Four Maine companies receive safety certification

Lyman-Morse Fabrication in Thomaston, Johanson Boatworks in Rockland, French & Webb in Belfast and Marden’s in Sanford have received safety certification under the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program Award program.

Fewer than 2,000 worksites in the United States have earned the certification.

The certification recognizes businesses that voluntarily go through a safety program. Acceptance by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recognizes the business as a model for worksite safety and health standards.

To qualify, companies must go through a safety audit, correct all hazards identified during a health and safety consultation, demonstrate effective safety and health programs and maintain injury rates below the industry average for the last year of completed data. 

Maine heating oil prices remain flat in past week

Maine energy officials say heating oil prices have remained flat in the past week.

The Governor’s Energy Office said the average cash price for heating oil was $3.67 a gallon in its weekly fuel price survey Monday, the same as it was a week ago and a few pennies higher than where prices stood a year ago.

Southwestern and western Maine had the lowest average price, $3.61 a gallon. Northern Maine had the highest average price at $3.78 a gallon.

Propane was selling for $2.74 a gallon, down 2 cents from last week. Kerosene prices were unchanged, at $4.12 a gallon.

Meanwhile, the cost of a gallon of gas in Maine has dropped nearly two cents in the past week to an average of $3.56.

Price-monitoring website MaineGasPrices.com reported Monday that even though the average retail cost of gasoline continues to fall in Maine, it is still not falling as fast as it is nationally. The national average fell nearly four cents in the past week to an average of $3.39, 17 cents lower than in Maine. 

iPhone 5 will make its way to 54 countries this month

The iPhone 5 will be making its way to 54 countries this month, including South Korea, China, Brazil and Russia.

That number is notable because the iPhone 5 is already available in 47 countries, so by Dec. 21, Apple will have its flagship product in more than 100 countries.

The iPhone 5 launched in the United States and other countries on Sept. 21, and already the device has helped Apple reclaim the top spot in the U.S. smartphone market. In the United States, the phone is available from Verizon, AT&T or Sprint. Apple has also begun selling an unlocked version that can be used with AT&T and T-Mobile without signing a two-year service contract.

The phone will arrive in South Korea on Friday. That will be followed by another wave of launches on Dec. 14 that includes more than 30 countries, among them China, Russia and Brazil.

Mitt Romney rejoins board for Marriott International

Former presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is rejoining Marriott International’s board of directors.

He’s held the post with the hotel chain twice before. The first time was from 1993 to 2002, when he left to campaign for governor of Massachusetts, and from 2009 to 2011, when he left to start his campaign for the presidency. 

Home foreclosures decrease as housing market improves

The number of homes in foreclosure dropped in October from the previous month and was down 9 percent for the year as the housing market showed signs of improvement.

About 1.3 million homes, or 3.2 percent of all U.S. homes, were in any stage of the foreclosure process in October, down from 1.4 million homes in September, according to data released Monday by Irvine, Calif., research firm CoreLogic.

—From staff and news services