The Maine Department of Labor reports little change in job market conditions in March, with non-farm jobs reaching the second-highest number on record.
Kelley Bouchard
Staff Writer
Kelley writes about some of the most critical aspects of Maine’s economy and future growth, including transportation, immigration, retail and small business, commercial development and tourism, with emphasis on consumer issues, sustainability and minority ownership. Her wider experience includes municipal and state government, education, history, human rights, health and elder care, the environment and the housing crisis. A Maine native and University of Maine graduate, she was a college intern for two summers at the former Lewiston Evening Journal. She previously worked at the Ipswich Chronicle, Beverly Times and Salem Evening News in Massachusetts. Favorite pastimes include gardening, cooking for family and friends, streaming foreign TV series and kayaking at camp.
Portland’s Amtrak station may move from Thompson’s Point
To shorten trip times, the operator of the Amtrak Downeaster is considering relocating the Portland station to one of 3 sites along St. John Street.
Maine lawmakers kill 2 bills meant to protect privacy of residents’ online data
The state’s business leaders fiercely opposed the restrictions they said would have limited their ability to target ads to potential customers.
Maine House backs data privacy bill
The legislation aims to regulate the collection, use, processing, transfer, sale and deletion of non-publicly available personal data. Business groups say the bill would detach Maine’s businesses from the global online marketplace.
Veggie or grain? Maine’s congressional delegation acts to defend, promote potatoes
All 4 members have joined bipartisan efforts to prevent the potato’s reclassification from vegetable to grain under federal dietary guidelines, and to encourage Japan to drop barriers to buying more U.S. potatoes.
Last-minute budget cut to Maine dairy subsidy riles farmers
In a late-night budget session, lawmakers cut funding for the Dairy Stabilization Program from about $8.9 million to $4.5 million.
After difficult quest for stable housing, Angolan family finds home in Lewiston
Last March, Anadia Miguel was 7 months pregnant and inconsolable in a temporary shelter for asylum seekers in Portland. A year later, much has changed.
Maine dairy farms are dwindling. A task force is being set up to find out why.
Maine has lost one-third of its commercial dairy farms since 2020. Emergency legislation signed by the governor calls for a task force to identify ways to keep the heritage industry healthy for decades to come.
Power restored to most Mainers affected by Friday outages
The outages were caused by high winds and downed tree branches, a Central Maine Power spokesperson said.
Portland jetport pitches parking expansion plan for city, state review
The Portland International Jetport has reduced its proposal by 100 spaces, but that might not satisfy residents of a Stroudwater neighborhood concerned about the $8 million project.