From pro golf to college classes, crisis could affect Maine's summer plans

File Photo / William Hall Plans for the Live + Work in Maine Open, to be held at the Falmouth Country Club, are canceled for this year.

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By William Hall

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As Maine’s state of civil emergency enters its second month, businesses and other organizations are making new plans for the summer.

The Live + Work in Maine Open, which was to be held in June as the state’s first professional golf tournament since 1993, has been canceled because of the COVID-19 crisis, organizers said Thursday.

The competition, at the Falmouth Country Club, was predicted to add $8 million to the regional economy. Over 150 elite players on the international Korn Ferry Tour were to compete for a $600,000 purse, and southern Maine expected an influx of visitors from the golf world, including spectators, media and corporate sponsors.

The tournament will be held in 2021, and a five-year contract with Korn Ferry to hold the event in Maine has been extended an additional year, according to a news release from Shamrock Sports & Entertainment, the Portland firm serving as the tournament’s host organization.

“While all businesses face uncertainty related to the current COVID-19 pandemic, in the short term we need to play our broader responsibility to society’s efforts to tackle this global challenge,” said Shamrock CEO Brian Corcoran.

Also on Thursday, Southern Maine Community College announced it has canceled all in-person classes for its summer term, which runs from May 26 to Aug. 7.

Because of the pandemic and concerns about the spread of coronavirus, most courses for the term will be held online. Those that can’t be are canceled, according to a news release.

SMCC has an enrollment of over 7,000 students who attend class at campuses in South Portland and Brunswick.

“We don’t yet know the long-term impact of the pandemic, but we made this decision now to give students time to adjust their plans,” said Paul Charpentier, SMCC vice president and academic dean. “Making the decision now to offer only online courses also gives our faculty time to enhance and optimize the online delivery of courses during the summer.”

Meanwhile, it’s not clear if there will be changes for what could be one of Maine’s largest and most headline-generating summer events, a meeting of the National Governors Association.

The NGA announced in November that Portland would be the site of the group’s annual meeting, Aug. 5-7. Last week, spokesman James Nash told Mainebiz plans for the event were still on track, and the NGA website made no mention of schedule changes Thursday morning.

Coming on the eve of the presidential election, the meeting could draw thousands of people to the state, including not only the country’s governors, but staffers, lobbyists and media. According to Nash, the last three summer meetings generated an average of $1.5 million in economic activity, including room stays and direct spending by attendees and exhibitors.

Portland library furloughs 25% of staff

The Portland Public Library on Wednesday said it will furlough 24 employees — about one-quarter of its staff — because of the ongoing pandemic.

The temporary layoff will run from Sunday to May 30, according to a news release. Affected employees will continue to receive health insurance and other benefits during that period. Another 46 employees will continue to perform essential duties and provide patron services virtually for the library system, which comprises four branches across Portland.

“We have made the devastating step of placing some of our colleagues on temporary furlough,” said Sarah Campbell, executive director. “Before acting, we researched every funding option that was available related to the current crisis. I, and the Library as an institution, value to the highest degree these positions and the people who hold them.”