More than 30 dentists will volunteer their time this Friday, November 8, to provide teeth cleanings, fillings and extractions to people who cannot afford regular dental care and are not covered by dental insurance.
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Valentino supports new precision machining technology program at York County Community College9/21/2013 Senator Linda Valentino, the chair of the Joint Select Committee on Maine's Workforce and Economic Future, attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly established Precision Machining Technology Program at York County Community College. The program was supported by LD 90, the Workforce Committee's signature legislation which aimed to help close the skills gap and grow Maine's economy.
AUGUSTA – Today, the Legislature's Workforce Committee held a special meeting to continue its focus on strengthening Maine’s workforce and growing the state’s economy. During the three hour meeting, the committee heard updates from a number of panelists including John Dorrer, a nationally recognized workforce expert and Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.
State Sen. Linda Valentino, D-Saco, was recently appointed as chairwoman of the state’s Right to Know Advisory Committee, which will meet next at the State House in Augusta on Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. in room 438.
“It is truly an honor to receive this appointment,” Valentino said. “Government transparency is critical to ensuring government accountability and responsibility and this committee is dedicated to maintaining that transparency.” The committee is made up of 16 members and was established by the Legislature in 2006 to be a resource and to provide advice regarding Maine’s Freedom of Access laws. It’s tasked with providing recommendations to each branch of state government – executive, judicial, and legislative – and to local governments on how to best ensure public access to records, proceedings and other governmental documents and actions. The Right to Know Advisory Committee is also responsible for providing annual reports about the existing state of such laws. “We need to always be vigilant about public access to the workings of the people’s government and encourage public participation in our democracy,” Valentino said. “As the chair, I vow to support measures to keep Mainers informed and engaged.” It seems like just yesterday I was writing my first column of the 126th Legislature, and talking about Democratic priorities and goals for the session. We knew Mainers wanted us to work on developing Maine’s workforce and help put Mainers back to work. We knew Mainers wanted us to strengthen public education. We knew Mainers wanted us to lower the cost of both healthcare and energy. We knew Mainers wanted us to focus on our state’s future and find smart ways to invest in research and development and our transportation infrastructure, including our roads and bridges.
It would take many columns to discuss all the progress we made towards each of those goals, so I will focus on one particular piece of legislation which I believe will be crucial to strengthening our economy and bringing jobs to Maine. The measure, which I sponsored, will provide funding to help Maine businesses secure financing by extending and improving the successful Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program. A recent article in the Portland Press Herald noted that there are too few high-tech, high-skills, and typically high paying jobs in Maine. Although these jobs are slowly increasing in number, the Seed Capital Tax Credit will help startups and small businesses in these developing fields open their doors and expand their business. Maine entrepreneurs frequently recount the challenges faced in securing venture capital and private equity investments, which are key for the expansion of many businesses. Maine falls way behind the nation and even other New England states in average venture capital investment per capita, with only one-third the average annual investment per capita of Vermont and about one-ninth the annual investment in neighboring New Hampshire. At the beginning of the session, the existing Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program hit its statutory $30 million cap, and without action, the incredibly successful program would have ceased. It was clear that we could not allow the program to expire. In just the past year, the program resulted in $4.67 million invested in a dozen Maine companies, and since the creation of the program, 128 Maine companies have received capital. While we had to amend the bill due to limited state resources it will still provide bridge funding for the program over the next two years, andthen $675,000 in 2014, $4 million in 2015, and $5 million in 2016. For every $1 we spend it will yield $8 of investment in Maine businesses. To ensure the program benefits not only the company, but also Mainers looking for jobs, businesses applying for the Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program must certify that the amount of the credit is necessary to allow the business to create or retain jobs in the State. As I write this column, the governor has not yet signed or vetoed the measure, but I have been told that he is a supporter of the legislation and I fully expect he will recognize the significance of the program and sign the bill into law. It is always impressive to look back over the Legislative Session and see what we have accomplished in Augusta, but this session was particularly amazing. Even with a divided government we were able to come together when it mattered most for the people of Maine. For example, just this week lawmakers on each side of the isle joined together to override Governor LePage's budget veto.
Now that session is coming to a close I will be spending much more time at home and around the district. In fact, I've already been to some of our annual festivals (see pictures below). I hope to see you over the coming months, whether at Fireworks celebrating our great country's freedom on July 3 at Funtown/Splashtown U.S.A. or at one of the many Old Orchard Beach celebratory events. Best Regards, Linda Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program strengthened to encourage Maine investment
AUGUSTA—Today, the Senate enacted a measure to provide funding to help Maine businesses secure financing by extending and improving the successful Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program. By LINDA VALENTINO
This year, I was appointed to serve on the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future. We knew the committee had a lot of work to do when we began in January, and we’ve spent the past several months meeting workforce experts, business leaders, employers, educators and members of the public. We held public hearings and toured local sites in Bangor, Belfast and Biddeford. From what we learned, we created a comprehensive workforce development bill, LD 90, to strengthen our economy and help close the skills gap, which otherwise will cause 4,000 positions to go unfilled through 2018. Sen. Linda Valentino, D-Saco, Senate chair of the Judiciary Committee that considered the bill, was livid after the vote, calling it “an insult” because the Senate ignored the committee’s recommendation. Maine Attorney General Janet Mills also opposes the version passed by the Senate.
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