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October 20, 2014 Edition

Author Mary Quinn Doyle documents the changes in Maine's farms and their economic importance

Lori Valigra

Walking amid the Holstein cows at Benson Farm in Gorham, writer and photographer Mary Quinn Doyle seems at home, petting a calf while scoping out the dairy and composting operations.

  • Opinion
    Opinion

    Maine's varied industries tell a larger story

    Peter Van Allen

    This issue of Mainebiz includes stories that look at some traditional industries, including farming and lobstering, and how they fit with where Maine is headed.

  • Eleven Maine companies recently raised capital

    Lori Valigra

    Maine companies continue to raise money actively, filing Form Ds with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for equity or debt offerings. There were 38 filings through early October of this year compared with 44 for all of 2013.

  • Focus on Down East
    Focus on Down East

    Longtime MDI boat builder sells business to protégé

    Laurie Schreiber

    BERNARD — Boat builder Robert “Chummy” Rich, who has been featured in books and videos, sold his long-running boatbuilding operation, Bass Harbor Boat Inc. in Tremont, to his protégé, Richard Helmke.

  • In Short
    In Short

    Newsworthy people and performances

    New hiresPen Bay Healthcare in Rockport hired Thomas Crosslin III as a surgeon and Norman Keller as a certified physician assistant at its Pen Bay Surgery and Wound Healing Center

  • Focus on Down East
    Focus on Down East

    On the edge: Monhegan Island's year-round residents take charge of their future

    James McCarthy

    Shermie Stanley doesn't need to read the Island Institute's 62-page 2011 status report on Maine's 15 year-round island communities to know how Monhegan Island is faring.

  • Focus on Down East
    Focus on Down East

    From pencil to computer: Lobstermen adapting to digital data collection

    Laurie Schreiber

    Just 10% of Maine's lobster fishermen, selected randomly each year, are required to report landings and other data to the Department of Marine Resources.They use good old pen and paper, the forms provided by the DMR.

Today's Poll

What are the most likely prospects over the next year for Maine's restaurant industry?
Poll Description

Restaurant closures have been making news recently, raising concerns about the future of Maine's eatery industry — especially in foodie destinations like Portland.

Quincy Hentzel, president and CEO of the Greater Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, last week explained some of what's going on. Restaurants face a double whammy of continued staffing shortages and rising inflation, she noted.

People are simply eating out less, too.

"It’s economics — the numbers do not work," she told Mainebiz in our latest Friday Food Insider.

And the rash of restaurant closures isn't confined to southern Maine. In Belfast and Belmont, in Bangor and elsewhere, there's been an uptick in shutdowns.

More Information