Northern New England News

[Patrick]

Scarborough is developing over 1 million square feet of commercial space this year. thats the size of the maine mall. with scarborough gallery (650,000 SF) Scarborough gateway (325,000 SF) and the new marriot, I would say there is more development going on in scarboroough than there is in Portland. Then skip over the line and we see development in south portland (new best buy, maine mall expansion, maine mall road widening, and new outlet jewelry store, to name a few) like never before....and then drive two miles to downtown and we see the peninsula just totally booming like it hasnt in over a hundred years. not to mention the plans going on in westbrook (new theater, new shopping plazas, plans for 7 story condo tours) man it is just getting to be nuts. now the question is, how fast can it all be completed???

Developer Gene Beaudoin presents plans for the $75 million Scarborough Gateway project to the Planning Board on Tuesday. Cabela?s will be the anchor for the mixed-use development on Haigis Parkway.



Cabela?s decision energizes Scarborough project

SCARBOROUGH ? With mega-retailer Cabela?s? decision Tuesday to withdraw its request for a favorable tax ruling from the state, developers of a $75 million Haigis Parkway project jumped to present their design to the Planning Board.

Amid an atmosphere of giddy disbelief over the Nebraska-based company?s last-minute announcement, Gene Beaudoin of development company New England Expedition and others unveiled more than a dozen renderings of Scarborough Gateway, a 325,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that boasts the giant outdoor clothing and equipment retailer as its anchor store.


During the extensive presentation, the group methodically reviewed every aspect of the project, from layout and landscaping to signs and architectural design. At the end of the meeting, board Chairwoman Susan Auglis listed items she wanted addressed before issuing preliminary approval, including more information on landscape buffering, detailed sign design, height and number of lighting fixtures, architectural designs of each building and a completed traffic study.

Although board members want to ensure traffic impact in the area will be thoroughly studied and accommodated, overall, board members applauded the design and scope of the project.

?I want to compliment you on putting forth the effort,? board member Allen Paul said.

After the meeting, Beaudoin said he thought the presentation had gone well and that he appreciated the comments and suggestions made by the board.

?I believe the public process itself almost always makes for a better project,? he said.

Beaudoin had already postponed the presentation once, awaiting Maine Revenue Services? decision on whether to require Cabela?s to collect state sales tax from Maine residents on catalog and Internet sales if it were to operate a retail store in the state. Initially, Cabela?s said a ruling against the company would derail its entry into Maine, placing the entire Scarborough Gateway project in jeopardy.

But the contents of a brief letter from Mike Callahan, senior vice president of Cabela?s, to Jerome Gerard of Maine Revenue Services shifted the project firmly into high gear.

?Cabela?s is presently re-evaluating its expansion strategy in the Northeast, which may result in a modification of our approach in Maine,? Callahan said in the letter. ?We look forward to opening a Cabela?s retail store in Scarborough, Maine and are committed to the resolution of any issues that may arise from any modification.?

Although Beaudoin said Wednesday that he ?will have a signed lease (from Cabela?s) soon,? the letter fueled additional speculation.

State Sen. Lynn Bromley, D-South Portland, said she believes Cabela?s may establish a portion of its catalog or Internet business in Maine, which would result in the company collecting Maine sales tax without setting a precedent for other states.

Bromley said Wednesday that the publicity regarding Cabela?s request had turned a private and ordinary action into a politicized, public debate.

?In the public discourse, Cabela?s was blackmailing the state and the state was playing hardball,? she said. ?That?s not what it really was. Cabela?s was very generous and said ?This is awkward for the state? then the state said ?We understand what position you?re in,?? she said.

With neither the state nor Cabela?s backing down, yet both still eager to do business, Bromley said she and others began suggesting creative alternatives, such as a call center or Internet kiosk, to make the deal happen. But at what price?

Just last week, many were concerned the retail giant would make good on its threat and back out if it didn?t receive a favorable answer soon, which would have cost Maine residents and the state millions of dollars in lost taxes, wages and tourism. Those fears were not unfounded; on several occasions, the company has bartered its ?destination stores? ? large, expensive buildings with extensive taxidermy dioramas, aquariums and restaurants ? in exchange for local and state incentives.

But Bromley said that isn?t the case in Maine.

?There?s nothing coming from the state ? we?re giving them nothing,? she said.

David Ewald, a consultant for Minnesota-based Gander Mountain, which is a direct competitor of Cabela?s, said Thursday he thinks Cabela?s actions in Maine are ?fairly typical.?

?They want to have states pursue them,? he said. ?They typically will go into two neighboring states and get the states and cities bidding against one another to see who will cough up the most money. I think they?re still trying to play the states off of each other.

Cabela?s is considering a store in Hooksett, N.H., and Ewald said he understood the company was considering the Portsmouth area, too. With two stores in proximity, he suggested, the company?s assertion that the store would draw shoppers to Maine from hundreds of miles away might not be quite accurate.

In its 2004 prospectus, Cabela?s was required to lay out its record of negotiating subsidies. In part, it reads:

?Historically, we have been able to negotiate economic development arrangements relating to the construction of a number of our new destination retail stores, including free land, monetary grants and the recapture of incremental sales, property or other taxes through economic development bonds, with many local and state governments.?

Gander Mountain, the nation?s third largest outdoors retailer, has been battling Cabela?s requests for state and local subsidies in several states. Wednesday, Mike Ayers, spokesperson for Gander, said the company is pleased Cabela?s has withdrawn its ruling request because it?s what his company has pushed for from the beginning.

?We?ve worked hard in lots of states and specifically in Maine, making them well aware of the holes in Cabela?s argument,? Ayers said. ?More and more states are listening and reacting.?

With a Maine Cabela?s imminent, he said Gander Mountain has renewed its efforts to build a retail store in southern Maine.

But Scarborough Economic Development President Harvey Rosenfeld said he hoped people would ?stop talking about the Cabela?s project and start talking about the Scarborough Gateway project.?

With 800 jobs in the making, the 70-acre development will benefit the town and all of southern Maine, Rosenfeld said.

In the meantime, Beaudoin and other Scarborough Gateway project members are scrambling to have everything in order for the public hearing and for consideration of preliminary approval at the Nov. 20 Planning Board meeting.

?We?ll be ready,? Beaudoin said.






for those from out of state, Portland, south portland westbrook andscarborough all form a continuous urban (or at least developed, but not all urban like downtown portland) loop of about 125,000 people. scarborough is becoming an extension of the maine mall area, as is westbrook, as south portland spills over its borders into surrounding towns.

What?s good for one retail goose may be good for Gander Mountain
By Peggy Roberts (published: October 26, 2006)
SCARBOROUGH ? The nation?s third largest retailer of outdoor gear and clothing is scoping out Scarborough for its first store in Maine.

A representative of Gander Mountain confirmed Wednesday that the company started looking at locations in the area almost a year ago, including the existing Wal-Mart building on Payne Road, which is scheduled to be vacated after a new Wal-Mart Supercenter opens nearby.

