UPDATES—    

Property tax refunds avalible

Free Fare Fridays -for ridding the bus available in Maine

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Governor J.  Baldacci— The Governor talks candidly about Maine's energy independent future with reserach that puts the state on the cutting edge, natural resources that can be used sustainabley, and businesses working with the state to make it happen. 

Pat McGowan speaks about Maine’s Wood to Energy Initiative.  

Commissioner Laura Fortman -  explains the states’ new Job-Search –Job Match program

MAINE INITIATIVES—

Emergency Energy Task Force Report: —Ways to save energy and what the state is doing to help.

Wood to Energy Initative— How to convert to wood pellets.

MAINE COMMUNITY NEWS—

MITF Community Grants – Maine awards communities across the state with funds to improve downtowns

Portland Freedom Trail adds new historic markers.

Holocaust Museaum opens—   The Michael Klahr Museum was officially opened in Augusta

A.G. Rowe — Gets alcoholic producers of energy drinks to stop

 HEALTHCARE NEWS—

State’s Progress in HealthCare initiatives

MAINE AS 'ONE COMMUNITY' NEWS—

Land for Maine's Future grants announced.  More than 36,000 acres will be preserved .

Working Waterfront preservation grants announced  

MAINE'S INNOVATIVE ECONOMY—

Salmon Aquaculture —New Facility is the only research center in North America

New Wind Power Projects—The State gives TIFF tax breaks to wind power project in Western Mts. Off shore wind mills could meet all our energy needs, including heating needs.

Composite Technology Advances Business

Broadband News—Fairpoint Communications is adding jobs and Connect ME is deciding on the next round of grant recipients

MAINE ECONOMIC NEWS—

Taxes—Maine’s tax rating lowered because the old standard was misleading

Hodgon's Yacht expands—The new facility brings high wage jobs to Richmond.

Atkin's Printing— Maine’s oldest union printer is expanding while giving workers a share in profits

Locally Known Organic Farms— the largest in the Northeast plans to supply the entire region with organic greens

MAINE VOICES—

Energy Crisis— Green color jobs are the silver lining

Dem Corps— The organization is saving participants hundreds of dollars in it’s oil program

NEWS FROM CONGRESS—

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen— Bill to reduce heating expenses and winterization loans

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud— Economic help for small ME businesses

GLOBAL NEWS— 

 Al Gore— His global challenge to curb Global Warming

ELETION NEWS— 

Barack Obama— His speech in Berlin

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Statistical information in this publication is obtained from state agencies and government offices.

All photographs, articles, and layout are by Ramona du Houx unless otherwise indicated.

Not authorized by any candidate, candidate’s committee, or the Maine Democratic Party

Last June, Harbor Technologies loaded up a truck and shipped out six bridge beams to Illinois. The composite beams are manufactured using John Hillman’s design, which was recently named one of the Top Ten Inventions at Popular Science magazine’s second annual Invention Awards.

The new fiberglass beams, made exclusively at Harbor Technologies, weigh a fraction of the conventional bridge beam, which is made with concrete with steel rebar inside. Transportation costs of the older-style beams are increasingly daunting as fuel prices rise, each beam demanding a single truck to transport it. As the country’s aging bridges will soon need thousands of beams replaced, the lighter, stronger composite beams are a cheaper, longer-lasting option.

"This is a perfect product, coming onto the market at the perfect time," said Erik Grimnes, marketing manager for Harbor Technologies. "Weighing only a tenth of a conventional beam, it is a greener, more business and environmentally friendly invention."

Harbor Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2003 to meet the growing need for environmentally friendly infrastructure solutions for the marine environment. The company manufactures pilings and dock systems out of composite materials that are lightweight, extremely strong, low-maintenance, cost effective, and with significantly longer life than traditional pressure-treated lumber solutions. For more information, please visit www.harbortech.us.

Harbor Technologies is a member of the Maine Composites Alliance (MCA). MCA is a strategic partner of Maine’s North Star Alliance (NSAI), which Governor John E. Baldacci established in 2006 to spur economic development and create jobs in coastal Maine, where marine-related industries represent the majority of the economic base. This industry-led effort is made possible through a $15 million federal grant funded through NSAI. The competitive grant was awarded in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Initiative.