East Millinocket

Former Katahdin Chamber of Commerce Director Peter Jamieson will promote economic development in Millinocket, East Millinocket, Medway, Patten, Mount Chase, Sherman, Stacyville and Island Falls in the position that was created in 2018.

A new online program set to start this fall will be Maine's first in the interdisciplinary field of emergency management, and the country’s only emergency management graduate program that is "trauma-informed," UMA says.

The plan by Millinocket, East Millinocket and Medway is only the third regional one in the state. But the towns, with support for Eastern Maine Development Corp., say the collaborative effort will build a strong economic foundation in western Penobscot County.

The company would be the first to sign on as a tenant at the former Great Northern Paper site, which the town of East Millinocket bought last year with the intention of developing a forest-industrial park.

The marathon and half-marathon, which have grown from a pop-up event with 52 runners in 2015 to more than 2,000, and have generated an estimated $1 million for the Katahdin region, won't be run this year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

For the eight towns straddling Penobscot and Aroostook counties, economic growth may come as the result of a steady stream of "micro-transformations," led by entrepreneurs motivated by outdoor attractions — and the pandemic.

The deal paves the way for the town to begin redevelopment of the 215-acre site, in hopes of attracting multiple industrial users. Demolition of portions of the facility will take place over the next 18 months.

The five communities, all hit hard by the demise of the traditional timber industry, are looking at innovative ways to take advantage of the abundance of timber in the region — as well as former mill sites.

The federal agency has spent more than $234 million over the last five years, enhanced by a 2018 Maine bond issue, to upgrade wastewater systems across the state.

Maine has been awarded another $2 million in federal funding to shore up its forest economy, the state's two senators announced Friday.