockland has formed in opposition to the proposed plant, which would support 12 to 18 permanent jobs and provide low-cost steam to other local industries that would help companies lower costs. Unity College gets $200K anonymous gift Unity College has received a $200,000 anonymous gift that will be used to strengthen the college's brand as a destination for students inter- ested in environmental careers. e college said the money will be used to fund a multi-year effort to market the college to prospective students who may have not heard about Unity College. e college has already been experiencing success with its environ- mental programs, having exceeded its enrollment goals for the past two years. e school currently enrolls 650 students. "is anonymous, unsolic- ited gift from someone who's been watching the college for a while gives us great confidence we're heading in the right direction training the next generation of environmental leaders as America's environmental college," Unity College President Stephen Mulkey said in a statement. "It's a gift we intend to use in such a way that it keeps on giving." Jackson Lab gets $10M to fight genetically complex diseases e Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor said it has received a nearly AOL's Steve Case to invest $100K in Portland startup as part of bus tour Steve Case, founder of AOL and CEO of investment company Revolution, will visit Portland on Oct. 2 as part of the Rise of the Rest bus tour that will invest $1 million total in startups. The tour will visit 10 cities, starting in Baltimore on Sept. 28. Each city will host a pitch competition, and each winner will get $100,000. Case announced the tour on Aug. 4 during an event with President Obama at the first White House Demo Day. Case will visit 10 new cities, including Portland and Manchester, N.H. (on Oct. 1), and invest an additional $1 million in startups. Revolution is backing startups outside Silicon Valley. Through Rise of the Rest tours, $1.5 million has been invested since 2014 in startup businesses across 14 cities including Detroit, Charleston, Pittsburgh and New Orleans. "I'm honored to attend the first White House Demo Day in the nation's history, and I'm pleased to announce the expansion of our Rise of The Rest initiative to level the playing field for entrepreneurs everywhere," Case said in a state- ment. "I look forward to visiting Baltimore, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Manchester and Portland this fall as our bus travels through the Northeast to visit some of America's most iconic cities." Revolution is based in Washington, D.C. A fifth tour, in 2016, will visit five additional cities in the western United States. Joining Revolution as partners are Google for Entrepreneurs, Salesforce for Startups, Engine, Seed Here Studio, Tech Cocktail, Startup Grind and Village Capital. During the fall stops, the Revolution team and partners will meet with local entrepreneurs, businesses, nonprofits, universities and public officials to dis- cuss the opportunities and challenges of fostering startup growth; hold a pitch competition open to the public where a local startup will receive $100,000 investment; and host a happy hour party to celebrate the visit. Applicants can apply to pitch at www.riseofrest.com. Portland has been the target of a number of pitch competitions, the most recent being the upcoming "Greenlight Maine" TV show in which Maine entre- preneurs can vie to win a minimum prize of $100,000, and an open call for ABC's "Shark Tank." "Building on the success of Blackstone Accelerates Growth, Maine Startup & Create Week and Greenlight Maine, the Rise of the Rest Tour is an incredible opportunity to showcase Maine companies and our growing innovation commu- nity to an incredible audience and a globally respected leader like Steve Case," Jess Knox, founder of Maine Startup & Create Week and statewide innovation hub coordinator for Blackstone Accelerates Growth, told Mainebiz. — L o r i V a l i g r a C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T

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