Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 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 whether it will open this winter has left them frustrated and in limbo, the Portland Press Herald reported. e future of the ski resort has been in doubt since its owners, Bill and Irene Berry, said in July that the moun- tain wouldn't open for the upcoming season without $3 million in funding for a new central ski lift. In October, they were in negotiations with a buyer but there's been no news since. Saddleback has been on the market since 2012, when it was listed for $12 million. Skiers who have paid up to $2,000 for season passes are growing frustrated, the Press Herald reported. Saddleback said in July that all season pass holders will be reimbursed and all vendors will be paid if the resort doesn't open this winter, but pass holders have been told they can't get refunds just yet. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Connectivity Point Design and Installation in Auburn announced that Amica Insurance in Lincoln, R.I., named the fi rm as its nationwide preferred installer for network cabling, sound masking, audio/visual equip- ment and security systems. The Maine Health Access Foundation in Augusta awarded a total of $672,887 in grant fund- ing through its Access to Quality Care program to Franklin Memorial Hospital, MaineHealth CarePartners in Knox County and Penobscot Community Health Care to expand access to quality health care for people who are uninsured. Androscoggin Bank's MainStreet Foundation announced that Longley Elementary School in Lewiston was named the 2015 recipient of its an- nual $25K for Kids grant. The school will use the grant money to help it maintain and expand its after-school programming for pre-K through grade 6 students. Proposed natural gas plant faces uncertainty e city of Rockland is considering a six-month moratorium on energy plants to block the development of a natural-gas-fi red power plant proposed for the city. In response, a partner with the company planning to build the plant told city councilors that his company would go else- where if the moratorium is approved, the Bangor Daily News reported. Rockland Energy Center had signed an agreement with the city in August to purchase 18 acres near City Hall and the public services garage, but the company said recently it would instead locate the plant on private land. City councilors were expected to cancel the city's option to sell the land to the company after some resi- dent s opposed the plan. According to the BDN, Evan Coleman, a partner with Rockland Energy Center, asked councilors to hold off considering a moratorium until early February when the company will present a detailed plan address- ing concerns raised by the public on emissions, the pipeline route, noise and smokestack height. Coleman said the plant would likely be able to generate 35 megawatts, and the natural gas pipeline would likely run underground between Searsmont and Rockland. 'Working vacations' promoted on MDI A hotel and a coworking space in Bar Harbor are partnering in hopes of attract- ing more people to the area for working vacations over the winter. e Mount Desert Islander reported that Acadia Hotel and Anchorspace will off er a room at the hotel and use of the coworking space for $100 per night during January and February. Anchorspace, a cowork- ing and meeting space that opened in April in downtown Bar Harbor, is within walking distance of the Acadia Hotel. e owner of the working space, Nicole Ouellette, said it's becoming more com- mon for travelers to need to work a cou- ple of hours or a day while on vacation. Cherry eld Foods to end its cranberry farming Maine's largest grower of cranberries is leaving the cranberry business, following a season with prices so low that some growers scaled back the harvest. David Bell, spokesman for Cherryfi eld Foods Inc., told the Bangor Daily News that no jobs would be cut. e price for wet- harvested berries, which involves fl ood- ing the cranberry bog and collecting ripe berries that fl oat to the surface, was at times less than half the price needed for farmers to break even this season. Lewiston Auburn Consider your opportunity here. e State's youngest and most diverse demographic. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T

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