Supporting and welcoming Maine’s growing number of diverse students will benefit Maine’s economy and employers
 
Educate Maine and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce have released a joint policy brief, Helping Diverse Students Thrive, outlining a set of strategies to help Maine’s increasingly diverse student learners thrive. Supporting and welcoming diverse students will help attract and retain young families to Maine, grow Maine’s workforce, and benefit Maine’s economy and employers.

Many who attended our annual dinner last month have commented on our Bicentennial Celebration video project as a good reminder the lasting contributions made by our former governors. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to interview the seven living Maine governors and reminisce a bit about their time in office, spanning 50 years of Maine’s history.

Get involved with Live + Work in Maine’s statewide “Boomerang” campaign aims to help talented people come back home!
 
Who is a “Boomerang?”
boo·mer·ang | ˈbo͞oməˌraNG |
NOUN:  Person who was born in, attended school in, or otherwise spent time in Maine (summer camp, regular family visits, etc), left the State and successfully made their way back to live and work full time.
 
For the second year in a row, Live + Work in Maine is kicking off our its “Boomerang” campaign during Thanksgiving week, and is looking for restaurants, bars, breweries, and other venues in Maine to help get the word out. Partner venues will receive free Live + Work in Maine “Boomerang” branded swag (such as stickers, coasters, glassware, t-shirts, and/or other), to be used and handed out to patrons starting Thanksgiving week.

The Maine Bicentennial Commission (Maine200) recently awarded the first round of Bicentennial Community Grants. Out of 44 applications from organizations and municipalities across the state, the commission chose a total of 30 grant recipients: 21 large grants and nine small grants, at varying amounts. Among those are a Bicentennial Birthday Bash in Rockland, theatrical productions in Portland and Dover-Foxcroft, as well as conferences, educational curriculum, art exhibits, lecture series and more, spanning several Maine counties.

By Gary Merrill, Hussey Seating Company, North Berwick
 
EDITOR’S NOTE: This letter to the editor from Gary Merrill of Hussey Seating Company in North Berwick was originally printed in the Portland Press Herald on November 4. It can be accessed online at www.pressherald.com/2019/11/04/letter-to-the-editor-employers-back-workforce-development-efforts.

Dead River CEO Deanna Sherman outlined her concerns about Maine’s looming workforce shortage and its impact on Maine’s economy in a recent opinion piece. As CEO of one of Maine’s oldest family-owned businesses, I share many of her concerns and join her in a sense of urgency. Despite offering competitive pay and impressive benefits we often still struggle to meet our employment needs for a fairly simple reason: There aren’t enough of the post-secondary credentialed Mainers that we need.

The Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) is preparing for the required rulemaking process for LD 369, An Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave, often referred to as the “earned paid time off” bill. As part of the process, MDOL will hold a series of public listening sessions throughout the state to hear feedback from the public on what questions they would like addressed during the rulemaking process.