Combined News

Movie lights and cameras have resulted in economic action in Maine.

University of Maine economist Todd Gabe says including multiplier effects, film and photography sectors contributed nearly $118 million to the statewide economy in 2010, as well as 2,057 full- and part-time jobs, and $33.1 million in salaries.

The total financial impact of movie production and photography in Maine in 2010 was similar to the amount grossed that year by Shutter Island — $128 million.

A few scenes of that mystery-thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley were shot in Maine. The $128 million grossed by Shutter Island was good for 20thoverall among movies in 2010. (Toy Story 3 was tops at the box office that year, grossing more than $415 million.)

In 2010, Gabe says movie and photography industries directly supported 1,698 jobs in Maine — including people working full- and part-time for film production companies and photography businesses, as well as self-employed people. The jobs, he says, provided about $19.6 million in salaries.

“Maine is a great state for filmmakers and the entire state benefits from a vibrant film industry,” says Karen Carberry Warhola, director of the Maine Film Office. “Creating conditions to encourage filmmaking in Maine can be economically advantageous to the state.”

Nationwide in 2010, including multiplier effects, the U.S motion picture and television industry supported 2.1 million jobs and $143 billion in wages, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

A multiplier is when an increase in spending in a given industry initiates a flow of expenditures to other companies and workers that generates more economic activity.

The Maine Attraction Film Incentive Program, adopted in 2006, gave tax reimbursements and credits to companies involved with eight projects involving video or photo shoots in the state in 2012, and 17 in 2011. The projects resulted in approximately 108 full- and part-time jobs in 2012 and 281 in 2011, Gabe says.

Including multiplier effects, Gabe says projects supported by the Maine Attraction Film Incentive Program during 2011 and 2012 generated a total statewide economic contribution of $11.6 million in output, an average per year of 195 full- and part-time jobs and 3.4 million in wages.

Gabe has conducted a number of studies about the impact of entertainment and tourism-related industries on local economies, including the Waterfront Concert Series in Bangor and cruise ship passengers in Bar Harbor and Portland, Maine. This study was conducted with input from the Maine Film Office.

Contact: Beth Staples, 207.581.3777

This year, the Graduate School held its first Graduate Student photo contest which was open to all UMaine graduate students and included prizes for 1st place ($100), 2nd place ($50), and 3rd place ($25) in two categories: grad student life and grad student research.  Students from various disciplines participated and the winners were announced at the GradExpo in April.  To view the winning submissions, please click here.  

The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center will welcome more than 500 students from 60 Maine schools to the DeepCWind Consortium’s 3rd Annual Windstorm Challenge and the 5th Annual Maine Composites Alliance Wind Blade Challenge on Friday, May 3.

The daylong events will be held in UMaine’s New Balance Student Recreation Center.

Windstorm Challenge asks teams of middle and high school students to design and construct a floating platform for a scale model wind turbine, and deliver a business plan and sales pitch to a panel of expert judges. Teams are critiqued on the technical feasibility and aesthetic design of their platform, as well as the quality of their sales pitch. The Windstorm Challenge encourages an interdisciplinary approach to solving large problems.

Maine Wind Blade Challenge was developed by the Maine Composites Alliance, Maine Wind Industry Initiative and UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center to inspire students’ exploration of alternative energy and composites materials by participating in a hands-on application of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The event incorporates STEM guidelines in the classroom, and applied composites and energy education in the field. Students are matched with Maine composite businesses to use hands-on infusion techniques to build their blades.

The cooperating events will have an award ceremony at the end of the day, presenting winning team members from each competition a paid internship at the UMaine Composites Center, an award valued at more than $20,000, contingent upon their enrollment at the University of Maine. More information can be found by visiting windstormchallenge.com or mainewindbladechallenge.com.

The DeepCwind Consortium’s mission is to establish the state of Maine as a national leader in deepwater offshore wind technology through a research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation-Partnerships for Innovation and others.

Contact: Josh Plourde, 207.581.2117, josh.plourde@maine.edu

WLBZ (Channel 2) reported on the University of Maine’s 78th annual Maine Day. The day’s events included a parade, service projects and a mud volleyball, or oozeball, tournament. Around 2,000 students took part in the cleanup effort that included 70 different projects throughout the campus. The Bangor Daily News also carried photos of the oozeball competition.

The Bangor Daily News, WVII (Channel 7) and WLBZ (Channel 2) covered therapy dog visits to the University of Maine’s Fogler Library. Seven dogs will visit the library for two hours a day during finals to offer stress relief for studying students.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Maine AgrAbility program was mentioned in the Portland Press Herald blog “The Root: Dispatches from Maine’s food sources.” Lani Carlson, Maine AgrAbility project coordinator, spoke about the program that provides services and assistance to support Maine farmers with disabilities and their families so they can continue to have successful agricultural careers.

WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) reported 70 members of the University of Maine community shaved their heads to raise money for children with cancer. UMaine Circle K, a Kiwanis-affiliated college service organization, held its 3rd annual St. Baldrick’s head shaving event on Maine Day in the Steam Plant Lot. The organization raised about $12,000.

WABI (Channel 5) reported the University of Maine football and women’s soccer team hosted the annual Jeff Cole Bone Marrow Drive. Students were asked to come to the Memorial Union and have a swab inside the cheek taken as a sample to be put in the national bone marrow registry.

