One hundred small business owners have signed onto a letter calling for the Maine State Legislature to pass a paid family and medical leave policy that they say would help them retain workers and compete with larger companies. “As a small business owner, I value my employees and I try to support them when they…
Once again, Central Maine Power ranked last in the nation among utilities surveyed in J.D. Power’s study of business customer satisfaction, yet another example of the deep unpopularity of Maine’s largest power company as advocates move forward with a campaign to replace CMP with a consumer-owned utility. The 2022 J.D. Power study, which was released…
A Maine small business group and a national advocacy organization released a report Wednesday sounding the alarm about the influence of billionaires on the American political process, with the ultra rich pumping tens of millions into the 2022 midterm elections primarily in support of Republican candidates. The report was put together by Americans for Tax…
Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau joined a coalition of advocacy organizations on Tuesday for a press event organized to call attention to the state’s growing economic inequality and the need for a more fair tax code. The coalition of 23 organizations announced the launch of Mainers for Tax Fairness, which “will advocate on behalf of…
Loans given by the Paycheck Protection Program, co-authored by Sen. Susan Collins with the stated purpose of helping small businesses struggling under the coronavirus’ economic impacts, went overwhelmingly to big businesses. New data from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published this week shows that many large businesses in Maine including retail chains, law firms,…
Members of the Maine Small Business Coalition (MSBC), a group that represents 4,000 small businesses across Maine, endorsed Democrat Sara Gideon for U.S. Senate at a virtual forum on Tuesday. The small business owners said that Gideon earned their support over Sen. Susan Collins because of the incumbent’s insufficient record on addressing climate change, her…
When Zoe Averill’s insulin pump failed while she was on vacation in Italy, a pharmacist there gave her syringes so she could manually inject her medicine, apologizing that it would cost her 50 cents. Averill was taken aback. “Here in the United States, a mere week’s supply of syringes costs $30 without insurance, not to…
In March, as lawmakers raced to put together a massive stimulus package to cope with the pandemic-related shutdowns sweeping the country, a New York company that invests in hotels deployed a Washington lobbyist for the first time. The lobbyist’s mission was to secure an exception in the emerging relief program for small businesses so that…
After a wave of Maine small business owners have expressed frustration with the Paycheck Protection Program, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey are each calling for changes to the federal program to ensure that the state’s small business community can weather the pandemic. Frey announced on Wednesday that he has joined…
At a virtual forum on Tuesday more than a dozen Maine small businesses owners joined state Sen. Heather Sanborn (D-Portland) and national economic policy experts to discuss ongoing issues with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal initiative meant to provide payroll relief to small business grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. “One of the narratives…