Business and Economy

Democrats in the Maine House have held off a Republican bid to slow down the minimum wage increase passed by voters nearly two years ago – at least for now.

The original bill would have cut the yearly increase in the minimum wage that was ratified in 2016, while also cutting the current rate of $10 an hour to $9.50 come June 1. But the proposal was amended to eliminate the proposed wage cut while implementing a 50-cent per year increase to replace the one-dollar increases in current law.

Unemployment in Maine's three urban areas continued to be low in February. Figures released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show Bangor had a jobless rate of 3.4 percent, Lewiston-Auburn 3 percent and Portland-South Portland 2.5 percent. All three areas were below the comparable rate for the nation as a whole in February; that figure was 4.4 percent.

While Bangor's unemployment rate rose .1 percent last month, all three metro areas now have jobless rates more than a half-percentage point lower than they did in February 2017.

BOSTON - Interstate fishing managers are considering changing the rules governing the fishery for a popular species of flounder.
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says managers are seeking comments about possible changes to the summer flounder fishery. The fish has been brought to land from Maine to Florida over the years and the catch was worth more than $30 million in 2016.
 
An entry in the Federal Register about the proposal says it concerns revisions to commercial and recreational quotas for the fish. Comments are due by April 30.
 

The airport that serves the Bar Harbor area is hoping to get a new summer air carrier now that a seasonal airline says it’s no longer able to do so.

Pen-Air, which has been offering service to the Hancock County-Bar Harbor airport since 2012, decided to stop serving Bar Harbor at the end of June after the carrier lost a contract awarded by the U.S. Transportation Department to serve Presque Isle’s Northern Maine Regional Airport.

A $45 million tax break for Bath Iron works is one step closer to becoming law. The tax break would be stretched over the next 15 years.

The Senate voted 25-9 to approve an amended version of a bill that provides a tax break to the shipbuilder in return for at least $200 million spent on construction, improvement, modernization or expansion. The company will also have to maintain at least 5,500 workers.

The original bill would have provided a $60 million tax break and without the minimum investment and workforce requirements currently in the amended version.

Massachusetts has dropped Northern Pass, the $1.6 billion project from Eversource that was set to deliver hydropower from Canada through a 192-mile transmission line in New Hampshire.

The decision to terminate the earlier selection of Northern Pass was announced Wednesday by the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The state will instead move toward an agreement with New England Clean Energy Connect, a hydropower project proposed by Central Maine Power Co.