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F U L L C O N T E N T S O N PA G E 4 » M O R E I N S I D E T H E L I S T F O C U S S O U T H E R N M A I N E R E G I O N mainebiz.biz / printsub S U B S C R I B E James Chittum, director of business development at Grow-Tech LLC, holds a peat plug, one of the biobased products made at the company's South Portland manufacturing plant. The plugs are sold to large-scale agricultural and forestry companies for seed propagation and provide optimal aeration and water retention for growing plants. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 8 » Westbrook, Gorham join Greater Portland B y l o r i v a l i g r a W ith shortages of commercial and residential real estate in Portland pushing up prices, two nearby com- munities, Westbrook and Gorham, are seeing strong growth in population, along with an influx of businesses and families seeking affordability. Helping the two towns is their proximity to I-95 and the Portland International Jetport. Gorham's popula- tion is up 43.5% from 1990 to 2015, while Westbrook's is up almost 11% since 2000, besting Portland's nearly 4% rise, according to City-Data.com. While it may be too early to call the trend urban sprawl from Portland, William Baker, Westbrook's former business and S E E W H O ' S N E X T O N PA G E 3 0 » James Mitchell of Mitchell Tardy Government Affairs tops our list of Maine's highest-paid lobbyists. 21 Real estate crunch Portland's tight market for commercial real estate is convincing some companies to look further afield. 24 Renewable energy by 2050 Senior Writer James McCarthy reflects on the debate over renewable energy and finds some encouraging signs. 25 Fisheries management Patrick Keliher, Maine's commissioner of the DMR, talks about the future of commercial fishing. New directions for forest products A Maine initiative capitalizes on demand for biobased products B y J a M E S M C C a r T H y S TA R T I N G O N P A G E 14 » $2.00 July 11, 2016 VO L . X X I I N O. X V I www.mainebiz.biz

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