Articles by Whit Richardson
Portland e-commerce company raises $6.5M in venture capital
PORTLAND, Maine — Vets First Choice, a company that offers e-commerce and marketing services to veterinarians, said Monday it has raised $6.5 million in a recent round of financing. The round was led by a new investor, HLM Venture Partners. Portland-based Vets First Choice was founded in 2008 and partners ...
MaineCare’s payday will help hospitals but patients unlikely to see lower rates
AUGUSTA, Maine — Last week Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill to pave the way for Maine to cover its $183.5 million tab to 39 hospitals for services provided over the years to patients enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program. Once paid, the federal government will kick in $300 million. ...
Lobster processor plans expansion on Portland’s waterfront
PORTLAND, Maine — Shucks Maine Lobster wants to launch a new processing facility on Portland’s city-owned Maine State Pier, adding jobs and expanding the amount of lobster meat it processes and exports from the state. The company, which is based in Richmond, is seeking to lease from the city roughly ...
Bill to boost fledgling Maine companies’ growth in jeopardy
AUGUSTA, Maine — As the days go by, a program that helps Maine’s early stage companies attract seed capital faces an uncertain future. The bill that would keep it alive is languishing in the Legislature. The fact that the bill has been sitting on the special appropriations table since June ...
WHIT RICHARDSON (blog)
Entreverge honors five businesses for entrepreneurship
on June 12, 2013, at 9:40 p.m.
Five businesses were honored at the 5th annual Entreverge awards at an event Wednesday night in Portland. Propel, the young professionals group at the Portland Regional Chamber, presents the awards each year to entrepreneurs in the Greater Portland area “whose businesses exhibit a scalable vision for the future and a long ...
Madison paper mill embraces natural gas to increase competitiveness
MADISON, Maine — By this fall, the UPM Madison paper mill will abandon oil for natural gas, making it more competitive in the global market, according to the mill’s manager. UPM Madison has signed a deal with Summit Natural Gas of Maine for the latter to supply natural gas to ...
Irving subsidiary purchases stretch of Aroostook County railroad
Eastern Maine Railway, a subsidiary of J.D. Irving Ltd., has purchased a 28-mile stretch of railroad tracks in Aroostook County from the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. The stretch of track is between Madawaska and Van Buren and includes the international bridge that crosses from Van Buren into St. Leonard, ...
Georgia company relocates to Aroostook County sawmill, plans to hire 78
ASHLAND, Maine — A company from Georgia is setting up shop at the former Levesque sawmill in Ashland and will hire nearly 80 people to manufacture cedar shingles. For the past two years Ecoshel has been in “beta production” of a patented cedar shingle system in Gainesville, Ga., according to ...
Madawaska paper mill sold, former Domtar manager named new CEO
MADAWASKA, Maine — The purchase of Twin Rivers Paper Co. is complete, three weeks after the deal was first announced. New York-based Blue Wolf Capital Partners and Atlas Holdings LLC has closed on their purchase of the company, which owns facilities in Madawaska and New Brunswick, from Toronto-based Brookfield Asset ...
State agency to investigate whether FairPoint’s misused federal funds
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Public Utilities Commission has begun an investigation to determine whether FairPoint Communications has misused federal funds it received to help subsidize telephone service to rural customers. The Maine Office of the Public Advocate filed a complaint in January, which prompted the investigation, according to Tom ...
British company acquires Caribou facility, promises investment
CARIBOU, Maine — A British company has acquired a manufacturing facility in Caribou and pledged to grow the workforce there. Porvair PLC on Tuesday announced it had acquired Eisenmann Metallurgical LLC in a deal worth $5.5 million. Porvair is based in King’s Lynn, a town 100 miles north of London. ...
Maine’s economy sees slight uptick in 2012
Maine’s economy grew slightly last year, led by the manufacturing, construction and wholesale and retail trade industries, according to new federal statistics. Maine’s real gross domestic product, an inflation-adjusted measurement of the goods and services produced in the state, was roughly $46 billion in 2012, representing a 0.5 percent increase ...
Westbrook maker of residential wind turbines moves from basement to manufacturing facility
WESTBROOK, Maine — Pika Energy, the startup focused on manufacturing residential-scale wind turbines, recently reached a milestone, moving out of the basement in Gorham where the company was founded and into its own manufacturing facility in Westbrook. Pika Energy on Thursday announced that the company has moved into a 4,300-square-foot ...
South Portland group launches drive to block tar sands pipeline through Maine
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A group of South Portland residents announced on Thursday a citizens’ initiative to prevent Portland Pipe Line Corp. from being able to pump oil sands, also known as tar sands, from Canada to its facility on South Portland’s harbor. At a rally outside South Portland City ...
Senate approves bill that exempts farmers who sell raw milk from licensing requirements
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate approved a bill on Wednesday that would allow farmers to sell small quantities of raw milk directly to consumers without getting a license as long as the milk is clearly labeled. The Senate on Wednesday morning passed “An Act To Help Small Farmers in ...
Obama proposal would provide Maine with $5.5M to expand preschool
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maine could receive an estimated $5.5 million in federal funding under a White House proposal to expand access to preschool for children of low- and moderate-income families. In April, President Barack Obama included in his proposed budget a program called Preschool for All, which would set aside ...
DEP increases scrutiny of fire safety at Maine’s proposed wind farms
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is raising more questions about fire safety standards at wind farms proposed in the state. The increased scrutiny is in part a reaction to a fire in January that destroyed a $4-million turbine at TransCanada’s wind farm on Kibby Mountain in ...
WHIT RICHARDSON (blog)
Event: Capitalizing on Creativity, or how to lead creative talent
on June 04, 2013, at 10:15 a.m.
I imagine it’s often difficult for business leaders to harness the talents of very creative people. I consider myself somewhat creative, and so just have to imagine what it’s like to manage me. I’m often focused on the art of my writing rather than the stark reality that I have ...
Seth Goodall resigning his Senate seat to take SBA post
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s Senate majority leader is resigning his seat to oversee the U.S. Small Business Administration’s New England region. Sen. Seth Goodall, a Democrat from Richmond, confirmed for the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday that he will resign his seat to take the job of the SBA’s New ...
Norwegian bridge being built thanks to Maine firm
PORTLAND, Maine — With Maine International Trade Day in full swing on Friday, Martin Grimnes, founder of Brunswick-based Harbor Technologies, was at Portland’s International Marine Terminal participating in real international trade. Sitting on the ground at the terminal, ready to be loaded onto ships, were three large white panels. They’re ...
Cutler man gets 3 years, ordered to pay nearly $143,000 for theft of veterans disability benefits
Maine Sports Hall of Fame revokes Dana Wilson’s 2012 induction
LePage speaks frankly to Dirigo Girls State delegates
Handful of Republicans being pressured to override LePage Medicaid veto
LePage fails to surprise on Medicaid expansion
We don’t understand female politicians
The cost of requiring more renewable power
Retiring Hermon High School athletic administrator Soucy maintains love of sports
Rask gives Bruins 2-1 series lead
Pats’ Hernandez questioned in homicide case
Saying goodbye to our Pakistani daughter