John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci plans to strike an optimistic tone about the future of the state's economy and will talk about improving energy, health care, education and economic development when he delivers his sixth State of the State address Tuesday night.
The governor also plans to unveil a major energy initiative, although he refused to give specifics during a wide-ranging interview Friday with the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.
The governor said he would speak Tuesday night on the state's economic health, and on initiatives he wants in place that would position the state to take advantage of an economic rebound – when it comes.
"I think it's quite evident that the tide has been out and the economy has been very tough," Baldacci said. "I think what happens during tough times is you get back to your core values."
Baldacci's speech before the Legislature in the chamber of the House of Representatives begins at 7 p.m. and will be carried live on the radio and television stations of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.
Elected in 2002, Baldacci is in his final two years as governor of a state that has fallen on hard times. The unemployment rate in Maine was 7 percent in December, the most recent monthly figure available. Mainstay industries like pulp and paper continue to fail, with layoffs and furloughs hitting mills from Madawaska to Baileyville – where Domtar Corp. announced last week it is idling its pulp plant and putting 300 out of work.
Also last week, RR Donnelley announced it was closing its Spencer Press printing plant in Wells, which makes catalogs and other promotional materials, and laying off 374 workers.
Cutting edge sectors are hurting, too, with companies like Fairchild Semiconductor in South Portland temporarily laying off workers to deal with a global economic slowdown.
The recession has decimated the state's revenues. In January, Baldacci submitted a $6.1 billion, two-year budget that was $200 million less than the previous biennial budget and sought to close an $838 million budget gap.
"Are we taking shocks? Yes," Baldacci said. "But everybody else is. The world is."
One of Maine's strengths continues to be an educated work force, said Baldacci. Harsh economic times are an opportunity for people to update or learn new skills, he said, potentially taking advantage of the state's relatively new community college system.
Baldacci said he looks at Maine's oldest industry, boatbuilding, as a template for adapting in a new economy. Boatbuilders were pointed to as the "old economy," said Baldacci, and largely written off.
But Maine builders like Hinckley, Sabre, Lyman-Morse, Hodgdon and others modernized, trained workers in new technologies, and their boats are still in demand around the world, he said.
He pointed to how industry and the state have worked together to address problems in the paper industry. The Lincoln Pulp and Paper mill in Lincoln remains successful, one in Brewer has been gutted and reopened by Cianbro Corp. as a plant building equipment for the oil industry, and another former mill in Old Town is now a bio-refinery operation.
Portland is another bright spot, Baldacci said.
Following waterfront infrastructure investments in the state's largest city, Maine may get triple the number of cruise ship visits this season it got last year, he said.
The state plans to modernize the waterfront's container-ship facilities, and the area's passenger rail system may be expanded. A National Basketball Association Development League team will debut in Portland in November, adding to the city's already active sports scene, he said.
Baldacci even sees potential positives amid some of the recent bad economic news. Economic development officials in Wells, where RR Donnelley is closing its printing plant, noted that the building is in a key area for redevelopment, right off the Maine Turnpike, the governor said.
Baldacci also said he has spoken with the Washington County legislative delegation about the Domtar closing.
They're talking about other options for diversifying the economy there, including possible production of wood pellets for heating systems.
The delegation stressed to him, "these are tough times, but we're tough people," said Baldacci.
Baldacci said he would also speak Tuesday about Maine's energy future. In every report he's seen, experts say the state is "geographically positioned to significantly benefit from new energy," Baldacci said.
In his $306 million bond package proposal, Baldacci unveiled plans to work with the University of Maine to develop a technology proving ground for off-shore and near-shore wind power systems. And he mentioned development of a "smart grid" in the state – a network of sensors and computers that would integrate faraway, intermittent generators with customer demand.
"When we come out of the recession, I think Maine will be much better positioned," he said.
Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:
mwickenheiser@pressherald.com
Copyright © 2010 MaineToday Media, Inc.