Current News

MONTPELIER, Vt. Nearly 20 people attended and as many participated by phone in the first meeting of a team of government, business, and economic development officials designed to provide a rapid response to Vermont businesses in distress.
The Economic Response Team, an ad hoc group of the state s economic development leaders proposed by Governor Jim Douglas as part of his Inaugural Address, met Wednesday in Montpelier.
Already, concrete ideas have come out of this first meeting, such as improving access to capital by temporarily loosening restrictions on some of our incentive and loan programs, and allowing businesses to be eligible for the weatherization program, Douglas told reporters at his weekly press conference on Thursday.
The chairwoman of the Economic Response Team, Commissioner of Economic Development Betsy Bishop, said her department would take action on several items included in the group s discussions.

Stimulus bill would bring $1.2 billion to Vermont through infrastructure development and tax relief
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Peter Welch supported and the House passed Wednesday the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a major effort to rebuild the economy by providing tax relief, creating green jobs and investing in the future. The vote was 244-188.

DANBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2009--Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETH) today announced the launch of a new initiative establishing a Contract Division. Daniel Grow, former President and CEO of Drexel Heritage Furniture and most recently President of D.M. Grow Inc., will join Ethan Allen to lead the initiative. In addition, Daniel Grow will also be responsible for the growth of Ethan Allen's International Design Center Development program.
Farooq Kathwari, Chairman and CEO, stated: "Today Ethan Allen is well positioned to participate in the contract business. We can leverage our design leadership, interior design and product engineering capabilities, strong domestic manufacturing and logistics network, and our highly recognized brand to create solutions for the contract business. Dan's experience and knowledge of our industry provides Ethan Allen the leadership to launch the Ethan Allen Contract Division."

The multi-talented Ben Stein, actor/comedian/lawyer/economist/presidential speechwriter/filmmaker, will address the graduates and receive an honorary degree at the University of Vermont's 205th commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 17.

The "Best Companies to Work for in Vermont" ceremony will take place April 1 at Main Street Landing in Burlington. We will honor five Large Companies (over 150 employees) and 10 Small & Medium Sized Companies (15 to 149 employees) as the Best Companies to Work for in Vermont. All the honorees are listed below. The rankings in each category will be announced at the event.
Presented by Vermont Business Magazine.
Partnered with: Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Society for Human Resource Management-Vermont State Council, Vermont Department of Labor, the Vermont Department of Economic Development and Best Companies Group.
Small/Medium companies (15-149 employees)
In Alphabetical order
Edward Jones
Insrumart
MBF Bioscience
NRG Systems. Inc
Resource Systems Group Inc
Small Dog Electronics
TPW Management
VELCO (Vermont Electric Power Company)
VocRehab Vermont
Wells River Savings Bank

WATERTOWN, Conn., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vermont Pure Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE Alternext: VPS) announced financial results for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2008 and filed these results on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
Operating Results for Fiscal Year ended October 31, 2008
Sales increased 6% to $69.2 million from $65.2 million in fiscal year 2007. This increase reflected higher volumes of coffee and related products and the effect of fuel surcharges, partly offset by small declines in water sales and cooler rentals.
Operating results were significantly impacted by a write-down of goodwill, a non-cash charge of $22.4 million. The net loss for fiscal year 2008 was $19.8 million compared to net income of $2.1 million in 2007. On a per share basis, the net (loss) income was $(0.92) per fully diluted share in fiscal 2008, compared to $0.10 per fully diluted share in fiscal 2007.

WATERBURY, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Just months after opening its new manufacturing plant in Knox County, Tennessee, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) today announced that it will begin installation of coffee processing equipment in the facility. The equipment will be used for cleaning, storing and roasting green coffee as well as for blending and grinding roasted coffee. GMCR will be investing approximately $8 million for this project through the end of its fiscal year 2009, consistent with capital investment plans.
Green Mountain Coffee will use the new roasting infrastructure to support its packaging lines from within the existing facility in Knox County. The facility primarily manufactures K-Cup® portion packs for the Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing System.

WASHINGTON, D.C. Vermont's economic recovery will depend on small business. That message is driven home in the newly updated Vermont Small Business Profile released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The most recent data show that the state has 18,937 small employers, and they employ 63.5% of the state s workforce, the third highest percentage in the country.
Vermont depends on small business for jobs and economic growth, said Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. During this time of financial stress and economic instability, policymakers need to remember that the state s small businesses provide the economic base for its families and communities.
To further highlight the importance of small business, the updated profile notes that small businesses created 51.7% of the state's net new jobs from 2004 to 2005 (latest available data).

Layoffs - Budget Cuts - Downsizing. Every day there seems to be another news story covering the fallout from the current economic downturn. Today's economy has created an increasingly challenging environment for human resource administrators. If you are the person responsible for the HR functions of your organization, you may know that there are federal and state employment laws that can help you maneuver through these difficult times - but how familiar are you with them?
The Workforce Development Center at Champlain College, in collaboration with HRSentry, is offering a series of online workshops that can answer your questions and give you the skills needed to successfully handle the human resources issues you face every day.
Workshops are delivered 100% online, giving you access to the resources and knowledge you need 24/7, on a schedule that works for you.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 19th Annual Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award, co-sponsored by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Business Magazine. The winner will be unveiled during the May 20, 2009, opening ceremony of the region s largest business-to-business trade show, the annual Vermont Chamber of Commerce Business and Industry EXPO. Three award finalists will be profiled in the May issue of Vermont Business Magazine.

The application is available online at www.vermontbiz.com/dcd, or on the Vermont Chamber Business EXPO website (www.vtexpo.com). The application deadline for the Deane C. Davis Award is March 13, 2009.

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, today announced net income of $11.92 million or diluted earnings per share of $1.96 for the year ended December 31, 2008. This compares with net income of $10.86 million or diluted earnings per share of $1.76 from the previous year. Merchants earned $3.06 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.51 for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to net income of $2.92 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.48 for the same quarter of the previous year. Merchants previously announced the declaration of a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable February 19, 2009, to shareholders of record as of February 5, 2009.

Colchester--MyWebGrocer has announced that Peapod, serving 14 major US markets, is joining the MyWebGrocer Ad Network. With the addition of Peapod, the majority of retail Grocery Ecommerce transactions occur within the MyWebGrocer Advertising Network.
The addition of Peapod, Peapod by Stop&Shop, and Peapod by Giant to the ninety other leading retailers on the network means that the network now has significant store density in the key New York, Chicago, Washington DC, and Boston DMA s.
The addition of Peapod, who has set the bar in e-commerce, is a significant milestone in our Ad Network s rapid growth explains Rich Tarrant, CEO of MyWebGrocer. In less than a year we have demonstrated the power for our network to drive sales at the digital shelf for both retailers and CPG manufacturers. If a brand manager wants to communicate with online grocery shoppers, then the MyWebGrocer advertising network is the place to find them with credit card in hand.