Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME) articles from December 2002

Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME) archives from December 2002

Senator Hears about What Worries Maine's Small Business Owners.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Edward D. Murphy Dec. 3--Rising health insurance costs and an ailing economy top the list of concerns among many small-business owners in southern Maine, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, learned Monday. Snowe met with 10...

Portland, Maine, Warehouse Helps Area Stave Off Economic Hardship.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 3--A warehouse that opened last week on Portland Harbor has kept a lot of economic dominoes from falling and saved the state more than 300 jobs, authorities say. Economists for the state advised the Maine...

Freeport, Maine-Based L.L. Bean Says Holiday Sales Are Strong So Far.
December 4, 2002

Head of Firm That Provides Research Mice Speaks about DNA in Yarmouth, Maine.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 5--YARMOUTH, Maine--For biotech, the mouse-like squeak of survival is being replaced by a roar of commercial success. That prosperity follows the sequencing of the human genome, according to Warren Cook,...

Store Featuring African Products Opens in Portland, Maine.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Edward D. Murphy Dec. 6--Many people are moved when they spend time in a different culture, inspired by new sights, sounds and smells. Lisa Walker spent two years in South Africa and was so inspired she's decided to share it...

Hotels in Portland, Maine, Owe High Occupancy to Holiday-Season Conventions.
December 6, 2002

Fight against Spam Interrupts E-Mail in Maine.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 10--Customers of Northern Lights Internet Service, a pioneer Internet service provider in Maine, cannot send e-mail to people served by the firm that brought high-speed connections to the state. A...

Natural Grocery Store Anticipates Competitive Market in Portland, Maine.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Edward D. Murphy Dec. 10--The Wild Oats Natural Marketplace on Marginal Way in Portland is scheduled to open next month. The natural-foods supermarket is entering a competitive market. The area is home to The Whole Grocer right...

Maine Internet Service Provider Unintentionally Blocked by Time Warner.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 10--Customers of Northern Lights Internet Service, a pioneer Internet service provider in Maine, cannot send e-mail to people served by the firm that brought high-speed connections to the state. A...

Portland, Maine, Plans to Buy Bayside Rail Yard.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Kelley Bouchard Dec. 10--Portland officials have negotiated a deal to buy 9.5 acres of former railroad land in the Bayside neighborhood from the Maine Department of Transportation for $1.9 million. The land along Somerset...

After Helping to Revive Portland, Maine Real Estate, Foundation Takes Profits.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Tux Turkel Dec. 10--In 1995, the Libra Foundation purchased three of Portland's most-prominent office buildings -- at 465, 477 and 511 Congress St. -- for $11 million and later bought several other significant properties in that...

National Semiconductor Reports Second-Quarter Profit.
December 10, 2002

National Semiconductor Beats Profit Predictions.
December 10, 2002

Program Teaches Maine's Engineers How to Market Their Ideas.
December 11, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 11--The brightest engineers might envision new technologies that could revolutionize the world, but that won't happen if they don't have the business savvy to get their concepts to market. Tuesday, 18 of...

Maine's Governor Shares Lessons That Could Help Business Leaders.
December 11, 2002... Byline: Tux Turkel Dec. 11--PORTLAND, Maine--Soon after taking office eight years ago, Gov. Angus King was using a restroom in the State House complex and was about to push the button on the wall-mounted hand dryer. Then he noticed what...

Hartford, Conn.-Based Aetna Expands Portland, Maine, Call Center.
December 11, 2002... Byline: Edward D. Murphy Dec. 11--PORTLAND, Maine--Mention that you work for a disability insurer in these parts, and most folks will naturally assume you're an employee of UnumProvident. Aetna Inc. is setting out to change that...

Westbrook, Maine, Company Helps Assess Customer-Support Needs.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 13--Jack Eaton was in a key position to spot a trend in the information technology field -- a distinct lack of customer service provided by out-of-state firms. Eaton had been selling computer network...

Maine Public Broadcasting System May Cut Jobs.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Edward D. Murphy Dec. 13--The Maine Public Broadcasting System is facing a $250,000 budget shortfall, and managers on Thursday warned employees that layoffs may be coming. "With the (budget) gap, we thought it was appropriate...

Housing in Falmouth, Maine, Is the Least Affordable in Portland Area.
December 17, 2002... Byline: Tux Turkel Dec. 17--George Savidge grew up in Falmouth in the 1970s. Some day, he hoped, he'd move back, buy a house and raise a family. Last spring, Savidge got a job on the Falmouth police force after working five years as an...

Research Center Awards Maine Labor Bureau Grant to Study Fishermen's Hazards.
December 17, 2002

Maine Retail Employers Hire Fewer Seasonal Workers.
December 18, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 18--The state's retail employers appear a bit cautious this year, an attitude reflected in a slight cooling of seasonal hiring compared to past years. The holidays are traditionally a time when retailers...

Cherryfield, Maine, Native Delivers Wreaths to Arlington, Va.
December 19, 2002... Dec. 19--Morrill Worcester's business drive won him a trip to Washington, D.C., 40 years ago when he was just 12 years old. He topped a newspaper-sponsored contest for news carriers who signed up the most new subscribers and headed to the...

Biddeford, Maine, Firm Specializes in Helping Specialty Foods Entrepreneurs.
December 20, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 20--David McGlinchey had a problem, sort of an embarrassment of riches: His homemade venison mincemeat was so popular he couldn't keep up. Demand for the holiday fare had outstripped his ability to...

Bridgton, Maine, Company Lands $5.98 Million Navy Job.
December 20, 2002

Pubs in Bangor, Topsham, Maine to Reopen.
December 20, 2002

Governor's Study Lauds Maine Programs for Entrepreneurs, Suggests Improvements.
December 24, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 24--Key programs for developing and promoting entrepreneurship in Maine are already in place, but still more can be done, according to a report presented to Gov. Angus King last week. The report by the...

November Traffic Jumps Nearly 12 Percent at Portland, Maine, Airport.
December 24, 2002

Portland, Maine-Based Bank Wins Acquisition Rights.
December 25, 2002

Eliot, Maine, Company Sells Tights over the Internet, Survives Other Dot-Coms.
December 27, 2002... Byline: Matt Wickenheiser Dec. 27--ELIOT, Maine--Amidst the now-cooled wreckage of the dot-com collapse grows an unlikely local survivor. TightsOnLine.com, founded by Judy Rasmussen and Laurel McEwen in 1998 when e-commerce was just...

Snowstorm Slows after-Holiday Sales in Portland, Maine, Area.
December 27, 2002... Byline: Edward D. Murphy Dec. 27--Mainers began heading back to stores Thursday, their post-Christmas returns and bargain-hunting delayed -- but not stopped -- by the first major snowstorm of the winter. At the Maine Mall, business was...

Portland, Maine-Area Development Will Target High-End Renters.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Tux Turkel Dec. 31--SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine--A chill wind was blowing across the Fore River earlier this month as Howard Goldenfarb watched construction workers digging in the frozen mud, preparing the foundation for a poolside,...

Local Publication to Return, Somewhat Changed, to Portland, Maine, Newsstands.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Tux Turkel Dec. 31--After ceasing publication in November, Casco Bay Weekly has been sold and is expected to hit the newsstands again on Jan. 15. But readers shouldn't look for edgy, controversial reporting on politics or...