According to Mike Ayers, chief executive of Gander Mountain?s developer, Minneapolis- based Oppidan Investment Co., the company ?backed off? when Cabela?s, the nation?s largest outdoor retailer, indicated it would base its decision to come to Maine on receiving a ruling from Maine Revenue Services that would exempt the company from collecting state sales tax on catalog and Internet purchases made by Maine residents. Usually, when there is a physical presence in a state, such as a retail store, the company must collect that state?s sales tax on all sales, including those from catalogs and the Internet.

St. Paul, Minn.-based Gander Mountain has been fighting requests from Nebraska-based Cabela?s and another competitor, Bass Pro Shops of Missouri, for subsidies and incentives to finance large portions of their ?destination stores? in many states.

Ayers said when Cabela?s asked Maine for the tax consideration, Gander ?stopped all efforts while waiting to see what happened to Cabela?s and the state.? But with this week?s decision by Cabela?s to withdraw its request, Ayers said he expects Gander Mountain to instruct him to ?reopen the search.?

?We have always been confident that Cabela?s would not get the favorable ruling,? Ayers said. ?Despite the fact they?ve been saying all along they will not come, they will come. It?s great news all around the country ? it says they will come for free, which is what we asked for in the beginning.?

And with the presence of a Cabela?s, he believes Gander Mountain will be even more eager to come to Maine.

Sporting the slogan, ?We Live Outdoors,? Gander Mountain has offered hunting, fishing, camping, marine and outdoor lifestyle products and services since 1960. The company has 103 retail stores in 21 states.

Although originally founded as a catalog company, Gander Mountain sold its catalog business to Cabela?s in 1996.

Typically, Gander Mountain stores are between 55,000 and 95,000 square feet. Ayers said a Gander Mountain store in Maine would most likely be in the 65,000-square-foot range.

Asked if the company would reconsider the existing Wal-Mart building, he said he?d been told by the developer that it would be torn down.

When questioned about Gander?s interest in the building, Ben Divine, developer and principal partner in Great Island Acquisitions, said there is ?no active negotiation with them.?

?I?ve had real estate consultants ask if it?s available,? he said.

While it?s not definite, Divine said one option is to raze the building and construct smaller retail stores in its place. But he added that the 120,000-square-foot structure ?could accommodate (Gander Mountain).?

Harvey Rosenfeld, president of the Scarborough Economic Development Corp., said he was unaware of Gander Mountain?s interest in the area, but was not surprised.

?Retailers tend to like to be near each other,? Rosenfeld said. ?That seems to be a trend with all kinds of retailers. Scarborough may be on their map.?



Peggy Roberts can be reached at 781-3661 or proberts@theforecaster.net.

 

[Patrick]

Portland and south portland are having serious discussions about consolidating their police, rescue, fire, bomb, and hazardous waste teams, among other things. first step toward annexing south portland has arrived. boo yah, here comes an instant jump in population to 90,000 by the year 2020. would be nice. i mean they are so continuous that it would make sense in addition to just sounding better population wise.

 

[Patrick]

Councilor faces 2 challengers for District 1 seat
By Kate Bucklin (published: October 26, 2006)
PORTLAND ? Bayside redevelopment. Maine State Pier. Peaks Island. The Eastern Waterfront. The Arts District. The Old Port.

District 1 is a hotbed of issues for the City Council. The district covers the peninsula from the Eastern Promenade to High Street and also the neighborhood on the Hannaford end of Back Cove.

City Councilor Will Gorham said he found his first term in office challenging and is up for another three years of representing the people of Munjoy Hill and downtown businesses. Gorham will compete for his council seat this fall against two political newcomers.

Kirk Goodhue has served on several city committees and owns property on Peaks Island. He is running, he said, because the council needs new eyes and a change in personality.

Kevin Donoghue is a recent graduate of the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine and often offers his opinions at city meetings. At 27, he said he wants to represent Portland?s younger residents.

Kevin J. Donoghue

As a regular at Planning Board meetings during the past couple years, Donoghue, 27, consistently advocates for alternative transportation to be considered in new developments.

?There are a number of people without cars,? said Donoghue, who is among those ranks. He would like the city to change its 1-to-1 parking requirements for new residential development because, Donoghue said, that would lower building costs for developers and in turn lower the cost of housing in Portland.

?I think the biggest issue is getting a handle on the continued housing crisis,? the North Street resident said.

Development in Bayside ignores the Bayside Vision, which called for transit-oriented development and a critical mass of housing, Donoghue said. Instead, he said, the city is prioritizing parking garages, retail and excessive surface parking.

?What you need is people on the streets,? said Donoghue, who is single and not currently employed.

A graduate of UMass-Amherst and the Muskie School, Donoghue also wants Portland to get a handle on gentrification, which he blames in part on owners of multiple properties in the city.

The current City Council sometimes acts as an agent of the city departments rather than of the people, Donoghue said. If elected, he said he would strive to make it easier for citizens to be involved.

?Citizen involvement is seen as an obstruction sometimes by the council,? he said.

Donoghue does not think the city should be spending time and money lobbying the state Legislature on the Peaks Island secession issue. He said the city should participate in fair and equitable negotiations and after that, let democracy and state laws decide the island?s independence.

R. Kirk Goodhue

Goodhue, 54, owns Port Island Realty, a real estate company with offices in Portland and on Peaks Island and Long Island. Part of the reason Goodhue decided to run, he said, is because he cares a lot about Peaks and wants to give a voice to islanders.

?I?ve been quite vocal in my opposition to secession,? the Federal Street resident said. ?It is short-sighted and I have seen no numbers to make me think otherwise.?

A University of Maine graduate and father of one adult daughter, Goodhue is also frustrated with what he called the ?predetermined? process undertaken by the city regarding the Maine State Pier. He said the city has not given enough thought to how the pier could be developed to make money and is instead relying on private developers to make the determination.

?That is not the way to do business,? he said, adding that private pier owners should also be given flexibility to develop their piers.

Goodhue proposes the city hire a financial analyst to work through major development issues. He said while current city staff in finance and economic development do their best, the city would be well served to have an educated financial planner/business manager on staff.

District 1, Goodhue said, needs a proactive representative, especially in Bayside and for Peaks Island.

The island, he said, could benefit from relaxed limits on rental apartments, and operation of a taxi service.

People are afraid to walk around Bayside at night, Goodhue said. He said the city needs to figure out a way to balance the social service needs of that community with the needs of residents.

?We need to continue offering the services, but they need to be managed better,? he said. ?It?s not getting any better down there.?

William R. Gorham

During his first term as the District 1 councilor, Gorham has dealt with big development including the Westin project, Riverwalk and Ocean Gateway, unique political situations like the Peaks Island secession bid and neighborhood concerns in Bayside and in the Old Port.

The owner of Shamrock Realty, Gorham has been involved with real estate in Portland for 35 years and said that experience has been useful when working on land deals and development agreements for the city.

Gorham lives with his wife, Jaye, and son, Patrick, on North Street in a house that has been in his family for several generations.

He is proud of his work on the Eastern Waterfront Riverwalk deal, in which he was able to add language that ensures the contractors on the garage and condominium development are from Maine when possible.

If re-elected, the Portland High School graduate and judicial officer wants to put some focus on transportation issues. He is not opposed to a light rail system.

?We need to figure out a way to get people in and out of Portland better,? the 57-year-old said.

