Mainebiz

May 15, 2017

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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 5 , 2 0 1 7 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 n the business world, life often imitates art. "Life" is a story in the Washington Post that says that interns at Facebook make $8,000 a month. How many of you had unpaid internships in college? I know I did. "Art" is the 2013 movie " e Internship." If you haven't seen it, rent it on Amazon Prime or Netfl ix. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson play two washed-up salesmen who somehow fi nagle internships at Google, where they meet a cast of supercharged techno whiz kids — both the other interns and much of the staff . In a scene that seals their failure as salesmen, their boss, played by John Goodman, lays it out for them: e boss (Goodman): You two were great sales- men. e best! But at the end of the day, you're grind- ers. Foot soldiers. We all know you'll never be generals. And I'm gonna say something harsh right now. Billy McMahon (Vaughn): Now you're gonna say something harsh? e boss: Strap it in, boys, 'cause it ain't pretty out there. And you two are dinosaurs. Face it, where you're going ... you've already been. Turns out the old dinosaurs have the capacity to learn new ideas and skills and (spoiler alert) get hired by Google. Like our unlikely heroes, Maine has some hard- working people whose jobs have become extinct, yet they've retrained and found new ways to fi nd work. Check out Staff Writer Laurie Schreiber's cover story about the interchange between manu- facturers and the Maine Community College System. Manufacturers went to the colleges and set out the problem: a shortage of skilled workers. e colleges responded by tailoring training programs to the needs of manufacturers. Laurie has a prime example of someone who refashioned his career in this way: Ralph Jellison was among the workers put out of work by the closing of the Verso paper mill in Bucksport. He retrained through the community college system and landed a dream job, building high-end water craft for Hinckley Yachts in Trenton. He saw another opportunity and moved to GAC Chemical in Searsport, where he is now a valued member of the workforce. It's true, it ain't pretty out there. But there are jobs for the people who are willing to learn new skills. Heard on Main Street Downtown Winterport has a restaurant called the Bacon Tree. Legend has it that in 1779, Judge Goodwin was among the townspeople who feared reprisals from the British for an earlier incident. Many in town burned their possessions or moved inland. Not Goodwin. According to lore attributed to Tracy Gran Sr. on the restaurant's website, the judge gathered his most valuable possessions — his silver and his bacon — and hid under the canopy of a Norway pine tree on his land. He survived the Revolutionary War and ordered his descendants to take care of the pine tree, which became known as "the bacon tree." Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Retraining your way into a new line of work Rockland one of 20 'best towns' Smithsonian.com's sixth annual 20 best towns list features Rockland among towns singled out in 2017 "for their diversity of character." Find out more at mainebiz.biz/besttowns Collins has 6 questions about American Health Care Act U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has six key questions about the U.S. House of Representatives bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which was narrowly approved in a 217-213 vote on May 4. U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District, is among those who voted for the American Health Care Act. Find out more at mainebiz.biz/AHCA Closing Maine's skills gap State Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, is sponsoring a bill, LD 1467, to expand and strengthen the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program, which helps low-income, underemployed and unemployed workers acquire skills needed to obtain good-pay- ing jobs in growing industries. Find out more at mainebiz.biz/workforceskills Be smart. BE SHUR. bernsteinshur.com When you need a JD with an MBA's approach. Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- Maine has some hard- working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs working people whose jobs have become extinct, yet they've retrained and found new ways to find work.

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