Briefcase
From staff and news services
November 20, 2009
PORTLAND: Half-million-plus travelers give jetport best 3rd quarter
Portland International Jetport is reporting its best third quarter ever.
The jetport released figures Thursday showing that 565,208 passengers passed through the facility in July, August and September of this year. That's nearly 1.5 percent more than for the previous best third quarter, which was recorded in 2008.
But the jetport also says passenger figures to-date this year are down slightly from last year's. However, officials are optimistic that the numbers will continue to rise as the year ends.
Jetport Director Paul Bradbury said the figures indicate that Portland continues to attract more passengers who once may have used either Boston's Logan or Manchester airport in New Hampshire.
Learn more about employee misclassification tonight
A public forum on worker misclassification will be held tonight.
The governor's Joint Task Force on Employee Misclassification will be taking comments from workers, businesses and the general public. The forum will be held at 5 p.m. at the Labor Department's CareerCenter on Lancaster Street.
Employee misclassification takes place when employers hire workers as independent contractors when they ought to be classified as employees. Misclassification can lead to evasion of laws governing issues including wages, unemployment insurance, income taxes, workers' compensation and child support.
A Labor Department audit found that 41 percent of surveyed employers in construction had improperly misclassified employees as independent contractors, up from 29 percent in 2004.
AUGUSTA: Commission plans hearings on CMP's network expansion
Maine utility regulators have set dates for another round of public hearings on Central Maine Power's $1.5 billion plan to expand its transmission network.
The Public Utilities Commission will hold a second set of hearings on Dec. 3 in Gorham and Dec. 10 in South China. The hearings are to record citizen views on the project.
The first two sessions were held in last November in Waterville and Lewiston.
CMP needs the PUC's approval for new construction and reconstruction of about 350 miles of 345 and 115 kilovolt transmission lines and several substations throughout Maine.
PUC Chair Sharon Reishus said the commission must decide whether the project is in the interest of ratepayers.