Gorham also wants to work on adding to the housing stock in Portland and is gauging the Munjoy Hill neighborhood to see if the old Marada Adams School site could become housing.

The Boys and Girls Club board member and former nightclub owner has also proposed further limits on the number of bars allowed in the Old Port Overlay District and a moratorium to limit clubs from staying open past 1 a.m.

As for Peaks secession, Gorham joined his fellow councilors in unanimously voting against secession in June.

?My concerns are for the welfare and safety of the people out there,? he said. ?They are not going to be better off.?



Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.

 

[M. Brown]

Portland and south portland are having serious discussions about consolidating their police, rescue, fire, bomb, and hazardous waste teams, among other things. first step toward annexing south portland has arrived. boo yah, here comes an instant jump in population to 90,000 by the year 2020. would be nice. i mean they are so continuous that it would make sense in addition to just sounding better population wise.

Now this is interesting.

I just guessed what Manch's pop should be now.

 

[Patrick]

Looks like wrecker drivers fucked with the wrong councilor: Will Gorham. (photo/Mich Ouellette)

Gorham bans towing on Munjoy Hill
Secret move prompted by anger over wreckers' practices

By Chris Busby

Portland City Councilor Will Gorham had had enough. Tow truck drivers on Munjoy Hill had been speeding through the neighborhood, blocking streets, and bullying residents for months, he said. Then, this past summer, came the incident that finally pushed Gorham "over the edge."

A wrecker had a car on its hook, but had not yet moved the vehicle. The charge to get an unmoved car off the hook is $25; once it's been moved, it's $65. The wrecker driver saw the car's owners, an elderly couple, come out of their house to retrieve their vehicle. According to Gorham, the driver then "jumped in his truck, moved it two feet, and said, ?Now you owe me $65.'" The couple did not have that much cash on them, so their vehicle was towed away.

"I said ?Fuck this,'" Gorham recalled, and he got in touch with City Manager Joe Gray. "I said, ?I want towing suspended immediately,'" and following a meeting with Gray, city parking division head John Peverada and members of the police department, Gorham got his way.

Except in emergency circumstances, wreckers can no longer tow vehicles on Munjoy Hill. Cars on the wrong side of the street during street-sweeping days are ticketed, but not towed. Towing will take place on the Hill during snow-removal parking bans this winter.

Gorham, who represents District 1 (the East End, downtown and islands) has kept the tow ban a secret, even from fellow City Councilors, because, he said, "I didn't want people taking advantage of it" by leaving their cars on the wrong side of the street. He also expressed concern City Councilor Karen Geraghty, who represents the West End and Parkside, will demand towing be resumed on the Hill.

Vehicles are not towed from streets off the peninsula, Peverada said.

"Tow truck drivers are out of control," Gorham said. "They don't give a shit." As another example of wrecker drivers' alleged callousness, Gorham noted the incident this past summer when a tow truck struck and killed a wayward moose on the Hill.

The drivers had been "acting like a bunch of freakin' renegade cowboys or something," he said. "We told them to slow down, and they gave us a big ?Fuck you.'"

"Fuckin' A, yeah! That's awesome!" exclaimed Hill resident Katie Brown upon hearing news of the tow ban. "You mean something positive is happening? Holy shit!"

Brown, a member of the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization (MHNO), saw the aftermath of the moose collision last summer and was deeply disturbed. She said she's had to call towing companies in the past when wreckers were idling on her street, waiting for 8 a.m., the hour when they can start hauling cars parked on the wrong side. "One morning my whole apartment filled up with smog," she said. "I've had to call towing companies and ask them to disperse their trucks."

Brown said she's previously tried to work on towing issues as part of an MHNO committee, but made little progress. "I never imagined we'd be able to stop the towing," she said. "I might even have to vote for him now," she added, referring to Gorham, who is seeking a second term this fall.

One of Gorham's two challengers for his council seat, Kirk Goodhue, is less impressed, and expressed concern over the way the decision was made: in secret, and at the request of only one of the nine councilors.

"You don't have policies per neighborhood, you have them for the whole city," said Goodhue. "You don't do it for one portion of one district," he continued, "which happens to be the portion where the councilor lives."

Gorham lives on North Street, on Munjoy Hill. The ban is not in effect for other parts of his district.

MHNO president Marcos Miller also expressed concern, though he said he doesn't expect any neighbors to complain about the ban ? "nobody likes getting their car towed," he noted.

"I kind of wonder about one councilor making orders," said Miller. "Is this how we make public policy? Are we reacting to situations or are we putting out a plan for how things should be?"

"I suspect some of the cynics in the neighborhood might see this is a pre-election gimmick or something," Miller added.

Gorham's other challenger, Kevin Donoghue, could not be reached for comment this afternoon. Neither could Gray, Geraghty or several other councilors contacted shortly before this article was posted.

Councilor Cheryl Leeman, who represents East Deering, reacted to the news Gorham had done this by saying, "Good for him."

"It's the responsibility of the district councilor to take action, and he did that," Leeman said.

"I will be the first and foremost to say we have some tow truck drivers that give everybody else a bad reputation," Leeman continued. "They are relentless about this pursuit of $65 to an awful lot of innocent people. This has been an ongoing complaint for as long as I can remember."

Wrecker drivers "get a bad rap for a good reason," Leeman said, though she added not all the drivers are unscrupulous.

The Bollard was unable to reach any tow companies doing business for the city late this afternoon. Peverada said he's gotten no feedback from wrecker drivers about this decision.

Gorham has. "The tow truck drivers hate me for it," he said.


Chris Busby is editor and publisher of The Bollard. He can be reached at editor@thebollard.com.

 

[Smuttynose]

real classy...

Pair nabbed for impersonating police, asking for donations in memory of Michael Briggs
By KATHRYN MARCHOCKI

Two East Boston men are accused of impersonating police officers and collecting cash donations in memory of slain Manchester police Officer Michael L. Briggs, Boston police said.

Boston police were tipped off to the scheme about 5:11 p.m. Friday by an East Boston woman who said two men identifying themselves as Mass. State Police troopers came to her apartment asking for a donation for Briggs. The woman said she gave them money and they left.

Boston police found two men matching the description she gave police hiding between cars at Marion and Paris streets. The woman positively identified them, police said.

The men had on them cash and checks made out to Massachusetts State Police along with a notebook that contained the names and addresses and donation amounts from 62 people, police said.

Police arrested Ricardo Acevedo, 40, and Ralph Gaskell, 54, both of East Boston on charges of impersonating a police officer, larceny by false pretenses and entry by false pretenses.

They will be arraigned tomorrow in East Boston District Court.

 

[Patrick]

The Maine med crane fell onto three nearby houses today due to high winds. I was wondering where the heck that thing went this morning when I drove down congress.

Police have blocked off streets in a neighborhood on Portland's West End after gusty winds knocked a construction crane onto at least three nearby houses, causing extensive damage. Police say there are no immediate reports of injury. The incident happened around 10:00 this morning at a construction site at Maine Medical Center. An alternate route to the emergency entrance of the hospital has been established. Heavy winds have been hammering the state since yesterday, causing widespread damage and power outages. News 13 has a crew on the scene and will bring you more information as it becomes available.

