Patrick Woodcock

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.

The leaders behind a new coalition for pro-housing solutions will take part in panel discussion on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

Maine’s new benefits law will give employees the option of taking up to 12 weeks of paid time off at up to 90% of their compensation rate. The plan is the most generous in the country, but employers, large and small, see challenges.

The Build Homes, Build Community initiative aims to reduce barriers to production at both the state and municipal levels.

Participants will include the CEOs of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as the president of MEREDA and the CEO of Bangor Savings Bank.

“Clearly, we do not need additional unpredictability,” Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, told Mainebiz hours after the federal government shut down over a budget dispute.

Dan Burgess, director of the Governor's Energy Office, will serve as acting commissioner of the new Maine Department of Energy Resources, subject to approval by state lawmakers.