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MEMA
Yesterday, MEMA President Jamie Py testified before the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic development committee supporting the bill to allow high school programs in plumbing to qualify and allow students to sit for the Plumbers Journeyman in Training license. We asked for an additional amendment to allow the Plumbers Board to approve a non-college or high school course so that others such as veterans, displaced mill workers and non-traditional students could also get into the trade more quickly.
We support the efforts to increase access to trade training programs because the demand for plumbers and Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning technicians is strong and increasing. Our members recognize the need for plumbers and have engaged the association to likewise create a program that brings people into the plumbing trade faster. We have just recently created an introductory plumbing course that precedes our HVAC-Pro course. See full testimony here.
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| MEMA's newest member Energy North
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MEMA
Energy North Group based in Lawrence, Massachusetts recently had its 35th anniversary with operations extending throughout New England and upstate New York. Today they operate over 50 convenience stores, food stores and car washes, and distribute gasoline and diesel to over 250 customers. Maine is important to the Energy North Group with both company-operated stores which spread from Wells to Boothbay and dealers from southern Maine to the Canadian border. The Haffner's Oil and Propane brand has extended its presence within northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire with goals of growth into Maine. Energy North Group has grown substantially over the past 10 years servicing and supporting all the major brands and major markets.
MEMA
Accepting ads now. Ad information and contract HERE.
St.Germain Collins | Sentry EHS
Sentry EHS, a technology solution created by St.Germain Collins, was one of only three businesses in Maine to be presented the 2016 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence.
The award — announced by Gov. Paul R. LePage and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in December, 2016 — was presented at St.Germain Collins' office in Westbrook on January 13 by Bill Longfellow, Director of Innovation and Assistance with MEDEP.
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MEMA
Please find the schedule and registration form HERE.
| Save the date: Spring Propane Summit — May 4
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MEMA
The Spring Propane Summit is coming up on May 4 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
May 4 — Spring Propane Summit
June 19-20 — MEMA – NH Convention – Northern NE Energy Conference - Sebasco Harbor Resort
Aug. 28 – MEMA Golf Tournament
Convenience Store News
When it comes to tobacco, retailers need to figure out their competitive edge and what they can do tomorrow to improve their odds of winning at tobacco retailing, according to David Bishop, managing director of sales and marketing firm Balvor LLC.
"Winning at retail is about doing a lot of things well; there is no one panacea," he told attendees of this week's Tobacco Plus Expo 2017.
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Convenience Store News
Stripes Convenience Stores and the Laredo Taco Co. program are emphasizing handmade, made-to-order food at the convenience store chain's new next-generation stores in Texas and Louisiana.
The first next-gen Stripes store opened in October 2016 in Texas. The new store design features a more spacious c-store and dining experience, showcasing Laredo Taco Co.'s fresh, authentic food offering as a restaurant destination, with both indoor and outdoor restaurant seating, the company said.
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Bloomberg BNA
The Justice Department wants a federal appeals court in Louisiana to pause a case challenging the Labor Department's pending overtime rule so the Trump administration can decide whether to defend the rule.
DOJ lawyers Jan. 25 asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for a 30-day extension on the deadline to file a brief in the overtime case ( Nevada v. DOL, 5th Cir., No. 16-41606). The extension is meant to give President Donald Trump's administration time to consider what to do about the rule.
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Small Business Trends
In his first hours as president, Donald Trump took aim at the Affordable Care Act, issuing an executive order "
"minimizing the economic burden" of the law and re-stating a campaign promise to have Obamacare repealed.
But according to health insurance expert Arthur Tacchino, the executive order has little, if any, practical impact on your small business in the short-term.
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Bangor Daily News
Side by side on Cousins Island in Yarmouth, the past and future of New England’s electric grid operate simultaneously.
Beside NextEra's 810-megawatt oil-fired power plant, the company has installed a 16.2-megawatt battery array that began operating in December 2016, according to a NextEra spokesman. The plant can store power for delivery to the grid at times of peak demand. The battery array is the largest in northern New England. The oil plant is the largest in Maine. The two resources use some of the same lines to deliver their power to the grid.
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Bangor Daily News
Sen. Susan Collins deserves credit for putting together an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, which many of her Republican colleagues promise to soon repeal, with or without a replacement plan. Her proposal, crafted along with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, would turn over much of the insurance program to the states. This raises many questions about whether and how residents will be insured — and the quality of their coverage.
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Portsmouth Herald
Recently released results of a town energy survey indicate overwhelming support for measures to reduce the town's reliance on fossil fuels — by an average of a 78 percent plurality.
The survey also shows just 52 percent of those polled favored spending taxpayer dollars to finance these measures. Town Planning Director Dylan Smith said the number indicates to him that residents are at least willing to listen to individual proposals. Selectmen's Chairman Robert Palmer said he thinks it means people may not want to pay for such projects at all.
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Reuters
Oil prices rose nearly 2 percent recently after news OPEC oil production has fallen sharply this month and the dollar sank.
A Reuters survey showed that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in January achieved 82 percent compliance with its promised production cuts, well above most market forecasts.
"This is very high, a good number," an OPEC source said of the January compliance estimate.
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