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August 22, 2016 Edition
Focus on Greater Bangor & Northern Maine

UMaine, Twin Rivers Paper 'cross-pollinate' R&D

James McCarthy

Twin Rivers Paper Co., a specialty paper company that announced in June it will invest $12 million to upgrade its Madawaska paper mill, is moving its research and development operations from Montreal to Orono.

  • Opinion
    Opinion

    If you’re reading this, you likely have more than one specialty

    I had an interesting conversation with another of Portland's new coffee purveyors. Vagabond Coffee is a food truck that frequently occupies a space on Middle Street. The owner, William “Liam” Hardy, bought a 1949 International Harvester van from an old-timer in Pennsylvania. He restored the truck, adding features like hardwood flooring in the truck bed, and then retrofitted it with coffee-making equipment.

  • So you’ve set up your ESOP. Now what?

    Lori Valigra

    Day 1 after the transition from a private or public company into an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, a company may not seem any different as far as day-to-day operations are concerned, but in the background, it isn't business as usual.

  • Don’t argue semantics: Prepare for changes in fishing, housing

    Lori Valigra

    At a recent Pierce Atwood event on the impact of climate change, an attendee posed a common question: whether the term climate change has hurt scientists and others trying to convince the public that ocean waters are warming and thus changing, and that coastal communities are at risk for flooding or disappearing altogether.

  • In Short
    In Short

    IN SHORT

    New hiresFirst National Bank hired Andrew Farrar as assistant branch manager at its Ellsworth branch. Farrar was previously an assistant store manager at TD Bank.

Today's Poll

Does your company plan to add staff in the next 6 months?
Poll Description

Sponsored by Kennebunk Savings Bank

Next year will bring a host of new challenges for businesses looking to add employees to the payroll. 

Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave law will go into effect, which will allow an employee to take paid leave for up to 12 weeks to care for an ill family member or new child, for instance.

The state's minimum wage will increase by 45 cents an hour, to $15.10 (a separate minimum wage provision will be voted on in Portland that could raise the hourly compensation to $19).

And rising health care premiums will continue to be a struggle for employers.

For companies that plan to grow, all of these factors will have to be managed.

More Information