 

[Patrick]

http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default.aspx

watch the vid

 

[Patrick]

A 17-story crane crashes onto adjacent houses at site of major construction project in portland.

Strong wind toppled a construction crane near Maine Medical Center on Sunday, sending the 165-foot-tall device crashing onto three buildings in a cacophony of screeching metal and crumbling bricks.
No one was injured in the crash, which displaced more than a dozen residents and shook nearby homes after one end of the crane came to a rest in the middle of Ellsworth Street.
Authorities closed streets and re-routed emergency room traffic after the collapse, which was reported around 9:56 a.m.
Firefighters and hospital officials said an investigation is forthcoming into whether the crane was structurally sound before it fell.
The crane collapse was one of many storm-related incidents Sunday morning, as Mainers awoke to downed power lines, yards littered with tree limbs and ripped-up political signs scattered along area roads.
Several communities still lacked electricity after a storm blew into Maine this weekend with wind gusts that topped 70 mph. Strong wind continued through Sunday afternoon.
At Maine Medical, work crews sawed the collapsed crane into pieces later in the afternoon, working to move what was by then mostly twisted metal back to the construction yard from where it had come.
Portland Fire Chief Fred LaMontagne said he expected work in the West End neighborhood to continue throughout the night.
The crash frightened neighbors, who said they were wary of the crane as it wobbled during this weekend's storm.
The crane narrowly missed a car headed to the hospital when it landed near the middle of the road on Ellsworth Street.
"The first thing I saw was the ball coming down really fast about 10 feet from us. It hit the roadway, and the rest of the crane just fell on the buildings in front of us," said Colleen Mowatt, 48, of Gorham, whose boyfriend had hit the brakes in the nick of time.
The falling crane hit multi-unit homes on Wescott and Ellsworth streets. Two of the three homes that were struck were occupied at the time, firefighters said.
Mary Burns lived in the Wescott Street building hit first by the falling crane.
"I thought the building was just falling," said Burns, 22, who heard a loud crash, looked out her window, saw the wreckage and called 911.
She planned to stay in a hotel at the hospital's expense Sunday night.
Displaced residents and neighbors said they were relieved no one was hurt by the crane, which tore through a third-floor wall of the Wescott Street building -- one resident's living room was exposed -- and damaged the roof of both buildings on Ellsworth Street.
"This is a miracle nobody got hurt," said Paula Wilhoite, 53, who lives on nearby Russell Street.
Wilhoite said she wasn't surprised that gusting wind felled the crane. She and other neighbors said they wondered why no one had lowered itduring Saturday's storm.
Wilhoite said she thought a work crew finally had come to bring the crane down Sunday morning when she first heard the sound of screeching metal -- as if an engine had started abruptly in the cold.
Then, she said, there was a moan, and her house shook.
"You could tell a house got hit," Wilhoite said.
Maine Medical paid to relocate 13 residents after the collapse, firefighters said.
Fire Chief LaMontagne said ambulances were re-routed through Ellsworth and Crescent streets to the emergency room.
He said there were no reported complications after firefighters closed sections of Ellsworth and Charles streets and alerted ambulances of the route change.
The crane was operated by William A. Berry & Son of Massachusetts, which is overseeing a six-phase, $112 million construction project at the hospital, said Vincent Conti, Maine Medical's president and chief executive officer.
Conti said the crane that collapsed was used to place steel beams for the hospital's new maternity wing, which was scheduled to be completed next year. He said construction probably would be delayed a couple weeks.
Conti said U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration officials would lead an investigation into whether the company could have prevented the collapse.
The construction company was fined about $46,000 in July 2003 after OSHA ruled it could have prevented the death of a worker who fell two stories at the site of a new dormitory at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., earlier that year, according to the agency's Web site.
OSHA inspectors found the company had not provided adequate fall protection to employees, according to the news release. The fine was reduced later to $36,960 on appeal, according to news reports.
LaMontagne said the Fire Department didn't field any calls from neighbors concerned about the crane before it collapsed.
The crane at Maine Medical was not set up the same way as a crane that is being used for work on Portland City Hall. The crane at City Hall is mounted on a pedestal that allows it to rotate like a weather vane in strong wind, LaMontagne said.
The crane at Maine Medical was set in a fixed position, balanced with a counterweight meant to hold it in place during storms, he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be reached at 791-6325 or at:
eaull@pressherald.com


Reader comments

Kelly of Hollis, ME
Oct 30, 2006 1:54 PM
Regardless of what information was left out or who was actually in charge of the crane the thing should have been some how secured or taken down to help prevent this. There was plenty of pre warning time about the winds and even if you happend to be not watching tv or listening to the radio for the entire day before, you could have easily looked out the window and seen how hard the wind was blowing. I would like to say, since everyone seems to be overlooking the good part here, that that was very big of Maine Medical Center to pay for those people to stay in a hotel. I commend them for their kind act and I think who ever it was that was in charge of that crane should reimburse Maine Med.

Ryan of Portland, ME
Oct 30, 2006 1:23 PM
Well I am a neighbor (the thing landed about 100 feet from my front door though my building wasnt hit) and I can say I never gave it a second thought, it's not the thing you necessarily think you have to check up on. A crane that big (it took them several hours just to get it into position), you figure they have safety procedures and that it's engineered to not do what it did. I will say that the windstorm that was occuring when it came down was one of the strongest I've ever experienced, my whole buiding was shaking and to be perfectly honest though I live right next to where this thing came down, I didn't even hear it fall, knew nothing about it until the police came and knocked on my door asking me to move my car. Point is, the windstorm was a pretty extreme event and though we always like to point the finger of blame in situatons like this (and perhaps there was wrongdoing), I think you also have to consider that it just happened because it was a crazy windwtorm.

Jonathan of Falmouth, ME
Oct 30, 2006 10:29 AM
I love that they got the contractor wrong and then threw in a case against the contractor. William A. Berry & Son was i believe the general contractor, under them was Novell Iron the fabricator and then Rose steel under Novell was the steel erector. Rose steel rented the crane from a crane rental company in RI. Rose is the one who operated and brought the crane on-site... I know this because it was Rose who called my father to bring in his crane to dismantle the collasped crane.

I love how this paper doesn't care to get any facts straight.

Norman de Plume
Oct 30, 2006 10:16 AM
Gee whiz 'annoyed', there is a difference between 'bashing Maine" and "constructive criticism". The suggestion is to bring criminal charges against a non-Maine company, a company from Massachusetts.
You can bet if it was the reversal, a Maine company would be facing charges in another state, and rightly so.

By the way the word "accident" is actually a very misused word especially in Maine . "Accidents" refers to an event 100% preventable. High dangerous wind warnings were issued a day before the crane crashed---Was the crane falling preventable before it happen? If no,then anacident, if Yes...it was not an accident.

Jeanne of Topsham, ME
Oct 30, 2006 9:45 AM
I realize that hindsight is 20-20 - and I'm sure that there are many neighbors who now wish they had called the police or fire departments to report those concerns during Saturday's storm. But the ultimate responsibility was with the construction company who should have made sure their site was secure. Someone from that company should have realized that if trees were being blown down that their crane was also at risk - I see negligence here.

