Maine State Chamber of Commerce

The leader of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and others blasted a bill that would sharply curtail the ability of Maine businesses to use third-party data and location-based advertising to reach customers without additional consent.

The Chamber says LD 1870 is “costly, redundant and unnecessary.” More than two dozen business associations have expressed their opposition to the bill.

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce will delve into the Middle East conflict's wider impact the cost of heating oil, natural gas and electricity.

“When energy costs rise, everyone feels it — at the gas pump, in heating bills and in grocery prices,” an economics professor at the University of New England College of Business told Mainebiz.

If passed, the bill would limit businesses’ ability to use third-party data and location-based advertising to reach customers, requiring additional consent to do so.

Grant funds may be used for legal or compliance support, employee communication, assistance with application fees, improvements to HR tracking, or other workforce support strategies.

The head of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce hailed the prospect of an additional allocation of workers under a U.S. visa program.

Some businesses plan to stay closed this Friday during a national day of "no school, no work and no shopping,” while others are taking a different tack.

Business leaders from around the state have varying expectations for the coming year.

Seafood production facilities “absolutely depend on workers from immigrant communities” to get seafood to the markets, said one employer.