Once upon a time... | ...there were big stories and little stories, stories that started and stories that finished, and some stories that just wouldn't end. Mainebiz looks back at 2007.
BIG STORIES -- THE NEWSMAKERS OF 2007
Go green or go home
If 2007 had to pick a favorite color, it would be green. This year, all things eco became all things cool. From NBC's "Green Week" of eco-friendly programming in November to Home Depot's new Eco Options campaign identifying eco-friendly products, saving the environment now seems so rooted in the business mainstream it's hard to recall the days when some of us thought Al Gore and his "Inconvenient Truth" were fringe. "Green marketing," or broadcasting how environmentally friendly your company is, this year influenced advertising campaigns in Maine and around the country, even prompting Oakhurst's "Oakie" mascot to temporarily don a lime green costume (which, by the way, really brought out his eyes).
Not only was green hot this year in marketing, but as fuel prices skyrocketed, entrepreneurs also began latching onto green energy as the next big thing. Here in Maine, it seems any self-respecting mountain vista has someone interested in building windmills on it, and for every bright-eyed businessperson looking at windpower, there's another drafting plans to flip those turbines upside down and stick 'em underwater.
Though plenty of environmentalists are wary of faux-green businesses and protective of our hills and bays, we think the sum total of all of this green-speak will be good for Gaia.
Beyond Brookings
Yeah, the Brookings Institution study came out last year -- but this year it came into its own.
Alan Caron, president and founder of GrowSmart Maine, which sponsored the 146-page report, made good on his repeated promises in 2006 to follow up on the Washington, D.C.-based think-tank's wide-ranging study on the Maine economy. In 2007, Caron launched his campaign to implement the suggestions laid out in "Charting Maine's Future," giving more than 115 speeches pushing the study and successfully lobbying Augusta lawmakers to turn the report's ideas into policy -- most notably getting a $55 million R&D bond on the November ballot that voters then passed. Caron's concurrent media blitz also successfully kept the report on the minds of Mainers: Since its Sept. 2006 release, the study has appeared in more than 800 newspaper stories and editorials and been printed or downloaded around 35,000 times.
Caron's work to make sure the Brookings Institution report remains a big player in state policy won't end when the ball drops on New Year's Eve -- 2007, he says, was only year two of his five-year plan to make the recommendations in "Charting Maine's Future" our reality.
Real estate rumble
This was the year the word "subprime" entered the everyday lexicon. Thanks to a housing bubble pierced by predatory lending, the number of home foreclosures nationwide doubled during the 12 months through September 2007 to 223,538, according to RealtyTrac, and housing prices tumbled while fuel prices sent construction materials costs through the roof. Early figures suggest the fallout hasn't affected Maine as severely as many other states -- our foreclosure rate ranked among the bottom 10 states in RealtyTrac's September-to-September study -- but even this bit of good news could burst soon, since the firm didn't have full access to foreclosure filings from five of Maine's 16 counties.
As we face 2008 and recession worries, the collapsing housing market is creating headaches for homeowners, consumers and lenders; contractors who have taken refuge in commercial building as home construction cools; and even the biggest banks on Wall Street.
The real estate shakedown this year damaged the reputations of some of the world's biggest financial institutions, including Merrill Lynch, Citi and Bear Stearns, and embarrassed more than a dozen state treasurers who saw billions in state funds frozen after subprime-related investments went south. This includes Maine, which at press time still had $20 million frozen in a Bank of New York account after an investment in a subprime-backed bond went sour this summer.
LITTLE STORIES -- SMALL STORIES WITH BIG IMPACTS
Come together
Industries in Maine organized, protested and fought for new contracts and more respect this past year, reminding the public that they're still alive and kicking.
The year had plenty of union action, including a few shows of bargaining power: After coming close to a strike, the nurses union at Eastern Maine Medical Center in October successfully negotiated for more leverage in deciding staffing levels and other issues.
And unionized workers at Verso Paper's Bucksport mill in November approved a new four-year contract that will give them small wage increases and less expensive benefits.
Not all workers were united, though: In December, 80 state workers lost ground on their fight against an imposed union fee when an arbitrator said it was fair for the 10,000-member Maine State Employees Association to ask for a reduced fee from nonunion members.
And you didn't have to be an established labor group to embrace strength-in-numbers thinking: This year saw the formation of a handful of industry groups looking for a louder voice in Augusta, from independent day-care providers in October voting to unionize, to clam diggers in May forming the Maine Clammers Association.
What do you think?
Maybe it's because objections always seem to foster stronger emotions than approval, but we noticed a lot of people saying "no" in 2007, from the statewide rejection of the Passamaquoddy Tribe's proposed racino in Washington County to Wiscasset residents' rejection of a $1.5 billion coal gasification plant on the site of the former Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, to Fryeburg residents' rejection of a proposed Poland Spring trucking facility in their town. Some call it NIMBYism; others call it democracy.
Public input also impacted the Portland City Council's decision on who would develop the Maine State Pier, as well as convinced the developers to re-jigger their proposals midway through the process. And public input on Plum Creek's development plans for the Moosehead Lake region and the proposed FairPoint/Verizon deal are sure to have an impact on the 2008 decisions regarding those projects. The state government got in on the public input act this summer, building a virtual suggestion box to solicit ideas on how to close a $10.1 million hole in next year's budget.
Potholes and passengers
Getting from here to there has always been a concern for Mainers, and 2007 was no different. Lawmakers struggled this year to deal with a projected $2.2 billion transportation funding shortfall over the next 10 years, caused by a funding mechanism -- the gas tax -- that no longer brings in the money it used to. Add to that the concern caused by this summer's collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota and the resulting report noting that Maine needs to spend an additional $60 million a year to maintain its bridges, and the funding situation appeared hopeless. Gov. John Baldacci at one point nixed the short-lived idea to explore collecting tolls on non-turnpike sections of highway.
