FREEPORT — Outdoor retailer L.L. Bean was recently named to the 2015 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, ranking 56th, according to a news release. L.L. Bean was among the top 10 retailers on the list and received the highest ranking for an outdoor retailer. Now in its 18th year, the list recognizes […]

BANGOR D id you know that the sound of a violin can take you back 400 years as soon as the bow starts to slide across the strings? Violins, cellos and similar instruments are made much like they were about four centuries ago. Violin maker Nathan Slobodkin uses many old methods as he maintains, repairs […]

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: What is a chamber of commerce? Wikipedia defines it as “a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Local businesses are members, and they elect a board of directors or executive council to set policy for the chamber. The board or council then […]

DETROIT (AP) — Freezing temperatures and drifts of snow likely took a small bite out of U.S. auto sales in February, but most automakers still reported gains thanks to the strong economy. General Motors’ sales rose 4.2 percent over last February, while Chrysler’s sales were up 5.6 percent. Nissan’s sales were up 2.7 percent. All […]

ORONO Abe and Heather Furth and Mark Horton didn’t have to look very hard to find a brewmaster for the brewery they planned to open. The Orono-based business partners only had to take a stroll down Central Street in downtown Bangor to find the right guy: Asa Marsh-Sachs, longtime manager and “brewmaster general” at Bangor […]

FREEPORT B ugs for Dinner, a new business based in Freeport, has set out to introduce Maine people to the world of edible insects. Crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers, ants — these protein-packed creepy crawlies may just become the next new superfood. “As far as I know, we’ll be the first insect farmers in Maine,” said Bill […]

PORTLAND — Maine All- Care, a nonprofit education and advocacy organization committed to bring universal access to comprehensive health care to all Maine residents, recently welcomed Henk Goorhuis, M.D., as the newest member of its board of directors. Goorhuis has practiced emergency medicine for 25 years. He moved to Maine 23 years ago and has […]

BRUNSWICK — The College Guild has recently selected Pat Friedman as its new administrator. Located on Harpswell Drive, The College Guild is the only nationwide provider of free non-traditional education courses to people who are incarcerated — regardless of gender, race, religion, crime, sentence or security level. The College Guild’s 25 courses are designed to […]

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling about 67,000 Cadillac ATS compact sports sedans to fix a problem with the power sunroof controls. The recall affects cars from the 2013 through 2015 model years. GM says the sunroofs can automatically close if the nonrecessed switches are even partly touched. The recall is being done because […]

WASHINGTON U.S. home prices rose in December at a faster pace than the previous month, likely because of a much smaller number of homes for sale. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20- city home price index, released Tuesday, increased 4.5 percent in December compared with 12 months earlier. That is up from 4.3 percent in November […]