Business Profiles
One year after the shipyard survived BRAC...
Maine, N.H. to focus on regional economic development
KITTERY - A little more than one year after the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard survived the 2005 Base Realigment and Closure round, the two states most closely associated with the shipyard are looking at other regional ways to improve the area's economy.Throughout the BRAC process, one of the points reiterated time and again - in addition to the shipyard's best-in-the-nation work record on the maintenance and overhaul of Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines - was its huge economic contribution to the Seacoast region of Maine and New Hampshire, and beyond.
Economic development practitioners, planning commissions and chamber groups from Maine and New Hampshire announced last week that they would be hosting a two-state summit entitled "Looking Beyond the Shipyard, Finding the Common Ground to Advance Our Regional Economy."
The event will be held on Sept. 12 at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, N.H. The day will include several speakers, presentations and opportunities for participants to share their ideas on the economic vitality of the Seacoast region, as well as opportunities for collaboration.
New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch and Maine Gov. John Baldacci have been invited to address the audience.
Key speakers will include former Maine Gov. Angus King for a talk on the "Importance of Regionalism," and Neal Peirce, noted Washington Post columnist and author, on "Regional Economic Development Trends."
Professors Ross Gittell and Charles Colgan will present "Economic Development Challenges and Opportunities in Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire."
Call the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission at 324-2952 for more information. There is no charge for the summit, but reservations are required by Sept. 6 and space is limited.
The shipyard itself, meanwhile, continues to do what it has been hailed by the Navy as doing best: refueling and overhauling submarines.
Just this past week, the latest arrival pulled into port at the yard. The USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), with its crew of 14 officers and 128 enlisted personnel, arrived at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Aug. 24.
While at the Shipyard, Santa Fe will undergo various maintenance packages and receive several system upgrades.
During its time at the shipyard, the submarine's host community will be Biddeford.
York, meanwhile, is host community to the USS Philadelphia, which arrived at the shipyard back in February.
Funding for the "Looking Beyond the Shipyard" summit is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce/EDA and the Maine Dept. of Labor.
