LOOKBACK: Celebrating Mainebiz's 20th anniversary
PHOTO/Maine International Trade Center
The Governor's Advisory Council on International Trade in 1996 recommended establishing a trade center in Portland, which came to fruition (photo).
Moving forward in our LOOKBACK series run-up to Mainebiz’s 20th anniversary edition on Sept. 8, at the start of 1996, a poll of Maine employers by Manpower Inc. shows that 29% of those in Portland and 20% in Bangor plan to increase their workforce during the first quarter of the year, above the 15% for the five areas surveyed. Of Augusta-based employers, 20% plan to decrease their ranks, followed by 16% in Bangor, 15% in Portland, and 10% each in Lewiston and Southern York County.
The MP3 audio format eats into CDs and the traditional music industry, Flash starts hooking users on Web pages, and much to the relief of those who have to attach keyboards, printers and other electronic devices, manufacturers agree to use a common attachment device, the Universal Serial Bus, or USB.
On Jan. 8, a blizzard buries the Northeast United States, killing 50 people, but causing only flurries in Maine. However, up to 19.19 inches of rain are recorded in southern Maine from Oct. 20-22, causing severe flooding and one death, damage to more than 2,100 homes and businesses, and the destruction of bridges and dams in eight communities.
NBC screened the first episode of "Third Rock from the Sun" in 1996. Maine passed a referendum that went into effect in 2000 requiring the state to pay for the campaign of each candidate who forswears traditional fundraising. President Bill Clinton signs legislation to significantly deregulate telecommunications, which creates many opportunities for broadcasters and cable companies. Also, broadcasters, television and personal computer manufacturers agree on a high-definition digital television standard. The Federal minimum wage rises from $4.25 to $4.75, and on Oct. 14, the Dow Jones Industrial average tops 6000. “Jerry Maguire” lights up the box office in 1996.
As we continue through the 1990s, here are some of that decade’s top Maine stories:
• Home Depot to build store in Portland
Home Depot, the "Cadillac of the building supply industry," says in 1996 that it will build a 120,000-square-foot store in 18 acres at Warren and Riverside streets, Mark Malone of Malone Commercial brokers confirmed.
• Governor’s Advisory Council proposes international trade center
After nine months of deliberation, the Governor's Advisory Council on International Trade in 1996 recommended establishment of a Maine International Trade and Resource Center in Portland, with satellite offices throughout the state. If enabling legislation is passed on an emergency basis, the center could be up and operating by next summer.
• National Semiconductor quashes scale-back rumors, says expansion on track
Rumors that National Semiconductor might scale back its expansion in South Portland in 1996 are nothing but rumors, according to company spokesmen. Managing Director Laurenz Schmidt says that the company has no plans to scale back its construction or installation of production equipment "at the present time." Company spokesman Fran Harrison, communications program manager, says the rumors have been numerous and "wild." She said the company will stay the course, and officials at National Semiconductor's Santa Clara, Calif., headquarters had "heard nothing" about any change in plans. The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and the Governor's Office have heard nothing to lead them to believe the company would reduce either projected capacity or the number of jobs expected to be generated at the 200-millimeter-wafer project. Speculation appears to have been generated by a review of the semiconductor industry in the Feb. 15 New York Times. The South Portland facility is on schedule to begin production in the late fall of this year, and will add about 450 new employees (to the 1,400 already at the plant) as production ramps up, according to Harrison.
• Internet cannot be controlled, state computer guru says
Like it or not, the Internet cannot be controlled, Maine's computer guru, A. Anthony Citrano III, information services manager in Gov. Angus King's office, says in 1996. The United States, as part of a new telecommunications bill, is attempting to prohibit transmission of "indecent" material to minors, and various politicians in this election year are talking about restricting the flow of information. Asked if restrictions are technologically feasible, Citrano, who was surfing the Web before most people knew of its existence, says, "It just can't be done. The Internet was designed to route around obstacles. Those obstacles were originally technical, such as the failure of a computer link, but the system works just as well to reroute around regulatory obstacles."
• CMP gearing up for next phase in real estate
Central Maine Power's plans to revolutionize the way Maine's economic developers and commercial real estate brokers do business is a success so far in 1996. Last October, the utility set out to establish a database linking commercial real estate brokers, economic developers and financial institutions with interested businesses. As part of an initial test phase, four commercial brokers listed their properties on a database accessible to one another. With the database, CMP hopes to make the process of expanding into Maine more efficient and effective.
