Terry Shumaker

The Ballot Law Commission decides election disputes and hears appeals from recounts. It comprises five members, two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, two by the senate president and one by the governor.

“I am honored by the confidence placed in me by the governor and I look forward to serving the state in this role,” said Shumaker.

Shumaker received his JD from Boston University School of Law in 1973. He is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He resides in Concord, New Hampshire.

About Bernstein Shur

Widely regarded as one of New England’s most entrepreneurial law firms, Bernstein Shur is a multi-service firm with more than 100 attorneys in offices in Maine and New Hampshire. Founded in 1915, the firm provides practical and innovative counsel in the areas of business law, litigation and municipal law to clients throughout the region and around the world. Bernstein Shur is Maine’s exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. More information is available at www.bernsteinshur.com.

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Three Courses, Two Restaurants, One Spectacular After Party
The Camden Gourmet Adventure, March 8

CAMDEN, Maine – The Camden Gourmet Adventure, the first culinary event of its kind in Maine, is scheduled for Thursday, March 8 as a Midcoast Maine highlight of Maine Restaurant Week.

Every guest who reserves a seat at the table by ordering tickets to the Camden Gourmet Adventure will enjoy courses in two different restaurants before heading to an after party with desserts from Megunticook Market and live music and dancing hosted by Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville.

Ticket holders will delight in two gourmet courses at two of the four participating restaurants: 40 Paper, Francine Bistro, Hartstone Inn and Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn. Guests will not know which course will be at which restaurant, or what the restaurants have created for this special evening, until they are delivered to the restaurant’s front door. Transportation will be provided to and from the restaurants and Cellardoor Winery’s dessert and dancing after party. The ticket price includes transportation, tax and tip. The Adventure begins with the purchase of a single $79 ticket.

On March 7, the day before the Camden Gourmet Adventure, ticket holders will receive an email with the evening’s schedule and gathering time and location for transportation.

Designed as an evening for the truly adventuresome food enthusiast, March 8 promises to be filled with delicious food and fun.

Tickets are available online only through Brownpapertickets.com. (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/224351)

The Camden Harbour Inn and Hartstone Inn will be offering special overnight rates for Thursday, March 8.

The evening is sponsored by Cellardoor Winery and Megunticook Market.

Maine Restaurant Week is sponsored by the Swan Agency-Sotheby’s International Realty, US Cellular, L.L.Bean Visa Card, Down East Magazine, Shipyard Brewing Company, American Express, Native Maine Produce, Maine Today Media and Cumulus Radio.

About Maine Restaurant Week
Maine Restaurant Week, March 1-10, is a statewide celebration of restaurants. In its fourth year, the event features restaurants offering three-course meals priced at $20, $30, or $40. A number of restaurants also offer three-course lunches for $15.

Mainerestaurantweek.com
Facebook.com/mainerestaurantweek
Twitter.com/dineme
Ph (207) 775-2126
E: dineme@mainerestaurantweek.com

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The Tavern at the Inn features local and regional beers, signature cocktails, wines, and an ever-changing menu of New England favorites prepared with fresh, local ingredients. The Tavern serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week as well as Saturday and Sunday brunch. Monday evenings and Saturday brunch in the summer feature live jazz music. Happy Hour is Sunday through Thursday from 4-6 pm year-round.

For more information about the Inn or the Tavern or for reservations call 207.837.6565 or visit http://www.innatbrunswickstation.com.

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One of Maine’s oldest winter markets offers prizes, fun and great food, Saturday, February 4 from 9 AM until noon!
You are invited to meet your Farmer, come and sample the products of farmers market vendors and State of Maine Cheese plus enter to win a Rockport Winter Market prize basket at the Rockport Marketplace, Rt 1, Rockport Maine.

State of Maine Cheese handcrafts award winning cheeses from Maine milk right on the premises. Every Saturday, all year round, Cathe invites farmers to market their products right at the store. To celebrate the Pats and Giants Super Bowl matchup and make winter fun, this market tasting on the 4th will give you the chance to taste some of the fine products available and purchase special “Super Bowl fare” if you like, for Game Day and other winter meals. An example, Emma’s Family Farm will offer special pricing on pasture raised chicken wings and grass fed hamburger.

Participating vendors include:
Emma’s Family Farm, Windsor, pasture raised pork, chicken, and beef and free range eggs;
Atlantic Baking Company, Rockland, pastries, specialty breads and rolls;
Lakins Gorges Cheese, Rockland, basket molded ricotta and other small batch cheeses;
Dilly Dally Farm, Plymouth, greens and winter vegetables;
Green Hollow Orchard, Whitefield, award winning pies, apples and cider;
State of Maine Cheese, Rockport, many different cheeses and spreads including cheddar cheese hearts wrapped in bright red wax just for Valentines day, gift baskets plus hundreds of Maine products always available in the Rockport Marketplace.

Come and enjoy samples, enter to win our winter market gift basket, meet some farmers and vendors, shop for Maine products and find out what our winter market in Rockport can offer you each week.

For further information you can call State of Maine Cheese at (207) 236-8895
Or Emma’s Family Farm at (207) 445-2141.

Senator Courtney, Representative Knight and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation, my name is Nancy Smith and I am the Executive Director of GrowSmart Maine. As many of you know from our previous interactions with the committee, GrowSmart Maine is a statewide non-profit organization working at the intersection of economic development, community revitalization, and natural and working land conservation. I regret that previously scheduled commitments prevent me or other GrowSmart Maine representatives from presenting this testimony at today’s Public Hearing.

