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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 M AY 1 , 2 0 1 7 From the Editor 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 West Coast firm picks Lewiston Grand Rounds, a San Francisco-based health- care technology company, selects Lewiston as its first East Coast location. The company, which matches patients with high-quality health-care providers, already has landed Dead River Co., the largest heating services provider in northern New England, as its first Maine-based employer to sign up for its services. Find out more at mainebiz.biz/grandrounds Best in the nation for patient safety Eleven of Maine's 16 acute care hospitals earned "A" safety grades in The Leapfrog Group's Hospital Safety Grade latest report. That puts Maine No. 1 in the top five states with the highest percentage of "A" hospitals this spring — followed by Hawaii, Oregon, Wisconsin and Idaho. Find out more at mainebiz.biz/leapfrog Re-thinking liberal arts in a global context A $25 million gift to the Waterville liberal arts college from the Davis family and a trustee of its charitable foundation, Andrew Davis, a 1985 Colby College graduate, will ensure that every student at Colby College has an opportunity to study abroad, not just those whose families can afford it. Find out more at mainebiz.biz/davisgift M aine's exported goods totaled $2.86 billion last year, up 4.9% from the previous year. at growth is significant given that our popula- tion is stagnant and getting older. (I admit to my own part of the aging problem.) We've heard it said by many Maine-based com- panies that they can only sell so much to Mainers. While a good deal of companies depend on "exports" to other states, this issue in fact deals with global trade. But the point remains the same: for businesses to grow, they need to grow globally. It's fine to buy locally, but we need to think globally. On Portland's waterfront, there's a debate over whether to allow for construction of a major cold- storage facility. e proposed facility, which would be operated by Atlanta-based Americold, could serve as a port hub for frozen seafood, blueberries and processed foods of all kinds. From the proposed waterfront site, goods could be easily transported by truck, train or ship. Have shipping container, will travel. Our cover story, by Senior Writer Renee Cordes, looks at what's at stake for the International Marine Terminal in Portland and for the state. On the road again … in Norway Every year, Mainebiz visits six towns or cities as part of our "On the Road" series. Each visit includes a roundtable with local business leaders. By my count, I've taken part in 19 of these roundtables, and some of the same themes emerge. No topic comes up north to south like Maine's labor shortage — whether you're in Kittery or Fort Kent, Skowhegan or Eastport — it's a constant theme among business leaders. Maine's unem- ployment rate is the lowest it's been in decades, and the demographic challenge of an aging workforce adds an ever-present layer to the conversation. Recently, we were in Norway, and the topic of the labor shortage again reared its head. Scott Beck, owner of Nomad Café, said he was having trouble finding seasonal help. Likewise, Charles Melhus, whose family owns Norway Brewing Co., said he recently set up five interviews to screen potential summer employees. Of those, only one person showed up. I'm well beyond this age range, but I would think for someone in their 20s, working a summer job at a brewery and restaurant would rank pretty high on the list of prime jobs. So if a craft brewer is having trouble getting potential job candidates to show up, what's it like for the rest of Maine's businesses? Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Buy local, sell global Be smart. BE SHUR. bernsteinshur.com When you want a law firm t hat puts your interests before [h]ours. In the Mainebiz Healthy Business edition of April 24, there were errors and incomplete information in the "Quality ratings for Maine's hospitals" chart. Headings marked "maternity," "safer care" and "overall" should have had more complete descriptions. The first should have been, "Maternity care methods proven to be effective." The second head- ing should have read, "Uses methods to make care safer." The third heading should have read, "Overall patient experience." Another note: the key to the colors for "Best" through "Low" does not apply to the "Uses methods to make care safer." That rating is not based on national and state averages. The quality ratings are compiled by the Maine Health Management Coalition. A corrected version of the chart will be posted on Mainebiz.biz. The digital edition of Healthy Business will also be updated. Correction

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