Business and Economy

As Maine’s food pantries struggle to keep up with increased demand, hunger relief organizations around the country are calling for long-term changes to minimize the kinds of supply-chain issues that hit supermarkets hard early on in the pandemic.

April has always been a key month for state revenues. It’s been the month when people who owe income taxes have to pay or face penalties and interest, so most write that check and pay the taxes they owe. But like so many things this year the coronavirus pandemic has changed that.

State officials say they will provide lodging operators more guidance on how quarantine rules for travelers to Maine will be enforced. Meantime, there is some confusion about whether nonessential travelers from out of state can stay at hotels or other lodgings here in June.

Before the pandemic turned the world upside down, more than 13% of Maine households struggled with food insecurity — the highest rate of hunger in New England and the 12th highest in the country. But with so many people out of work, that number is projected to grow to 18 percent.

Ninety-seven percent of businesses in Maine have fewer than 20 employees, according to the Small Business Administration. Many operate on tight margins, even during good economic times. But now, as the pandemic and its effects linger, some of those small businesses are now being forced to shut their doors for good.

Restaurants in 12 of Maine’s 16 counties may reopen to dine-in service Monday, but must take certain health precautions to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting many people's lives. To minimize those effects, Congress has appropriated trillions of dollars of spending to aid Americans. That money is going to have to be borrowed by a government already running huge deficits. How will that be possible? And what will it mean for the country in the long term? 

The company that owns Central Maine Power (CMP) is suing the state of Maine in Cumberland County Superior Court. Avangrid Networks, Inc., is saying that a referendum question that would ask voters if they want to overturn the approval of the company's billion dollar hydropower transmission line through the western Maine woods is unconstitutional.

With the depletion of certain items on grocery store shelves and the disruption to the supply chain, there is one thing the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted, and that is the importance of locally grown food. In Maine and around the country, small farms in particular are seeing a surge of interest in what they have to offer, and membership sales in community supported agriculture are especially attractive right now.

Facing pressure from the hospitality and tourism industry, the Mills administration announced Thursday that, as of June 1, hotels and other lodging establishments in Maine can begin accepting reservations from residents and out-of-staters who have completed a 14-day quarantine. The change does not technically scrap the quarantine requirement, but it raises more questions about how it will be enforced.