The St. John Valley Times previewed the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s open house May 6 at its new location on the University of Maine at Fort Kent campus.

University of Maine 2013 Commencement is May 11, with ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Alfond Sports Arena.

Motorists in the Orono area will encounter heavier traffic than usual throughout much of the day. Anyone attending Commencement should plan to arrive early. Doors open at 8 a.m.

People attending Commencement are urged to park in the Collins Center Parking Lot on campus, where three shuttle buses will transport them to the arena. The Collins Center Lot is easily reached by traveling on Rangeley Road and following signs.

Shuttle buses also will provide transportation to Alfond Arena from the following parking lots: Steam Plant, Belgrade, Hilltop and Buchanan Alumni House.

The ceremonies will be broadcast live in Bennett Hall in the event that Alfond Arena reaches its legally allowable capacity as determined by the Orono fire marshal. Captioned, live video streaming will be available online for both the morning and afternoon ceremonies.

Backpacks and large bags of any type brought to Alfond Arena during Commencement will be searched at the entrance. People are strongly encouraged to leave large bags and any unnecessary items in their vehicles. Strollers are prohibited in Alfond Arena.

Spectators are not allowed on the Commencement floor for any purpose, including photos. Only professional photographers hired by the university with proper credentials are permitted to photograph the ceremony from the floor.

Vehicles with handicapped plates or placards can be parked in the Satellite Lot behind Alfond Stadium. There will be a designated handicapped drop-off area on the side of the Alfond Arena, where University Volunteer Ambulance Corps personnel will be available to assist attendees.

Visitors are reminded that the University of Maine is a tobacco-free campus.

Posted May 1, 2013

Rachel Kennedy, a Doctor of Philosophy student set to graduate in the Biomedical Sciences program in August 2013, has accepted a postdoctoral position at Columbia University. She will be working in the neurobiology and neuroscience labs of Drs. Rae Silver and James Curley researching the role of immune cells called mast cells in the brain. These cells are known to defend the body against parasitic attack, and are main effector cells in allergies and asthma, but their normal physiology in the brain is not known. Kennedy’s dissertation research, performed in the laboratory of Dr. Julie Gosse, focused on the effect of environmental toxicants on mast cell degranulation, and she said of her future research, “There is no real understanding of what mast cells are doing in the brain. We are interested in understanding both the normal physiology and pathology of mast cells in the brain, which may have implications for disease states such as anxiety and depression.” While at Columbia University Kennedy will also be a lecturer in psychology for the Frontiers of Science program, part of the core curriculum for undergraduate students.

The Bangor Daily News spoke with Steve Abbott, University of Maine’s athletic director, about the hiring of a new men’s ice hockey coach. Abbott said he hopes the search committee will name a new coach by the end of May.

Mainebiz interviewed George Jacobson, professor emeritus of biology, ecology and climate change at the University of Maine, for the article “Maine companies prep for rise in climate change planning.” Jacobson said because CO2 levels continue to rise, contributing to higher temperatures around the globe, companies need to think about adaptation planning.

Targeted News Service picked up a University of Maine report on the Reading Recovery program. Twenty years of Reading Recovery in the state, led by the University of Maine, will be celebrated May 3 at the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor.

The Republican Journal of Belfast reported a University of Maine sophomore from Troy was one of two students to win the George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship. Lorna Harriman will spend a semester studying in Ireland as part of the student exchange program.

The San Francisco Chronicle and The Examiner based in Washington, D.C., were among news organizations across the nation to pick up an Associated Press report on the University of Maine’s groundbreaking of the $5.2 million Emera Astronomy Center.

Judith A. Hakola, University of Maine instructor and member of the English department faculty for almost 50 years, will be honored with an award in her name at 2:30 p.m. May 1 at the English Student Honors and Awards Event at the Foster Center for Student Innovation.

The Judith A. Hakola Award in Professional and Technical Communication was established at UMaine in 2001, and originally named The Oliver Award in Technical Communication. In 2013, the founding contributors approved changing the name to honor and celebrate the contributions of Hakola.

Hakola came to UMaine in 1963 as a teaching assistant. She became an instructor in 1965, when she began teaching four sections of college composition. In addition to her teaching and service to the English department, Hakola has been teaching in civil engineering for nearly 30 years.

In addition to the May 1 ceremony, Hakola will also be honored during the Civil Engineering Awards Breakfast on May 11, commencement day.

For more information on the award, contact Charlsye Diaz on FirstClass.

The Bangor Daily News, WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) were among several news organizations to cover the University of Maine’s groundbreaking of the $5.2 million Emera Astronomy Center that will serve as the new home of the Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Observatory. Construction begins in mid-May and could be complete by fall 2014. The Lewiston Sun Journal and Portland Press Herald also carried an Associated Press report.

Jason Bolton, assistant professor and food safety specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with WABI (Channel 5) about tips to keep in mind when picking and eating fiddleheads to avoid foodborne illnesses. Tips include picking the right variety, making sure they come from a clean environment and thoroughly washing and boiling before eating.

The Virginian-Pilot interviewed Mary Madden, an education professor and co-director of the National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention at the University of Maine, for an article on a deadly hazing incident at Virginia State University. Madden said groups such as fraternities appear prestigious to many young college students because they seem exclusive and give students a community.