Maine: University Of Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine — A federal Bureau of Labor Statistics survey may provide a more accurate picture of the state’s unemployment situation than the “official” rate released monthly by the Maine Department of Labor.

The state’s figures are based primarily on the numbers of people receiving unemployment insurance, but new data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics could broaden the state’s view.

Todd Gabe, an economist at the University of Maine, said the federal survey, which was started in 2007, measures areas such as people who have been unemployed longer than 15 weeks; workers whose temporary jobs are completed; workers who have part-time jobs and cannot find full-time work; and a growing sector — “discouraged” workers, those who have been unemployed for a long time and possibly have given up searching for work because they may be convinced there is nothing available.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Several farm organizations are working feverishly to find options for 30 Maine organic dairy farmers who either lost their H.P. Hood milk contracts or were asked last month to cut back production.

Hood has dropped eight of Maine’s farms in Aroostook and Washington counties and asked hundreds of farmers — from New York to Bangor — to cut production by up to 15 percent.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, the Maine Farm Bureau and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association have joined together to find another processor and Maine markets to avert an organic dairy crisis.

Despite U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics that show a healthy growth rate of 24 percent in fluid organic milk sales last year, Hood spokeswoman Lynne Bohan said the cutback is due to the economic recession that has consumers spending less on organic milk.

BANGOR, Maine — U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree have announced the formation of a five-member committee that will assist and advise them on their recommendation to President Obama on the appointment of the next U.S. attorney in Maine.

Michaud and Pingree are looking for the committee to complete its work by the end of March, according to a joint press release issued Friday.

The members of the advisory committee, all lawyers, are: Leigh Stephens McCarthy of Bangor; Donald Zillman, president of the University of Maine at Presque Isle; Jeff Thaler of Portland; and Virginia Davis and Walter McKee, both of Augusta.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Health care was in the spotlight on Friday as state officials and others seeking to improve Maine’s health care system reviewed three revealing reports.

— According to data from 2006, Mainers sought care in hospital emergency departments at a rate 30 percent higher than the national average.

— The same year, potentially avoidable hospital admissions ramped up health care spending in the state by more than $283 million.

— In 2005, Maine’s Medicaid program and public employee groups such as state workers, municipal employees, University of Maine employees and public school teachers spent nearly $3 billion to care for just over 500,000 people — the cost driven largely by increased use of outpatient services such as high-tech imaging and cancer screenings.