• The Economic Impact of Dogs and Cats
More often than not, dogs and cats come "free." But the minute we lay a hand on their warm fur, they have us, heart and soul. They also have our wallets, checkbooks and credit cards. The Humane Society of America estimates it costs $559 a year in 1996 to keep a cat. With an estimated 30,000 cats in greater Portland, that's more than $16 million pumped into the economy by cats alone. Then there are dogs. According to the City Clerk, on average, 14,000 dogs are licensed every year, and that is about 10% of the dog population. Some estimates would double that figure. At $1,117 per year per dot, add another $15-30 million. And that $31 million to $46 million total is a lot of money from a population that doesn't do a lick of work.
• USM plans $5.5M Muskie Center
The Edmund S. Muskie Institute of Public Affairs, now in its sixth year in 1996, is in the process of becoming the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, a transition that promises to bring it new programs and a new building. Pending approval by the University of Maine System's Board of Directors, construction of the new facility could begin as early as 1998. Budgeted at $5.5 million and sited just east of Deering Avenue on the USM campus, the building will house a civic forum and public auditorium designed to serve the community of greater Portland and the University of Southern Maine. In December, U.S. Congress passes a $3 million appropriations bill with $1 million earmarked for the Muskie Institute, a second $1 million is to go to Bates College to improve and maintain the Muskie Archives, and the remaining $1 million will insure the long-term viability of the annual environmental award made in the late Senator's name.
• Small Business Administration questions benefits of owner deregulation
The Public Utilities Commission's preliminary recommendations, based on hearings held in the summer of 1996, include deregulation of companies producing and selling electric power by the year 2000, when all Maine consumers would have the option to choose an electric power supplier. The Small Business Administration urges its members to be on the lookout for anti-competitive utility mergers designed to eliminate potential rivals before power competition begins.
As 1996 closes, Mainers worry that big box stores are stacking up at Exit 8 as the Miss Brunswick Diner finally gets rescued and restored. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the year at 6,448.27 on Dec. 31 and the NASDAQ closed at 1,291.03. Toward the end of the year, Boeing Co. agrees to buy McDonnell Douglas Corp. Timothy Leary, Gene Kelly and Ella Fitzgerald die.
• More from the 1990s
Two Internet Cafes open in Portland in the spring of 1997. JavaNet Cafe on Exchange Street and Access Internet Cafe on Forest Avenue near the University of Southern Maine. Mainebiz notes that “While most restaurants want to maximize turnover, an Internet cafe has a built-in attraction that keeps people in their seats.”
A May 1997 Strategic Marketing Services poll about Mainers found that they are “optimistic about the economy, give the legislature a poor rating and think there’s something wrong with our healthcare system.”
In June 1997 Key Bank of Maine says it will downsize by selling 10 to 12 of its Maine offices after parent company Key Corporation last year recommended selling 150 offices system-wide and consolidation 150 more. Kay Bank of Maine CEO Michael McNamara says downsizing had affected 41 employs since September 1996 as part of a 10% national reduction.*
In August 1997 Key Bank claims to be the first to practice “borderless banking.” The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act, passed in 1994, took effect June 1, 1997. It allows Key Bank, the community bank within KeyCorp, to operate nationwide wherever it has a presence, which currently is in 13 states.Since the 1970s banks could operate across state lines by setting up corporations. Maine was one of the first to pass legislation enabling that.One of the first to take advantage of the law, Key, which then was in New York, bought banks in Maine.
Also in August 1997, construction of the 29,000-square-foot Portland Public Market is on schedule to house about 30 independent, locally owned vendors of meat, baked goods, specialty foods, flowers and other goods.
In 1998, BIZ changes its name to Mainebiz. Other major changes are afoot in Maine as well that year. WCSH-TV, Channel 6, and its sister station in Bangor change hands when local owners sell to Gannett Corp. Soon after, Channel 6 is to disappear because the Federal Communications Commission plans to put all TV stations on the UHF band and sell the VHF spectra, part of which Channel 6 now occupies, to help pay off the national debt.
Even though it’s only 1998, businesses and information technology gurus already worry about whether the turning of 1999 to 2000 will cause computer problems, and even bring the power grid to a halt. Citizens are cautioned to fill up their bathtubs before the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. The Gartner Group, an IT consulting firm, estimates the worldwide cost to fix what is known as the “Y2K Problem” is $300 million to $600 million.Donna Brassard takes over as publisher in January 1999. Mainebiz, with sales of $400,000, is sold for $250,000 and becomes a division of Worcester Publishing Ltd. First staff hired. Publication expands focus statewide.
In 2000, after people drain their bathtubs and wonder what they will do with stockpiled batteries, Mainebiz goes biweekly.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments