Some clarity around new Maine political poll | DownEast.com

[I haven’t had a time to read or analyze this poll, so I won’t comment about the candidates and issues, but I thought I’d offer it up for those of you in Maine who might be voting in the coming election. The link below is to Mike Tipping’s blog on DownEast.com and there is a copy of the poll results attached to the blog entry. I recommend reading Tipping’s comments – and reservations – on the poll before diving into the poll itself. – KM]

Some clarity around new Maine political poll | DownEast.com

       

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In Greenwood, a turn for the better: Mills offer new opportunities | Lewiston Sun Journal

GREENWOOD (AP) — Many people gave the Saunders Brothers manufacturing plant up for dead when it closed its doors and went to auction last spring, a victim of the sour economy and cheap imports flooding in from overseas.

Less than five months later, machines are humming and the smell of sawdust is in the air again as a skeleton crew puts out rolling pins, brush handles, dowels and other wood products.

Maine’s wood products industry has been on the slide for years. Numerous plants that made hundreds of everyday things — toothpicks, tongue depressors, Popsicle sticks, pepper mills, checkers pieces, clothespins, you name it — have gone out of business.

Now, a Portland woman and her partners have bought not only the shuttered Saunders Brothers factory, but three other plants as well in hardscrabble areas of interior Maine. Louise Jonaitis says she intends to bring the plants back to life in regions where times are tough and jobs are scarce.

“I grew up knowing a mill of any size was the life of a community in Maine,” said Jonaitis, 49, whose father worked in a paper mill when she was growing up in Rumford. “What I’ve been seeing as plants close is the decline of the social fabric in Maine. And I thought, ‘What else do we have?’”

Click for the rest of the story by Associated Press Writer Clarke Cainfield found in the Lewiston Sun Journal.

 

5 things to do this weekend | Bangor Daily News

5 things to do this weekend | Bangor Daily News.

Yacht maker offers to buy Eastport’s Boat School | Bangor Daily News

EASTPORT, Maine — One of the world’s premier yacht makers, who has previously focused his manufacturing efforts in Taiwan, China and Tampa Bay, Fla., has made an offer that could turn around the financially struggling city of Eastport. David Marlow of Marlow Yachts approached the City Council during a workshop this week and floated a proposal to buy The Boat School, which is owned by the city and leased to Husson University.

His plans include expanding The Boat School program from a two-year to a four-year marine trades program while keeping Husson University involved. He also plans to revamp the campus, expand the existing boatyard and build an on-site yacht manufacturing facility that could create 100 new jobs.

“This could be a godsend for Eastport,” City Manager Jon Southern said Thursday. “This business is compatible with every city goal for our working waterfront. It is ecologically friendly. It would create high-quality jobs. It protects The Boat School and retains the partnership we have with Husson.”

Click for the rest of the story by Sharon Kiley Mack in the Bangor Daily News.

 

Three Maine newspapers restore online comments | Bangor Daily News

[This is what MaineToday Media probably should have done from the beginning rather than eliminate the comments all together. Close monitoring is essential. I was part of the online team that monitored comments on recordnet.com, and some online users simply are looking for a way to be anonymous bullies. That should never be allowed. One more thing, this flip-flop move by MaineToday Media simply makes them look as if they lack the abilty to make carefully consider decisions. That is never good for a business, especially for a newspaper. — KM]

Three Maine newspapers restore online comments | Bangor Daily News.