Thumbs Up — One take-off, many landings

Wisconsin used a cargo jet full of incentives to hijack Kestrel Aircraft’s airplane parts plant. Maine couldn’t offer a similarly lucrative corporate welfare package.

Kestrel’s decision to build the plant — with its projected 300 jobs — in Wisconsin represents a setback for the civilian redevelopment of Brunswick Naval Air Station. But it’s not cause for panic. The redevelopment effort moves steadily forward, with gains on multiple fronts.

On Jan. 5, Mölnlycke Health Care confirmed that it secured $14.2 million in funding for a 79,000-square-foot research and production facility at Brunswick Landing. The medical supplies producer intends to hire approximately 80 employees when the building is complete. The deal also generates ancillary benefits for Rynel, a Mölnlycke affiliate in Wiscasset.

Meanwhile, Resilient Tier-V is “ready to do a very big set of hires” as the technology firm expands its operation from two to four buildings at Brunswick Landing, according to CEO Charlie Largay.

New classes are under way at Southern Maine Community College’s Midcoast Campus in former Navy buildings, and The American Bureau of Shipping Maine Modeling Center recently announced it would expand its current 30-person work force by 16 in 2012.

Despite the “sky is falling” chorus rising from other parts of the state, Brunswick Executive Airport continues to buzz with activity, catering to local aviators and serving as a new tool to link fliers from away to Mid-coast businesses.

Clouds formed on the BNAS redevelopment horizon today, but the forecast remains generally bright.

Thumbs Down — We pay either way

As legislators continue to consider Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to fill a Department of Health and Human Services budget gap by shearing 65,000 recipients from the MaineCare rolls and tightening eligibility, they need to acknowledge that any “savings” realized by cutting the DHHS budget will likely emerge as expenses elsewhere.

Whether the costs of care cuts manifest themselves as health insurance premium hikes triggered by more free care, strains on municipal and law enforcement budgets, or in some other form — Mainers won’t save, we’ll just pay out of a different compartment of our wallets.

Thumbs Up & Down — Private prison lockout

The Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee last week voted unanimously against LD 1095, a bill designed to facilitate the creation and use of private prisons in Maine.

We agree with the Maine chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which responded to the vote with a statement that read, in part: “The Criminal Justice committee did the right thing. At a time when Maine has more than enough prison space, building private prisons is bad for business and bad for Maine.”

However, part of the intent of LD 1095 was to open exploration of alternative ways to house the state’s aging prison population. The Department of Corrections should continue that study, focusing on options other than private facilities.

letters@timesrecord.com