Mainebiz

January 8, 2018

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V O L . X X I V N O. I JA N UA R Y 8 , 2 0 1 8 6 N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree announced that the Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation & Forestry was awarded a $199,000 grant to implement a wetlands monitoring program and protect wetlands from degradation or destruction and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Biological Monitoring Program was awarded $175,000 to strengthen its wetland monitoring pro- gram to better support agency decision- making. Both grants were awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry award- ed $167,000 through its Coastal Community Grant Program for six projects located throughout coastal Maine. Recipients included: Trout Brook Culvert Improvements Project, city of South Portland, $54,805; Machias Waterfront Resilience and Renewal, town of Machias, $45,094; Cape Elizabeth Culvert and Habitat Impact Assessment, town of Cape Elizabeth, $20,500; Preparation for Coastal Flooding in Harpswell: A Plan for Basin Point Road and its Wetlands, town of Harpswell, $20,000; York River Watershed Analysis, Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, $15,000; and West Harbor Pond Water Quality Restoration Project, town of Boothbay Harbor, $12,400. Spectrum, a national broadband communications and cable company, announced it increased the starting download speed of its Internet service in Maine markets from 60 to 100 Mbps with no change in price. American Airlines expands to Chicago e Portland International Jetport announced that American Airlines will start non-stop service to Chicago O'Hare International Airport on June 7. American will offer two flights a day on 70-seat regional jets. American Airlines is the largest carrier at the Portland International Jetport with existing service to Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. In November, American said it would start service to New York's LaGuardia Airport on April 3. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Bada Bing: Stonewall Kitchen makes first acquisition B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f YORK — Stonewall Kitchen, the private equity-backed, York- based specialty food maker and retailer, is expanding its range of products through the acquisition of the Tillen Farms brand of pickled vegetables and Bada Bing cherries. Terms of the deal, due to be completed in January, were not disclosed. A spokesman said by email that this is Stonewall's first acquisition, and that "no significant changes" are planned for the Tillen Farms brand. Stonewall Kitchen, founded in 1991 by partners Jonathan King and Jim Stott, who got their start selling jams and jel- lies at local farmers markets, fairs and festivals, today has 10 retail company stores along the East Coast. It also has 6,000 wholesale accounts nationwide and internationally as well as catalog and web divisions. The acquisition of Tillen Farms line of premium cocktail garnishes will add products including asparagus spears and dilly beans and its signature Bada Bing cherries. "The product line is completely complementary to the specialty food categories we currently offer, and provides us with an immediate leadership presence in the cocktail garnish category," said John Stiker, CEO of Stonewall Kitchen, in a statement. "We are dedicated to providing our loyal customers deli- cious and innovative new products, and could not be more excited to welcome the Tillen Farms brand into the Stonewall Kitchen family as we continue to grow both organically and through selective acquisitions," Stiker added. Tim Metzger, Tillen Farms' founder and owner, said that he "couldn't imagine a more perfect partner than Stonewall Kitchen to help take the brand to the next level," and that he looks forward to working with the Stonewall team to growth both companies in the coming years. While Stonewall Kitchen has known Tim Metzger and the Tillen Farms brand for many years, discussions only started when Metzger was ready, which was this year, according to the Stonewall Kitchen spokesman. Stonewall Kitchen is a portfolio company of Centre Partners, a middle-market-focused private equity firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Centre Partners' other current food-related investments include Miami-based Sun Orchard Juicery and Golding Farms Foods, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based maker of private label, branded and co-manufactured sauces and condiments. Stonewall Kitchen has stores in York, Portland and Camden, in Maine; Portsmouth, Nashua, Rochester and North Conway, N.H.; Newburyport, Mass.; South Windsor, Conn.; and National Harbor, Md. B R I E F P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y S T O N E WA L L K I T C H E N Stonewall Kitchen is expanding its range of products through the acquisition of the Tillen Farms brand of pickled vegetables and Bada Bing cherries. Maine housing programs get federal grants Nine housing programs across Maine were awarded a total of $449,554 through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Family Self- Sufficiency Program. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, said grants of between $24,124 and $72,000 were allotted to programs in Old Town, Westbrook, Caribou, Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Brewer and Lewiston, as well as Augusta-based MaineHousing. e programs will help connect seniors and those with disabilities with resources. Recipients were the city of Old Town, $24,124; Westbrook Housing, $42,870; MaineHousing, $55,808; Caribou Housing Agency, $50,787; Portland Housing Authority, $72,000; Augusta Housing Authority, $33,247; Bangor Housing Authority, $57,526; Brewer Housing Authority, $54,319 and Lewiston Housing Authority, $58,873. Fishermen express concerns about offshore wind turbines New England fishermen are con- cerned about difficulties with naviga- tion and gear conflicts if the offshore wind industry installs more tur- bines in traditional fishing grounds. According to an Associated Press report published by the Bangor Daily News, an organization represent- ing East Coast scallop fishermen has sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees wind farm developments in federal waters, to try to halt a proposal for a nearly 200-turbine wind farm off Long Island, N.Y. "Fishermen are los- ing ground one a nibble at a time," said Joseph Gilbert, a Stonington, Conn., fisherman. e debate could have implications for Maine, where a consortium led by the University of Maine and the construction company Cianbro is pursuing a pilot project, called New England Aqua Ventus 1, that could build two 6-MW wind turbines two-and-a-half miles off Monhegan Island. at project has raised concerns among residents of Monhegan and the St. George penin- sula, where local fishermen have said the project and its transmission cable would harm their livelihoods.

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