Clear communication
The rise of communication technology in my lifetime is astonishing. I remember as a kid the excitement of using walkie-talkies as we played war games in the woods in my neighborhood (hey, it was the '60s — we all played war games and watched "Combat.")
Everyone wanted a turn at being the radio man, signaling to our scattered troops our positions and the strategy for taking the enemy. It was the height of sophisticated play.
Fast forward about four decades. Recently, I was in the back seat of a minivan in San Antonio trying to help some kin find our way back to a hotel after an accident scene sent us on a detour leading out of the city. Our driver had a GPS, but no street address for the hotel. My cell phone had Internet access, so using Google, I found the street address and collectively, we found the hotel. Pretty slick.
Now a startup in West Newfield is using proprietary technology to bring another level of communication to the marketplace. Newfield Design Inc. has produced an Expandable Radio Control System that allows users of various communication devices to talk to each other. A police dispatcher can talk directly to a rescue worker who can communicate directly with an ER doctor, regardless of their communication equipment. The company, profiled by Contributing Writer Bob Mentzinger in "Roger that," starting on the cover, has more than $2 million invested and filed 140 provisional patents to bring the technology to market.
The story is part of this issue's focus on York County. We also offer an introduction to the new executive director of the Heart of Biddeford and initiatives there, in "Foster the entrepreneurs," starting on page 18, and an update on regional traffic projects expected to drive economic development, in "Road signs," on page 23.
We also offer an interesting cover piece, "Building a better work force," by Senior Writer Randy Billings, that looks at how state work force development initiatives are shifting in favor of projects led by business, rather than bureaucracy. Gov. Paul LePage offered this new strategy and certain industries — especially manufacturing — are excited by its promise to address the skills gap. It's the first step in an effort that needs to be expanded to schools around the state, so students realize there are good jobs and interesting careers here in Maine.
And make sure you check out our Newsworthy subject, Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, who has amassed three of journalism's most prestigious honors for his work exposing a Section 8 scandal in Maine. Modest to a fault, Matt has brought attention to lapses in federal HUD standards that are now being reformed. That's good journalism.
And yet another form of good communication.
Carol Coultas
ccoultas@mainebiz.biz
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