Stacey of North Berwick, ME
Oct 30, 2006 9:32 AM
I must say that the Crane tipping over was an accident. It seems that the newspaper left out a lot more information that you all should have known prior to writing your comments about the accident. The death that "Could have been prevented" was actually no fault of the companies and where the whole story was not mentioned this little tidbit should no have been included into this article! I understand that the persons who where affected by this may been emotionally hurting but at least nobody was physically hurt!!!! This definately was not the State of Maine's fault but the fault (in my eyes) of the operator of the crane for not tieing it down when there where reports out on Friday of the high winds coming for the weekend!

Annoyed of The Great State of, ME
Oct 30, 2006 9:23 AM
Whenever there are comments posted on an article, no matter what the article is about, you can be assured that a good percentage of them will be written by people who are bashing Maine. People, if you don't like this state, GET OUT!!! Stop bashing it and bashing it and just leave if you hate it so much. If there is one thing I can't stand is people who do nothing but complain, and do nothing to improve their situaion--it's really annoying!!

joan of portland, me
Oct 30, 2006 8:54 AM
I think we need to go easy on the construction companies. If you checked all the OSHA records, most companies have some problems because it's DANGEROUS work. I really don't think they said "hey let's see what kind of damage the wind can do with this crane". Give em a break folks, sometimes there are Accidents.

Norman de Plume
Oct 30, 2006 7:57 AM
"'The crane was operated by William A. Berry & Son of Massachusetts..The construction company was fined about $46,000 for death of a worker'"


I know its maine, i know maine is not tough on criminals,i know in maine 'no one is responsible for nothing',...Nevertheless how about filing criminal negligent charges on the construction company?

michelle henry of oob, me
Oct 30, 2006 7:12 AM
i guess it just goes to show you who ever hired this company SHOULD HAVE CHECKED THE OSHA reports before hiring them, i guess its just luck no one got hurt physicaly, just emotionaly, but it takes an accident to see the true colors! another fine job by the wonderful state of maine we live in!!

The crane damaged the roofs of these buildings on Ellsworth Street in Portland's West End. When it fell, it narrowly missed a car heading down the street to the hospital.

165-foot crane being used at a construction site at Maine Medical Center in Portland fell onto three buildings on Ellsworth and Wescott streets Sunday morning. This was the scene as viewed from Maine Medical looking out onto Wescott Street. The white house on the right fronts Ellsworth.

 

[Corey]

Wow I didn't know there was that much damage until seeing the pictures just now. At 17 stories, the crane was once the tallest thing in our skyline!

 

[Patrick]

Franklin is 17, too! but its built on a downward slope

I think the eastland still would be the tallest, though, given its position atop the hill there. sign included, of course.

 

[Patrick]

Woman was stabbed last night in portland outside of the way soup kitchen, following a dispute with a man. suffered no serious injuries, but was taken to maine med.

 

[Patrick]

Maine job market also unkind to best, brightest
I read Beth Quimby's article, "Colleges say they help slow state's' brain drain'?" (Oct. 24), with interest.
I almost followed the typical brain-drain pattern.
I grew up in Saco, graduated near the top of my class, and went to college in the Boston area. After graduating in June, I decided I would heed the guilty feelings I'd had ever since reading an article about brain drain in 2004. Happy to think that maybe I could singlehandedly turn Maine's economy around by coming back, I moved to Portland.
I was excited about my prospects here -- I graduated cum laude from Wellesley College, one of the best-ranking liberal arts schools in the country, and spent a year at MIT. I figured that with such a great education, it would be no problem at all to find an urban planning job and set about fixing all of Maine's problems.
As you may guess, I was wrong.
After months of networking, sharing my resume and attending all sorts of meetings, I still do not have a job in my desired field. And it is not because Maine's colleges and universities are not doing a good enough job of educating people; it is because there are not enough good jobs here.
My fellow "best and brightest" 2006 graduates are struggling as well, even the ones who attended Maine colleges.
Without jobs, we are forced to prove the finance authority study right: We, the well-educated 20-24-year-olds, are going to move away. But it is not necessarily because we want to.
Erin Tito
Portland

This article could have easily been written by me two years from now (I was looking into graduate courses for urban planning). Thanks for saving me the hassle, Erin.

 

[Patrick]

CRUNCHED BY CRANE

A construction worker surveys the damage to one of the apartment buildings struck by the crane that fell Sunday. Some tenants and the owner of one of the damaged buildings said they believe the buildings may have to be demolished.

Remains of the crane that toppled Sunday in Portland are prepared for removal. Federal investigators are looking into whether the crane was properly secured in anticipation of the weekend storm. An official of the company that hired the crane said he believes it was.

Tenants of two downtown apartment buildings smashed by a toppled construction crane said Monday they don't know when, or if, they will be able to move back.
"We're going day by day right now," said Ed Sargent, who shared a first-floor apartment at 23 Ellsworth St. and is one of 13 local tenants now staying in hotel rooms.
The 165-foot crane used in a Maine Medical Center expansion project fell as strong wind buffeted the city around 10 a.m. Sunday. It crashed through the roofs of three buildings, two of which were occupied apartment houses. No one was injured.
On Monday, as cleanup crews took away massive pieces of the crane on flatbed trailers, engineers inspected the apartment buildings and some tenants returned to collect belongings. Federal investigators also were at the construction site, looking for clues to why the crane fell and whether it was properly stabilized.
Several tenants and the owner of one of the buildings said they believe the damage might be so severe the houses may be demolished. A Portland fire official said that decision will be up to the owners and the insurance companies, but that the buildings appear to be salvageable.
"I believe they can be repaired," said Deputy Chief Robert Wassick.
Beth Villandry walked out of her first-floor apartment at 23 Ellsworth St. with arms full of framed photos and other personal items. "Everything I owned was in there," she said.
Villandry was relieved after getting inside for a look. "My apartment wasn't too bad," she said.
The crane went right through the roof, and branches ripped off a nearby tree were still sticking out of the exposed third-floor apartment Tuesday afternoon.
"A lot of the personal items were destroyed upstairs," said Steve Cascio, the building's owner. After walking through, Cascio said he was convinced someone would have been killed if the third-floor apartment hadn't been empty at the time of the accident. "Very lucky," he said.
Tenants of a larger apartment building around the corner on Wescott Street were frustrated that they could not get to their clothes and other belongings.
Mary Burns and Aimee Ruarke were in their second-floor apartment on Wescott Street when they heard twisting steel and felt the crane hit the roof. They came back Monday hoping to get some information and some clothes they could wear to work, but left without either. "They're not telling us much," Burns said.
Wassick, the deputy fire chief, said the Wescott Street building took a more direct hit from the crane and that the brick building was still being made safe.
The unusual accident left people in the construction industry puzzled. Cranes are safe if used properly, they said, and when accidents do occur they tend to be while the crane is hoisting heavy weights.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating whether the contractors working on the hospital addition followed safety guidelines, a spokeswoman for the agency said.
"We're going to get the operator's manual for the crane. Usually they'll have some safety guidelines for when there are high winds, for what the requirements are," said Karen Billups, assistant director for the OSHA area that includes Portland. "We don't know what caused it. Everybody is kind of assuming the high wind."
Billups said OSHA typically investigates workplace accidents that injure an employee, but is probing this one because someone could have been hurt had it happened at another time.
William A. Berry & Son of Massachusetts is the general contractor on the $112 million hospital expansion project, and Rose Steel of Greenland, N.H., is the subcontractor using the crane to erect the structure.
"Our best information is the crane was secured according to procedures Friday night at the close of business," said David Passafaro, vice president of William A. Berry & Son. "They did anticipate what the weather was. There are procedures to secure against (severe) conditions, and those procedures were followed Friday night to the best of our knowledge."
The crane fell just before 10 a.m., and the storm's strongest gust -- 55 mph -- was recorded at the Portland jetport at 10:12 a.m., said National Weather Service meteorologist in Gray.
Wind in the Maine Medical Center neighborhood -- at the crest of the Portland peninsula's Western Promenade -- tend to be stronger than those measured at the jetport, officials said.
The wind direction also shifted, originally blowing in from the southwest on Saturday and shifting to the southeast Sunday. When securing a crane, operators will sometimes seek to orient it so it is facing downwind, said Alan Burton, vice president for safety for Cianbro Corp., which employs many cranes in its construction business.
Securing a crane is specific to its model and is prescribed in the owner's manual, Burton said. Operators may consider the presence of nearby buildings when orienting the crane before securing it, he said.
The crane that fell Sunday is a Link-Belt HC248, which in the industry is called a lattice truck crane. The base is a truck chassis with stabilizers that extend outward to help keep the chassis from moving or tipping. Rising from that chassis is a 100-foot boom, constructed of a latticework of steel rods. The luffing jib extends from the boom and in this case was 165 feet long, said Passafaro, of William A. Berry & Son.
Large cranes are seldom designed to lower the boom for overnight storage, nor are there typically support wires attached to help weather a storm, construction executives said. Disassembling the crane is an extensive, time-consuming and expensive process, said Passafaro.
"Once you've erected a crane, you don't want to have to move it," he said.
Passafaro said work will resume shortly on that portion of the hospital project and a new crane will be brought in. "I think we will take steps together with the hospital to assure people (about) what we are doing and what we will do going forward," he said.
Tenants in the apartment buildings said they had talked nervously about the tall crane, especially as it visibly swayed in the wind on Saturday.
"We all sort of said, you know, 'Do you think that's OK?' " Villandry said.
They assumed the construction crew had taken precautions to keep it in place, according to Sargent. "I said, 'They gotta know what they're doing.' "
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
dhench@pressherald.com
Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791-6324 or at:

 

[Smuttynose]

Lynch has commanding lead in governor's race

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A new poll shows that Gov. John Lynch is running away with his bid for re-election.

In a poll of 508 likely voters, Lynch is leading challenger Jim Coburn, 71 to 18 percent. The Granite State Poll was conducted for WMUR by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

About 7 percent of those polled were undecided. The poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percent.

Pollster Andy Smith said that the question is no longer who will win the election, but whether Lynch can beat Steve Merrill's record, when he got 70 percent of the vote in 1994.

Smith said Lynch may help Democrats vying for the state Senate and even the House, which has been held by Republicans since the 1800s.

"Right now, people say in the New Hampshire House races, 45 percent plan to vote Democrat, and 36 percent plan to vote Republican," Smith said. "If this holds true, we could be seeing an historic election."

On Thursday, WMUR will have results from the first night of its tracking poll in the congressional races.

-Wow, thats amazing. I think I could get more than 18 percent.

 

[Patrick]

Officer cleared in fatal shooting
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By DAVID HENCH, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald Friday, November 10, 2006

A Portland police officer acted reasonably when he shot and killed an armed man in a struggle during a drug arrest on Aug. 25, the Maine Attorney General's Office said Thursday.
The investigation concluded that Sgt. Robert Martin thought Richard "Cali" Duncan, 26, was intent on shooting him and that using his own weapon was Martin's only viable option.
"Sgt. Martin actually and reasonably believed that deadly force on his part was necessary to protect himself and others in countering the imminent threat against them," the report said.
Portland Police Chief Tim Burton said the investigation showedthat the officers handled themselves appropriately.
"The officer's conduct and all the officers were courageous and consistent with the expectations we have for all our officers when confronting highly dangerous and stressful situations," Burton said.
"Certainly our understanding of the facts from the beginning indicated to us that it appeared to be a justifiable use of deadly force, but of course it's vital the Attorney General's Office conduct their investigation," he said.
The Attorney General's Office investigates every incident in which police use deadly force.
The report said that just before 11 p.m. on Aug. 25, officers, acting on a tip that a drug deal was in the works, pulled over the car that Duncan was driving near Forest and Pleasant avenues. Alerted that Duncan might have a gun, police ordered him out of the car and tried to search him. He fought the officers, at one point pulling a .25-caliber semi-automatic from his clothing, the report said.
Martin struggled with Duncan on the ground, with the officer pressing his chest onto Duncan's arm so Duncan couldn't point the gun.
"Sgt. Martin yelled more than once, 'He's trying to shoot me,"' the attorney general's report said. "While atop Duncan's lower body and in fear of being shot by Duncan, Sgt. Martin drew his service weapon and brought it to bear at Duncan's lower back." When Duncan refused to stop fighting, Martin fired a single shot. Duncan died a short while later at the hospital.
An autopsy showed Duncan had cocaine in his system when he was killed, the report said.
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
dhench@pressherald.com




Earlier ity was reported that this guy was killed, I guess that was a typo.

I dont think they meant for it to come across this way, but it sure is funny how the below article refers to the dude as a "city man" because he is from portland.

City man indicted in gun battle
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By DAVID HENCH, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald Friday, November 10, 2006

A Cumberland County grand jury indicted a Portland man on aggravated attempted-murder charges and other counts in a shootout last month in South Portland that hospitalized one police officer.
Terrel Dubois, 22, was indicted on eight counts overall for allegedly shooting at two police officers who had confronted him in an apartment on Elm Street on Oct. 11, said Assistant District Attorney Robert "Bud" Ellis.
Ellis made the announcement at a news conference in front of the courthouse Thursday, flanked by South Portland Police Chief Ed Googins and Portland Police Chief Tim Burton.
Portland police detectives, led by Sgt. Robert Doherty, had been searching for Dubois, who was wanted on charges of kidnapping, terrorizing, criminal threatening and violating bail conditions. The detectives went to the apartment with South Portland Officer Steven Connors to obtain information about where Dubois might be staying. When Doherty and Connors saw Dubois in a back room, they told him to come out. Instead, he grabbed a gun and started firing, a witness said later.
The officers returned fire. Dubois was injured, as was Connors, who was hit in the head, the shoulder, the torso and the hand.
Ellis said the grand jury also charged Dubois with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, elevated aggravated assault and drug trafficking, and sought to make him forfeit his car, the gun he allegedly fired at police and $1,200 in cash, all of which investigators believe were connected to his cocaine dealing.
Some of the charges Dubois faces are among the most serious crimes in the state and permit a life sentence if convicted, though Ellis said 30 years in prison is more customary with such charges. Dubois also was indicted on a charge of violating bail conditions stemming from an earlier kidnapping arrest.
Burton said the incident, as well as another armed confrontation that occurred in August, are evidence of a growing problem with drug dealers being armed and dangerous.
"That's a very frightening thing the fact it happened multiple times," Burton said. "The convergence of drugs and guns resulting in violence is something we need to take very seriously."
The indictments against Dubois, while not a surprise, are welcome, Googins said.
"I think all the officers are working hard to make sure the criminal justice system works swiftly," he said.
After the gun battle, Dubois was taken to Maine Medical Center in critical condition. His condition has improved and he was transferred Tuesday to the Cumberland County Jail, where he is being held without bail. He declined a request for an interview.
Police have said Connors is remarkably fortunate that he was not killed or more seriously injured after being shot four times at close range. He was discharged from the hospital the day after the incident and is expected to make a full recovery, police said.
"Steve is continuing to show progress in his recovery," Googins said. "It is going to be a while before he returns to work."
Ellis could not say when Dubois would be arraigned on the charges in Cumberland County Superior Court. He said the indictments would have no impact on a separate investigation by the state Attorney General's Office into whether the use of force by police was justified. The South Portland Police Department's internal affairs investigation also is continuing.
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
dhench@pressherald.com