This year has also seen Bangor International Airport post its lowest passenger numbers since 2001 after airlines struggling with high fuel costs cut back on available seating.
But there were some hopeful developments: The perennial discussion of an east-west highway was reignited in August when Peter Vigue, president and CEO of Cianbro Corp., floated the idea of privately funding the endeavor.
STORIES THAT STARTED
A game of telephone
Last year, telecom giant Verizon announced it wanted out of the landline phone business. In January, the suitor that emerged to try to claim Verizon's northern New England telecom property was North Carolina-based FairPoint Communications. Both were happy with the $2.7 billion deal outlined in January, but the deal rankled others. Labor unions complained that workers would get the shaft, and state regulators questioned whether FairPoint had the financial wherewithal to make the purchase. FairPoint and Verizon reached an 11th hour compromise with staffers at the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Office of the Public Advocate, but it's up to the PUC commissioners to make the final call. As this issue of Mainebiz went to press, the commissioners didn't expect to decide the matter until 2008.
Water problems
Considered a healthy and innocuous alternative to sugary sodas, bottled water for years has enjoyed an enviable esteem among America's beverage consumers. But this year, that sentiment crumbled as consumers complained that the industry's plastic bottles were clogging up America's landfills. Poland Spring in November tackled the problem head on, releasing a more eco-friendly bottle that uses less plastic. Problem solved? Maybe, but the company ran into other roadblocks when the Fryeburg planning board last month denied its bid to build a water depot in the town. Relations between Poland Spring and Fryeburg continue to be chilly, and it's anyone's guess whether this icy development will have an impact on the company's other operations in the state.
Court in session
In July, Maine's new Business and Consumer Court began chipping away at the backlog of business lawsuits that have been held up by all the traffic in state and federal courts and private arbitration. The state's first business court was launched in part because small-business owners were turning away from the courts, not wanting to wait inline for a hearing. Superior Court Justices John Nivison and Thomas Humphrey travel around the state hearing cases in the business and consumer docket and, as of November, the court clerk in West Beth said there had been about a dozen filings around the state and two settlements so far. A slow start, perhaps, but the BCD is no doubt a convenient development for business owners that will likely be one to watch in 2008.
STORIES THAT FINISHED
Playing a losing hand
The Passamaquoddy Tribe's bid for a racino in Washington County died on Nov. 6 when 52% of voters said "No" to gambling as an economic boost for Maine's poorest county. It was a disheartening blow for the 70% of Washington County voters who voted for the measure, and who'd already seen their proposal vetoed (twice) by Gov. John Baldacci. Tribal leaders say they haven't given up, but with talk of a racino just across the border in New Brunswick, it will only get harder for eastern Maine to snag a piece of the high-stakes pie.
New life for old mills
A handful of long-suffering mills around Maine were given new life in 2007. Brewer's Eastern Fine Paper mill is already on its way to becoming a manufacturing facility for Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp., which will build modules for an oil refinery project in Texas. Renovations also have begun on Saco Island, where developers are spending $100 million to redevelop a warren of former mills. The project, three years in the making, got the go-ahead in July. And two developers already have a handful of tenants lined up for the former Hathaway shirt factory, which the city of Waterville agreed to sell to them in October. They're all proof that economic development doesn't mean sacrificing Maine's industrial heritage.
What's up, dock?
The drama surrounding the $90 million redevelopment of the Maine State Pier cropped up month after month, starting in February, when competing developers -- Portsmouth, N.H.-based Ocean Properties Ltd. and Portland-based The Olympia Cos. -- submitted proposals to the city council. City councilors first halted the process to add to the plans a "mega berth" that could accommodate the largest cruise ships, then deadlocked for three months on which of two developers to choose, causing many to lament the city's inefficacy. Only the Nov. 6 council elections broke the stalemate, and in December the council sealed the deal with Olympia. There's still much more of this saga left to unfold — but at least the ink is dry.
NEVER-ENDING STORIES
Catch and release
There was more push-and-pull between government and fishermen this year, with fishermen fighting every inch of the way. U.S. Senators pleaded with the Department of Commerce to provide disaster relief to fishermen, who they say are suffering under strict regulations. And lobstermen will have to switch to whale-friendly lines next year, a $10,000-$15,000 price tag per lobsterman that Sen. Olympia Snowe would like the government to pay for.
Health check
Anthem, Dirigo's three-year carrier, dropped the state's health insurance program in September after failing to reach a financial agreement. But two days later, Harvard Pilgrim came to the rescue and picked it up. While political squabbles continued over how much Dirigo was saving Maine's health care system, the state's Dirigo Health Agency -- which administers the program -- tried to rein in costs by freezing enrollment for subsidized subscribers last summer.
High-speed connections
Maine got even more wired this past year. The state's ConnectME Authority issued $787,000 in its first grant cycle to expand high-speed Internet service, and Verizon agreed to spend $12 million to push DSL into remote areas. The FCC also promised $24.7 million to service rural health clinics in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire with a telemedicine network.
Forest for the trees
Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co. resubmitted altered development plans to build house lots and resorts around Moosehead Lake -- three years and several revisions after it first suggested the project. The new plans gave citizens the chance to debate, once more, about a possible lost wilderness or a North Woods tourism boom. LURC will decide Plum Creek's fate next year.
Expensive energy
The economy is getting more pricey to power. Home heating bills hit the roof and gas pumps ticked off record prices. Costly diesel threatened the state's logging industry, prompting the governor to declare a civil emergency. And to save money, the Maine Public Utilities Commission argued that the state should leave ISO-New England, the regional entity that manages electric transmission and generation.
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