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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 A U G U S T 2 2 , 2 0 1 6 For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is some of the best from our online-only offerings: Featured @ Mainebiz.biz From the Editor I had an interesting conversation with another of Portland's new coff ee purveyors. Vagabond Coff ee is a food truck that frequently occupies a space on Middle Street. e owner, William "Liam" Hardy, bought a 1949 International Harvester van from an old-timer in Pennsylvania. He restored the truck, adding features like hard- wood fl ooring in the truck bed, and then retrofi tted it with coff ee-making equipment. Liam, who has adapted the dress of an 19 th century shopkeeper, something akin to the choco- late makers at Mast Brothers Co., is not a coff ee purveyor by training. He is a fabricator — and the coff ee truck could be considered a way of showcas- ing his skills in that arena. But Liam is just one example of the versatility of Maine entrepreneurs. I recently talked to the manager of a bank branch who spoke about the makeup of the custom- ers. She wanted to show the range of businesses the bank dealt with, from loggers to those in the fi shing industry. She initially used the term blue collar, but then backtracked, saying that was an outdated term and could be considered condescending. Indeed, "blue collar" is not a term we use much at Mainebiz. For one thing, most of the businesses we cover do not have a clear divide between white collar and blue collar. In fact, with so many small businesses and entrepre- neurs, there's often a murky line between the jobs handled by the owner and the employees. I think of Carlos Quijano, president of Coast of Maine Organic Products, the subject of our On the Record feature in this issue. Quijano spent many years at Chase Manhattan Bank, but ultimately hit paydirt, pun intended, by creating compost that sells for $10 a bag in places like Whole Foods Market. He may have been a banker, but he wasn't afraid to literally get down in the dirt to fi nd the right recipe for gardening soil. Maine is fi lled with entrepreneurs who appear to be far overqualifi ed for their jobs, yet we're the richer for their endeavors as entrepreneurs. Our cover story about a collaboration between Twin Rivers Paper Co. and the University of Maine at Orono demonstrates how an old-school industry like paper can benefi t from "cross pollination," as Senior Writer Jim McCarthy points out in his story. Maine business leaders continue to express a willingness to learn and that benefi ts all of us. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz If you're reading this, you likely have more than one specialty Sweden doubles down on lobster ban Although Maine scien- tists say that the fear of disea se is unfounded, Swedish officials say that the proposed ban on the import of live lob- sters is a necessary precau- tionary measure to insure that American lobsters won't be invasive in the future and for more research to be performed on cross-breeding. Find out more about the simmering debate at mainebiz.biz/eulobster How will BIW fare on Coast Guard bid? Bath Iron Works is com- peting with shipyards in Louisiana and Florida for the largest shipbuilding contract awarded to date by the U.S. Coast Guard. Find out more about the new class of patrol cutters and how much the contract is worth at mainebiz.biz/biw3 MCED appoints new executive director The Portland-based nonprofit's new head, Thomas Rainey, has over two decades of experi- ence in technology-based economic development and entrepreneurship in rural communities across the country. Find out when Rainey will assume the role and what led to his appointment at mainebiz.biz/trainey Be smart. BE SHUR. bernsteinshur.com When you want a law firm t hat puts your interests before [h]ours. Maine is filled with Maine is filled with Maine is filled with Maine is filled with Maine is filled with Maine is filled with Maine is filled with Maine is filled with Maine is filled with entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear entrepreneurs who appear to be far overqualified for their jobs, yet we're the richer for their endeavors as entrepreneurs.

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