From the editor | Labors of love, or nearly so
Labor Day always provides an opportunity to stop and think about your job and your career.
Luckily, I have and like both. After 30 years in the news biz, I still get excited about breaking a story or uncovering a lead that develops into a gem of a story. Every now and again I go back to a story I was particularly fond of writing and read it again to see if the storytelling withstands the test of time. When it does, I smile and go off to the next assignment with my confidence reassured. When it doesn't … well, it's never too late to resolve to do better.
I have another reason for being excited: Darren Fishell joins our staff as online editor. Darren comes to us from The Times Record where he worked following his graduation from Bowdoin College. A California native, Darren has lots of news experience, and is uncowed by technology and content management systems (unlike his editor). He is the architect of the Daily Report, Portland Report and manages our website and future online offerings. His presence is energizing the staff.
Energy, by the way, is the focus of this issue and it is running throughout every story. Two entrepreneurs in Auburn are putting the electricity industry on notice that they are players in Staff Writer Matt Dodge's piece, "Creating buzz," starting on page 18. Barely a year old, Electricity Maine has already enrolled 150,000 customers, many of them small businesses. We also hear from the CEO of Dead River Co., about why fuel suppliers need to diversify to stay competitive, in "Expanding options," on page 23.
Senior Writer Jim McCarthy takes us for a ride along the Penobscot where an innovative agreement struck years ago is paying big dividends in power generation and conservation, in "Water tests," starting on the cover. It's a peek at how dam removals don't necessarily translate into depleted power sources and a reminder about the power of collaboration. And in a research-and-writing workout, Contributing Writer Sara Anne Donnelly reconstructs what happened to land three Maine companies in the crosshairs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in "Power plays," starting on page 24. It's an illuminating read.
Energy — and lots of it — is key to three innovators who are pursuing unique products with big market potential in Contributing Writer Lori Valigra's story, "Bootstrapping" on the cover. Three entrepreneurs who've received grants from the Maine Technology Institute take us into their workplaces and share their visions of where they want to go and how they're using every resource to get there.
It's obvious they, too, like their jobs and careers.
Carol Coultas
ccoultas@mainebiz.biz
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