September 22, 2025Edition

A roundup of new hires, promotions and achievements at businesses, nonprofits, health care institutions and professional services firms in Maine.

Jason Harkins, executive dean of the Maine Business School and dean of Graduate School of Business at the University of Maine, said this year's class of 314 first-year students is the largest ever.

The Portland-based company has put shovels in the ground for its fifth facility, its first in decades, at the Downs mixed-use devekopment.

At just under six square miles and with a population of barely 2,600, Hallowell is one of Maine’s smallest cities. But along its busy downtown district that hugs the Kennebec River, small is not Hallowell’s vibe.

In recent years, the city has found developers to build apartment blocks and renew vintage brick and stone buildings in the downtown area.

With a limited candidate pool and larger companies often drawing people south, small business owners need to be intentional about hiring and retention.

The company, which is based on Riverside Drive in Portland, offers a range of products for mushroom cultivation, including grow kits that are pre-packaged for home use.

Downtown revitalization and development are at the heart of the resurgence of some central Maine cities.