AUGUSTA — The company that has operated Maine’s wholesale liquor business since 2004 pledged Wednesday to help the state repay the $186 million it owes its hospitals while guaranteeing the state at least $32 million in annual revenue in exchange for continuing to operate the business for another 10 years. But swiftly declined the offer […]
economy
Posted inOur View
Politics slows economy that wants to grow
There has been constant disagreement throughout this long economic slump about what the government should be doing to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment. But we may have finally reached the point where the best thing Washington can do is simply get off the front page and out of the way. Many experts now agree […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage swears, storms out of meeting with independent House members, lawmakers say
AUGUSTA — swore, pounded a table and stormed out of a meeting with three independent House members last week, according to the lawmakers. The trio said they hoped to talk to the governor about alternate approaches to balancing the state budget. Instead, the lawmakers said the governor called them “idiots” and again railed against Maine’s […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Documentary targets critics of fracking to find natural gas
PITTSBURGH (AP) — “FrackNation” is a new documentary that attacks opponents of fracking for oil and gas, but it also raises a bigger question: Is it possible to criticize environmentalists without being a tool for big industry? Fracking is a method of stimulating oil and gas from deep underground that’s led to a historic boom […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage’s hospital debt plan depends on more liquor revenue for state
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to repay the $186 million Maine owes its hospitals for outstanding Medicaid bills relies largely on the state’s ability to renegotiate its wholesale liquor contract under terms that direct a larger portion of liquor profits to state coffers. State officials estimate Maine can earn $30 million in profit annually […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Economist: Maine job growth to be meager in 2013
PORTLAND (AP) — Wage and salary jobs in Maine are expected to grow by only 0.5 percent in 2013, but the state could actually lose jobs if Congress can’t come to terms on federal financial matters, a leading Maine economist said Tuesday. Maine should add only 3,100 jobs during the year, and the unemployment rate […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Washington stirs to prevent ‘fiscal cliff’ as Obama heads home
WASHINGTON — Efforts to prevent the U.S. economy from going over a “fiscal cliff” stirred back to life on Wednesday with less than a week to go before potentially disastrous tax hikes and spending cuts kick in at the New Year. In a sign that there may be a way through deadlock in Congress, Republican […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
U.S. holiday sales rise 0.7% as Washington hurts confidence
WASHINGTON — U.S. holiday sales growth slowed by more than half this year after gridlock in Washington soured consumers’ moods and Hurricane Sandy disrupted shopping, MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse said. Retail sales grew by 0.7 percent from Oct. 28 through Monday, the Purchase, N.Y., research firm said Wednesday without providing a dollar figure in the billions. […]
Posted inMaine
Climate change vs. Maine’s winter tourism
NEWRY — A newly released study on the potential impact of global climate change on the snow-sports economy in Maine and New England is getting a chilly reception locally. “Some years, it’s chickens and some years it’s feathers,” said Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association. “As for the climate change thing, there’s […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Forecast sees slow economic growth in New England
BOSTON (AP) — Sluggish economic growth will continue in New England, with much of the region not seeing a return to pre-recession employment levels until 2015 at the earliest, according to a forecast released Wednesday. The four-year forecast developed by the New England Economic Partnership suggests that Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont will fare best […]