Blog - Local / Community News Items and Commentary

CareerCenter Hiring Events are Back…Virtually!

Maine CareerCenters are pleased to announce the return of Hiring Events using a virtual format.  Events will run on a weekly basis each Thursday from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm.  These hiring events are open to all businesses in the state of Maine and will be based on industry per the following schedule:

October 15, 2020 – Construction Trades (Electrical/Carpentry/Plumbing/Roofing)
October 22, 2020 – Education/Custodial/Janitorial
October 29, 2020 – Medical/Medical Staffing/Home Care

Gardens Aglow 2020: The Show Will Go On in a Whole New Light

For Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, the show will indeed go on this year. Recently, the Gardens announced that, after careful planning, research, communication with state and town officials, and in conjunction with COVID-19 safety protocols, Gardens Aglow will light up the peninsula for the sixth year in a row—with one important change: what has been a walking tour in previous years will become a driving experience in 2020.

“We wanted to find a safe way of continuing and honoring what’s become an annual tradition for so many families,” says Gardens’ President and CEO, Gretchen Ostherr. “Our committee has worked hard to map out the safest, most accessible route, taking traffic and congestion very much into consideration.”

To ensure that traffic will flow smoothly, both on the peninsula and along the Gardens Aglow route, CMBG made the decision to establish limited entries per 15-minute intervals. “We worked with the town of Boothbay, and this system will help us avoid backups onto the road,” says Ostherr.

Tickets are sold by the car, not by the individual, and are only available in advance for a specific time slot.

MEDIA ALERT / PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Thursday, September 10

Contact:  Joyce Fehl, Curtis Memorial Library

207.504.4797

jfehl@curtislibrary.com

FOR OVER 30 YEARS, TAPE ARTISTS HAVE BEEN MAKING ...

Curtis Library to Reopen the Building to Patrons

Beginning Friday, August 7 and Saturday, August 8

Curbside Service to Continue Monday through Saturday

BRUNSWICK, Maine – For the month of August, Curtis Memorial Library looks forward to welcoming patrons back inside for the first time since March, when the building closed due to Maine CDC directives as part of the COVID-19 shutdown.

The library building will be open for limited browsing and computer use on Fridays in August from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm beginning August 7, and Saturdays in August from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm beginning August 8.  Opening additional hours and days will be considered in September.

Social distancing and the choice of wearing a mask in public has become a hotly debated and
divisive topic recently.  As the State of Maine looks to re-open our economy, one key aspect not
being addressed is consumer confidence.  Through reading social media posts, conversations with friends and discussions with colleagues, the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber discovered this was an issue for the Maine consumer.  If we want to return to any sense of normalcy we need to address concerns the consumers may have so they can feel confident to patronize Maine
businesses.  Anecdotally, we knew there was uneasiness from some consumers, but we had no way to gauge how much uneasiness there was, and if it was wide spread or regional.   

On the afternoon of June 4, 2020 we released a 20-question online survey created through Survey Planet, to gather consumer attitudes on social distancing in Maine businesses.  Partner agencies statewide also sent the survey out to their contact lists.  Our hope was to get 500 responses in a week to make it a statistically significant survey.  When the survey closed June 12, we had 2,939 responses.

Our Wayfair Brunswick facility has an immediate need for 18 full time Customer Service Consultants at our customer contact center to start in June and July…. In order to protect our employees and keep them safe and healthy, employees will start with Wayfair in a work-from-home capacity, eventually transitioning to our physical sites when we reopen…

• Starting Wage: $16/hour, plus opportunity to earn up to $18/hour with additional training in the first year, bonuses and overtime opportunities
• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance programs. We have multiple medical plans to choose from and Wayfair covers ~65% of premiums for medical insurance, and 100% of vision and dental insurances.
• 401k with matching
• Life Insurance
• Disability Coverage
• Wellness & Employee Assistance Programs

Maine Maritime Museum is excited to announce that we will be reopening to the public on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Museum staff have been preparing the 20-acre campus in accordance with all guidelines from the state of Maine and developing fun new ways for guests to experience Maine’s maritime culture.

“We know people have been missing the museum, and we have been missing you too! We are grateful for the support we’ve received from friends near and far, and we’re so excited to open our doors and welcome everyone back. We are fortunate to have acres of outdoor space for our visitors to explore, and with 2020 being Maine’s bicentennial, it’s the perfect time to come discover our state’s maritime history,” said Katie Spiridakis, marketing and communications manager.

To accommodate physical distancing guidelines

Priority Launches Fundraising Campaign for Big Brother Big Sisters

This week we are highlighting a $5,000 Community Match Challenge benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bath/Brunswick.  Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) matches and professionally supports one-to-one mentoring relationships between youth and adult volunteers.  These mentoring relationships have shown incredible improvements in the academic and personal success of local youth throughout their lives.

Governor Janet Mills today presented her Administration’s plan to gradually and safely restart Maine’s economy. The plan, which comes as the State appears to be successfully flattening the curve, establishes four gradual stages of reopening, the first of which begins  May 1st. The stages focus not on essential v. non-essential designations like those used to originally limit business operations and activities, but on the ability of a business to operate or an activity to occur in a manner that protects public health and safety. As the Administration gradually eases restrictions on some businesses and activities, it also implements protective protocols, along with broader additional health and safety measures, to protect Maine people.   

“The Brunswick Development Corporation’s Pandemic Emergency Loan fund is recapitalized to $100,000 and BDC is accepting applications.  The PEL fund was replenished through a $25,000 private donation, a $25,000 match by the Town of Brunswick from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenues, and a BDC allocation of $50,000.