As a part of our commitment to strengthening Maine’s economy, GrowSmart Maine is particularly enthusiastic about well grounded, thoughtful proposals which seek to grow the economy in a sustainable manner while at the same time protecting our state’s unique character and quality of place. We believe this bill fits that description. It is noted in the landmark 2006 report Charting Maine’s Future, commissioned by GrowSmart Maine, “this report affirms Mainers’ abiding intuition that economic success and quality places matter equally and can be fostered by effective, frugal government.”

In my eight years as a state legislator, we debated numerous efforts to evaluate the impact and cost of tax incentive programs, but made little progress. We even looked at the legislative process, hoping to encourage more collaboration between legislative policy committees to measure the value of tax policy proposals. I endorse this bill because it does provide a comprehensive, thoughtful approach to accomplish these goals.

Several components of this legislation are particularly noteworthy: the inclusion of a broad range of potential impacts to be considered, the repeal date and evaluation process at that time so that a review of the true impacts is necessary for a tax policy to continue, and the process by which the Taxation committee reviews each bill with proposed tax incentives, once the policy committee of jurisdiction has endorsed the legislation.

Last year, GrowSmart Maine led a broad coalition that appeared before this committee proposing the elimination of the sunset on the Historic Preservation Tax Credit (HPTC) due to its impressive success. Many of the potential impacts outlined in LD 1730 were a part of the economic impact evaluation brought forward by the coalition to support this change. In the end, this committee and the legislature made the sound decision to extend the sunset by ten years. This too is in line with the process now under consideration in this bill.

One caution I would offer is to ensure that the repeal date of tax policy is out far enough to provide a predictable regulatory environment required for planning, investments, and action. As we learned with the HPTC, developers require a planning window of at least five years due to the complexity and time commitment inherent in the rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide these remarks. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding GrowSmart Maine’s support for LD 1730.

About the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project: The Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project is a non-profit legal aid organization that provides free legal information, assistance and representation to low-income people with civil legal problems. All of their legal services are provided by community and attorney volunteers supported and supervised by a small staff. Their mission is to make “justice for all” a reality in Maine by giving people the knowledge, tools and support to be equal participants in our justice system.

About Verrill Dana: In 2012, Verrill Dana celebrates 150 years of legal service. Verrill Dana, LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 100 attorneys conducting a nationwide practice from offices in Portland and Augusta, Maine; Boston; Stamford, CT; and Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit our website at www.verrilldana.com.

Jaimie Schwartz

“Jaimie has been part of MEREDA for more than 15 years and has always considered his various positions in the organization a pleasure and a privilege,” said Thomas Lea, president of MEREDA. “For Jaimie, real estate is a very real and tangible thing that has meaning to people, whether it’s a profitable office building, the protection of a sensitive ecosystem or perpetuation of a beautiful view.”

Schwartz received his JD from The Ohio State University in 1991, graduating with honors. He is a member of the Maine State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell. He is a director of MEREDA and volunteers with many local organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement of Maine and the Portland Players. Schwartz has been recognized by both Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA for his work in real estate law. He resides in South Portland.

About Bernstein Shur

Widely regarded as one of New England’s most entrepreneurial firms, Bernstein Shur is a multi-service law firm with more than 100 attorneys in offices in Maine and New Hampshire. Founded in 1915, the firm provides practical and innovative counsel in the areas of business law, litigation, and municipal law to clients throughout the region and around the world. Bernstein Shur is Maine’s exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. More information is available at www.bernsteinshur.com.

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PORTLAND, Maine (February 1, 2012) — Mercy’s 7^th Annual Gourmet Gala for Gary’s House Food and Wine Extravaganza will be held on Wednesday, March 21^st  at the Holiday Inn by the Bay and will feature 16 restaurants and chefs from greater Portland’s restaurants and caterers.

Hosted by comedian Joe Ricchio with guest judge Sam Hayward, James Beard Award winner and Chef at Fore Street, this food and wine extravaganza includes both a silent and a live auction, as well as live music by Paper Street Jazz Band. And all new this year— beer tasting!

This event is open to the general public, details follow:

What:              Mercy’s 7^th Annual Gourmet Gala for Gary’s House

When:             Wednesday, March 21

Time:              Doors open at 6 PM, Judging is 6-7:30 PM

Where:            Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland

Cost:               $40 per person

Highlights:     Comedian Joe Ricchio as the guest MC and auctioneer, Sam Hayward, Chef at Fore Street as guest judge, Music by Paper Street Jazz Band, Silent and Live Auction – items include airline tickets, restaurant gift certificates, jewelry, art and much more.

Restaurants and vendors attending the event include A Moveable Feast, Calendar Island’s Maine Lobster, Cranberry Island Kitchen, CVC Catering, DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant, Figa, Flour Designs, Frog & Turtle Gastro Pub, Holiday Inn by the Bay, Mercy Food Service, Nosh, Otto’s Pizza, The Meat House, Pineland Farms, The Farmer’s Table, and Zapoteca.

For tickets, more information about the event or to sponsor, please contact Kim Toppi at
207-879-3605. For a complete list of participating restaurants visit our website or Facebook Page.

About Gary’s House
Gary’s House opened in 1998 as a safe and affordable place for families to stay when a loved one is in the hospital. Gary’s House is more than just a place for guests to rest, it’s a place where families can gain strength from one another while they cope with emotional and physical stresses that can accompany illness and hospitalization.

About Mercy Health System of Maine
Mercy Health System of Maine is a growing community of health care professionals who provide clinically excellent, compassionate care. A recognized leader in quality, safety, innovation and patient experience, Mercy operates campuses throughout southern Maine, offering a broad range of medical and surgical services, as well as primary and specialty care. The story of Mercy includes Mercy Hospital, Gary’s House, McAuley Residence, Mercy Recovery Center, and VNA Home Health Hospice. For more information, please call (207) 879-3486 or visit www.mercyhospital.org.

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