Peter Van Allen

For our focus on Augusta, Waterville and central Maine, there was an abundance of topics to tackle.

Portland Housing Authority and Portland Housing Development Corp. recently cut the ribbon on the second phase of the Front Street redevelopment project in the East Deering's neighborhood.

Avesta Housing, the Portland-based nonprofit developer of affordable housing, on Tuesday unveiled the River Turn Apartments, Avesta's first community in the Mount Washington Valley region of New Hampshire.

Among the favorite quotations, people cited Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson and Winston Churchill. They also cited living sources, author Alice Walker to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to poet Amanda Gorman.

But, just as COVID coverage dominated the inside pages of Mainebiz in 2020, people wearing masks were also a common feature on the cover.

Maine's midcoast and Downeast regions are often defined by the fishing industry, aquaculture and tourism industries.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB), parent of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, said even after a one-time tax benefit earnings grew by 8%.

Now, 16 months after that restructuring, Puritan Medical Products said it is again hiring, looking to add 50 employees to its present roster of 450.

Jim McCarthy was a longtime Maine journalist who capped off his career at Mainebiz, first as a reporter and then as the digital editor.

For our cover story, “Exit focus,” Senior Writer Renee Cordes spent time with the owners of Elm City Photo, John and Celine Goodine. As the title of the story indicates, the Goodines are looking to retire and looking for a buyer. It's a story we seem to be hearing a lot recently: A successful niche business, run by passionate owner-operators, is looking for a buyer — ideally, someone who shares a passion for that particular endeavor.