Reader comments

tom of falmouth, me
Nov 10, 2006 9:00 AM
throw away the keys.


also, a portland bank on forest ave was robbed yesterday.

 

[Patrick]

City neighborhood bristling over racist leaflets
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By DAVID HENCH, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald Saturday, November 11, 2006

Along with this week's campaign literature and candidate positions, residents in one Portland neighborhood discovered racist fliers on their car windshields and elsewhere.
Police became aware of the incident on Monday when a resident reported finding racist fliers tacked on utility poles at Ludlow and Fuller streets. By the time police arrived, the fliers had been taken down.
Other residents found fliers in their mailboxes or on windshields later in the week. One turned in to police was from a white supremacist Internet site.
The fliers were attributed to a Nazi group based in the Midwest.
"I think it shocks you in a way," said Pat Cushman, who had a flier attacking black people show up on his wife's car windshield at their home on Alba Street. "It's a concern, especially in a neighborhood like this one that underscores family values."
It's unclear how widespread the leafletting was. City police had just the one complaint. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Harnett, who leads the office's civil rights education and enforcement efforts, said he had received no reports.
Racist literature showed up in a Deering neighborhood four years ago, when racial tensions were heightened over an influx of Somali immigrants in Lewiston and the mayor's subsequent plea for Somalis to slow the pace of settlement in the city.
White supremacists tried to hold a rally in Lewiston, and racist literature showed up on the lawns of hundreds of homes near Portland's Hall Elementary School, in the same area as the recent leafletting. Harnett said the recent incident could be a useful point of discussion for parents and children.
Rick Brown, who lives on Hamblet Avenue, said the fliers did grab the neighborhood's attention and people are talking about them. He didn't get one, but a friend did.
"It blows my mind," he said. "We've lived here 15 years and we've never had anything like that."
Cushman said the propaganda should be discussed, rather than discounted.
"You can't defeat something like this by pretending it doesn't exist. You have to confront it," he said.
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
dhench@pressherald.com


Reader comments

Patrick of Portland, Me

Jason, the Police were called because someone not familiar with the particulars of U.S. law was concerned about the despicably low nature of the literature being distributed in their neighborhood. Unfortunately, it is NOT against the law to distribute leaflets, not even anonymously, according to the First Amendment and subsequent Supreme Court rulings. However, I am willing to bet that, though some loophole, if someone wanted to badly enough, some sort of legal infraction could be found to hold those responsible for this act accountable for. For instance, I think free speech can be restricted if ti incites a riot. Perhaps it could be argued that in the wrong neighborhood, such an action would do just that. Also, community decency and obscenity laws might apply, and those can vary by jurisdiction and are often times very subjective; that is, they often are defined by community standards, or the thoughts and beliefs on an "average" person, rather than codified in stone with empirical tests capable of validating an actual offense. I believe it also may be illegal to make statements alleging facts that are untrue, especially on public property. So, if the nature of those leaflets were such that it made false statements about African Americans, which I'm sure they did, then that hate group might again find itself in hot water. Also, in a place like southern Maine, which is trying to grapple with a rapid influx of non-whites in a peaceful and smooth way, something like this would surely evoke the sincerest efforts of community members and policy makers/law enforcement officials to make sure it doesn't happen again lest we relive the racial tensions characteristic of the South decades ago. It is illegal for the State Government of Texas to display the Ten Commandments on their front lawn, so it, too, should be illegal for some hot-headed Midwest supremacist group to display hate material on Ludlow Street. In the event that no loop hole around freedom of speech could be found, however, I wouldn't be surprised if someone caught in the act of posting such material was sentenced unusually harsh for the crime of defacing public property (by stapling into the wood of our street lights). Remember, just because freedom of speech exists as a privilege, does not mean it can be abused without condemnation from the powers that be.

SMR of Flalmouth, Me
Nov 11, 2006 11:32 AM
Really, we must just accept that people with those types of thoughts and ideas exist. Unfortunately, they always will.
The best course of action is to truly feel badly for any person or group that demonstrates that level of ignorance.

Shannon of portland, me
Nov 11, 2006 10:54 AM
Last Sept. I photographed some stickers that were posted around the Old Port on telephone/utility poles. These were highly offensive anti-immigration stickers for a group that was based out of WV. Apparently once a year white supremacist groups in Maine feel the need to "get out the hate."

Judi of Glendale, AZ
Nov 11, 2006 10:00 AM
They got what they wanted - publicity! Perhaps it wouldn't have made the paper if the people had just quietly thrown the fliers away and the group's objective would not have been met - get the word out to far more people then received a flier!

christine of gorham, me
Nov 11, 2006 9:21 AM
Depending on what the fliers had said, it could be racial and be considered a hate crime. Than in that case it should be looked over. I have a biracial son and if there are those kind of people around i don't want my son going around those areas, even though i think portland is the worse town to raise your kids because of all the drugs and shootings that have occured this year.

 

[Patrick]

Maine to see 'very modest growth'
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By EDWARD D. MURPHY, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Maine should experience "very modest growth" in its economy for the rest of the decade, the state's leading economist said Tuesday at a conference on the New England economy.
Charles Colgan said Maine workers should see a significant increase in personal income, but job growth will be sluggish and the slowing real estate market will put further downward pressure on the economy. Colgan is professor of public policy and management at the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine and chairs the state's economic forecasting panel.
Colgan noted at the meeting of the New England Economic Partnership that personal income in the state rose 8.2 percent during the first quarter this year and continued to grow rapidly in the second quarter.
But the state has added only about 2,000 jobs on an annual basis compared to 2005. That's a growth rate of just 0.3 percent, said Colgan, noting that job growth in Maine flatlined in 2005.
The housing market will depress economic growth, both by hurting the construction industry and by eliminating the "wealth effect," in which people tend to spend more -- and sometimes tap into home equity -- because rising home values have made them feel wealthier.
"Overall, our outlook is for very modest growth, led, as it has been for some time, with growth by the services industries," Colgan said.
Economists said none of the New England states is expected to see overall economic, employment and per capita income growth exceeding national averages through 2009.
Employment growth for the region is expected to increase at an average rate of 0.8 percent a year, compared to a forecast of an average national growth rate of 1.3 percent. Per capita income is forecast to rise 2.5 percent a year regionally, compared to a national average of 3.4 percent and overall economic activity is expected to increase an average of 2.3 percent a year, versus 3.2 percent nationally.
Massachusetts and New Hampshire are expected to see the strongest growth among the six states, the New England Economic Partnership's economists said. They cautioned, however, that a sharper decline in housing prices and a longer recovery period for real estate could hurt the regional economy even more.
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com.


