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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 O C T O B E R 1 7 , 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 Maine school tops 'Top 50 Green Colleges' The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor topped the list of the Princeton Review's seventh-annual edition of the "Top 50 Green Colleges of 2016." Find out what other Maine colleges made the list at mainebiz.biz/greencollege Changes brewing in Portland food hub A shakeup is coming to Portland's popular East Bayside neighbor- hood as Tandem Coffee Roasters announced that it would be expanding its wholesale business into the soon-to-be former home of its neighbors, Bunker Brewing Company. Find out what the future holds for the brewery at mainebiz.biz/bunker New England's largest solar project The 100,000 solar panel project, which could pro- duce over 100 megawatts of power — enough to power between 20,000 and 30,000 homes — would sit on 600 acres of land at the former Loring Air Force Base. Learn more about the expansive project at mainebiz.biz/soloring From the Editor A s editor of Mainebiz, I get the opportunity to meet businesspeople from, we like to say, Kittery to Fort Kent. Recently, Mainebiz held the fi fth of its "On the Road" series of networking events and roundtables, this time in Farmington. Farmington has a nice downtown with good bones, as they say — with stately brick buildings, bustling retail establishments, lively night life. It is on a major thoroughfare, so anyone going to Sugarloaf likely passes through Farmington. e surrounding landscape mingles orchards and farms with 4,000- foot peaks. Farmington also has a University of Maine campus with 1,800 students and an energetic president, Kate Foster, and a payroll of $20 million. Farmington is a hub for Franklin County. Yet, as we found during our day in Farmington, fi nding qualifi ed employees in Farmington and a wide circle around the area can be challenging. At our Mainebiz networking event, held at the bustling Homestead restaurant downtown, Robin and Jim Jordan, who own Robin's Flower Pot in Farmington, told me they struggle to fi nd employees at their busiest times. Twice a year, in planting season and at harvest, they have to rebuild a team. David Mitchell, a senior account executive from J.S. McCarthy Printers, said the fi rm is in constant need of help. It has a Bonney staffi ng agent embed- ded onsite in Augusta. It also recently hired four workers from Puerto Rico — not as cheap labor, as some might assume, but because they had applica- ble printing skills; they'll live in company housing. In Wilton, down the road from Farmington, big employers like Barclays struggle to fi nd qualifi ed employees for call-center work, said Rhonda Irish, the town manager. John Witherspoon, president of Skowhegan Savings Bank, says while many employers in Franklin County set out to fi nd skilled workers, the sad fact is they will settle for anyone who can show up and pass a drug test. at's not the fi rst time I've heard that — and it's unfortunately a refrain that's heard throughout the state, perhaps more so the further north you go. We certainly heard it in Fort Kent, where we had an On the Road event in June, and at events last year in Houlton and Eastport. So how can we resolve this? Back to Kate Foster. ere may have been a time when university presidents shut themselves off from the outside world — hence the term "ivory tower" and the pro- verbial town-gown split. But, as the Mainebiz team has seen at our On the Road events this year, we have had active par- ticipation from a number of college and university presidents, as well as leaders of community colleges. ey are taking an active role in talking to us and getting the message out to our readers that they are engaged in workforce development, training students for specialties and working directly with companies to fi nd out what's needed. Kate Foster is just one of the leaders making a diff erence. With input from the business community, Maine's network of universities, colleges and com- munity colleges will be a key part in resolving the issues we have in rural areas. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Rural Maine's SOS: We have jobs; we need people Be smart. BE SHUR. bernsteinshur.com When you want a law firm t hat puts your interests before [h]ours. With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business With input from the business community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network community, Maine's network of universities, colleges and community colleges will be a key part in resolving the issues we have in rural areas.

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