Business and Economy

New research suggests that the U.S. lobster industry could place fewer traps in the water and still gain just as much profit. And that finding could play a role in the debate over what should be required of Maine lobstermen to reduce entanglements with endangered North Atlantic right whales.

Included in the federal government's array of pandemic relief aid programs is an automatic pause – or forbearance – on federal student loans.

Citing a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Gov. Janet Mills announced Wednesday that she is postponing the reopening of indoor restaurant service in the state's three most populous counties.

About 60 percent of the potatoes produced in Maine and around the country are grown to supply the food service industries. But with everything from school cafeterias to sports concessions to in-flight meals canceled, potato farmers are facing uncertain times in what is already an uncertain business. And many say that they are discouraged by what they are being offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a federal aid package.

Data from the Small Business Administration show that since the start of the pandemic, more than 25,000 loans have been approved for small businesses in Maine, and almost 90 percent of applicants have received the funds. But some are wary of taking on more debt while their businesses are ordered closed.

Routine appointments for health care came to a halt in March, when Mainers hunkered down at home as the state braced for a possible surge of the coronavirus. The sudden drop in patients hit independent physicians especially hard, who saw steep declines in revenue. Now as the state reopens, some of these doctors say they are starting to emerge, but their future is still tenuous.

Along Maine's border with Canada, communities on either side are closely connected, historically, culturally, economically. But the COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily severed that connection, as the governments of the two countries have suspended nonessential travel along the border.