Reader comments

Patrick of Portland, Me

Everyone listen to GW. He must know what he's talking about when it comes to fiscal policy. After all, in his short response he has already taught us something big: that 'elsewhere' is in fact not one, but rather two words. Congress has indeed taken a 180 degree turn. Yes. But if an influx of liberals in U.S. government is your idea of going backwards, given what's happened since 2000, then you should seriously reexamine your notion of what constitutes moving "forward." I say we all pray for an increased income disparity to arise amongst American citizens! I mean, it is all about sticking together, right? The only way tax cuts of the magnitude witnessed recently in our country trickle down into new economic growth is by presenting the need to build new banks to stash all the savings the top earners sit on while those hired to work as tellers in such new jobs continue to wonder why they can't heat their homes and feed their children. the sad thing is that those same tellers are very likely to have been so ignorant as to have voted for Bush. GW what bank do you work at?

GW
Nov 15, 2006 12:17 PM
Ed you are correct. We will have less in our pockets and add to that the fact that the liberals have control of Congress and will get rid of Bush's tax cuts and will increase taxes else where.

This is the new direction. It's called turn 180 degrees and go backwards.

William of Portland, ME
Nov 15, 2006 12:09 PM
How did this guy become "the state's leading economist"?

Hmmmm.......

Ed of Kennebunk, ME
Nov 15, 2006 9:44 AM

Modest economic growth for Maine. Sounds ok, given our economic history. Its just too bad that Baldacci and the Legislature are already lining up new tax proposals to pay for the entitlements and mandates they created last term.

What are those you ask?
1) The expansion of Dirigo
2) Increase in starting teachers salaries
3) State paid healthcare benefits for all police, fire and emergency personnel for life.

Dirigo is already a money pit. It saves money for the person without insurance but costs employers and employees of companies here in Maine additional surcharges in order to help fund the expensive premiums. It doesn't save real money.

The increase in starting teachers salaries is a nice thing, but no union is going to sit by and allow starting workers to be paid at the same level as an experienced worker. The result will be that the Unions will insist on pay increases across the board the next time they sit down to negotiate their contracts. Salaries for every teacher (with more than 1 year of experience) will be increased. You and I will have to endure additional increases in our property taxes in order to pay for this.

Tell me again how Baldacci didn't raise our taxes?

Next up is the committment to pay healthcare expenses for all retired police, fire and emergency personnel for life. That will come out of our pockets as well, especially since the cost of healthcare in Maine is so much higher than the rest of the country.

The result will be higher taxes. Consider also that Baldacci is already stating the next budget will have a projected shortfall of over $500M.

If he is so fiscally responsible, tell me how he goes from a balanced budget to a +$500M deficit in one budget cycle? Easy answer; he now has to pay for all these 'promises' he made with your money.

Any "modest economic growth" will be more than offset by the new tax schemes coming from Baldacci and the Legislature this term.

The net effect - if you can believe this - is that you and I will have less money in our pocket than last year. So in real terms, Maine will continue to go backwards.


Matt of Wells, ME
Nov 15, 2006 7:15 AM
When he says "very modest growth" does he mean growth AFTER we account for inflation and rising prices? And as for "significant increase in personal income", are we talking gross or net? I thing any prediction of even "very modest growth" (net) to be VERY OPTIMISTIC. I'm just a guy that's working for a living but I don't see any signs that point to ANY growth at all. We'll be lucky to maintain the status quo.

 

[TimmyG]

NH economy still growing but slower
By DENIS PAISTE
Union Leader Staff

New Hampshire's economy is flattening but still shows signs of growth, according to a new report from the state Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, a unit of the Department of Employment Security.

"The positive thing is there is still growth, but it is a slow, steady, measured growth at this point," said Peter Bartlett, an economist in the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau. "We seem to have weathered a few storms, and we can hope that we will continue and this growth can be sustained."

The full report, "Looking Forward: Preparing for the Future New Hampshire Economy" is available on the Internet at http://www.nhes.state.nh.us/elmi/econanalys.htm#look_forward.

Bartlett said the report's findings were consistent with the economic forecast released Tuesday by the New England Economic Partnership. That report said New Hampshire will grow faster than New England as a whole through 2010, though manufacturing jobs will continue their decline. The state lost 20,000 jobs in goods-producing industries from August 2000 through August 2006, the report said.

Despite a steady decline in the state from their peak in 1984, manufacturing jobs are still the second highest category of private employment in the state, accounting for 15 percent of all private industry jobs.

And manufacturing jobs that remain tend to be those that require either more highly skilled workers or more highly technical production equipment, so their average pay rate has continued to increase, the report said.

Over the period from 2001 to 2005, average annual pay for manufacturing jobs in New Hampshire rose to $69,689, an increase of $12,506, or 21.9 percent, the "Looking Forward" report said.

Retail trade is the leading employment category in the state, based on 2005 annual averages, and accounts for nearly one in five jobs, the report said.

Bartlett said the "Looking Forward" report is the first of its kind. "It notes that there are trends, such as fuel, particularly gasoline prices, and housing costs and interest rates, that could potentially impact our growth and are acting to slow our growth somewhat right now," he said.

"Our economy doesn't operate independently; it's part of the regional and the U.S. economy. If the national economy declines, we'll be hard-pressed to not decline as well."

The state report said New Hampshire's total employment is projected to increase by 16.7 percent from 2004 to 2014, adding more than 113,700 jobs.

Fastest growing job categories will be in health-related occupations and computer-related occupations, which are expected to grow at more than twice the average rate for all occupations.

Growth in health care is being driven by aging of the population and advances in medical technology.

Eight years ago, MRI (magnetic resonance imagers) was provided at most hospitals in a mobile trailer that went around from hospital to hospital, Bartlett said. "Now you look around and almost all the hospitals in the state have installed fixed MRI because the demand is there for it," he said.

 

[Patrick]

I only skimmed the article, but I nonetheless have a response, still. I think southern NH, and Nashua and manchester in particular, is ready to explode with economic growth, it just needs the right catalyst. the airport seems to be a good example of what I am talking about. there are way more people in southern NH than the development there would suggest. All the southern portion of NH has to do is find a way to capture more of the outflow of workers every day, and it will be in business. how can this be done? i dont know. but why arent more of the boston and 128 companies moving into urban centers like manchester? something to do with the city, or have they just not thought of this brilliant idea yet? if its the city, fix that prob immed. if its the companies' own idiocy, then i guess you dont want those ignoramouses in your state anyway, but seriously, there is so much potential population with which to work down there. instead of stealing NH commuters into mass, it should be the other way around. manchester should position itself as THE business capital for nashua, lawrence, lowell etc. places like that. it would immediately become a providence skyline.