Current News

Arrow Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: AROW) announced operating results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009. Net income for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009 was $5.1 million, representing diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $.46, unchanged from the diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of 2008, when net income was $5.0 million. Net income for the first nine months of 2009 was $16.7 million, representing diluted EPS of $1.52, or 7.8% higher than the diluted per share amount of $1.41 earned in the first nine months of 2008, when net income was $15.4 million. The comparative results for the nine-month periods were affected by certain significant transactions, discussed further in this release. Cash dividends paid to shareholders in the first nine months of 2009 was $.73, or 2.8% higher than the $.71 dividend paid in the first nine months of 2008.

The parent company of Chittenden Bank, People's United Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: PBCT), has announced net income of $26.8 million, or $0.08 per share, for the third quarter of 2009, compared to $25.3 million, or $0.08 per share, for the second quarter of 2009, and $46.0 million, or $0.14 per share, for the third quarter of 2008. Third quarter 2009 earnings reflect an increase in the net interest margin despite pressure associated with the historically low interest rate environment and the company's asset sensitive balance sheet, and an increase in the provision for loan losses due, in part, to the partial charge-off of a previously disclosed non-performing shared national credit.

Central Vermont Medical Center is revising their visitor policy starting Monday, October 19. These restrictions will remain in place throughout the H1N1 flu season. Guidelines will be revised as necessary to comply with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.

There will be a limit of two visitors per patient, hospital wide, including the emergency department. Children under the age of 12 will not be allowed to visit. An exception will be made on the Women & Children s Unit. The healthy sibling of a new baby may visit and will be included in the two visitor limit. If any of the support people for new moms are ill with flu like symptoms they will be asked to return home. Visitors to pediatric patients will be restricted to only their parents or caregivers.

Vermont tax revenues exceeded their adjusted targets in September in the three major categories and in nearly all sub-categories. The most promising of which was the personal income tax, which was down in August. The fiscal year-to-date numbers also exceeded targets, but more modestly. The General Fund was up 5.09 percent in September and 2.37 percent YTD ($263 million). Of this, personal income, by far the single largest component, was up .57 percent YTD ($129.85 million total). The Transportation Fund was up 3.87 percent YTD ($55.05 million total), with all components exceeding targets. And the Education Fund was ahead .52 percent YTD ($36.09 total). The most notable component that failed to exceed its YTD target was the sales and use tax, which came in below target by .18 percent YTD ($51.32 million total). However, its September number did exceed its target by .14 percent.

Mount Snow offered its earliest lift service opening in history last Saturday when the Discovery Shuttle lift loaded its first passenger at 9:30a.m. The early opening also made Mount Snow the first and only resort open in Vermont. The Launch Pad trail was filled with a dozen terrain park features and over 700 skiers and riders in attendance throughout the weekend.

89 North, an employee owned company located in Burlington, Vermont has introduced an incentive program aimed at reducing the amount of mercury waste generated in scientific laboratories across the country. Mercury arc lamps are a common tool used in many labs, specifically those performing fluorescence microscopy. Unfortunately, a typical arc lamp can contain as much as 150 mg of mercury and have a useful lifetime of only 100-200 hours. This means that a typical lab will go through 3-4 lamps per year, creating a significant amount of dangerous mercury waste.

GE Healthcare announced today an agreement with Rutland Regional Medical Center to develop a Community Hospital Showcase and highlight the facility as a national host site for visiting community hospitals. The agreement will leverage GE’s extensive portfolio and Rutland Regional’s best practices to create a national ‘blueprint’ for institutions that use technology to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care.
“Rutland Regional has advanced the role of technology to help optimize processes, connect caregivers and further medical advancements,” said Mark Vachon, President & CEO, GE Healthcare Americas. “We’re thrilled to extend our collaboration with Rutland Regional to help further promote how technology and process innovation within community hospitals can positively impact clinical performance.”

MONTPELIER, Vt., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- More Vermont physicians will be using electronic prescribing and other health information technology to improve patient care, under a $1 million federal grant secured by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. The funds announced by Leahy and Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL), will provide incentives to physicians and independent pharmacies to adopt health information technology.

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today secured $1.5 million in federal funding for the Northern Border Regional Commission. The grant is the first time the four-state, economic development organization has received funding.
The federal-state partnership will provide investment and support for the northernmost counties of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. Modeled after the highly successful Appalachian Regional Commission, the NBRC will develop long-term strategies to promote the success of the region by encouraging inter-state cooperation, federal support and private investment.
Vermont s Caledonia, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille and Orleans counties are among 36 counties included in the regional development effort. The NBRC will include representatives from each of the states, as well as a presidentially-appointed co-chair.

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable November 12, 2009, to shareholders of record as of October 29, 2009. Merchants plans to release earnings on or about October 29, 2009.

Chief Recovery Officer Tom Evslin reported by teleconference to the General Assembly today that $55,966,939 of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds reimbursed to Vermont State government by Washington created or retained 1990.86 “direct” jobs in the state. The preliminary numbers were produced using detailed federal guidelines which state that “jobs” are full time equivalents (FTEs) calculated from payroll data, that is, two half time workers during the reporting period count as one FTE. These numbers are taken from 51 reports submitted by Office of Economic Stimulus and Recovery (ESR) to the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as part of the required “1512” reporting. The reports may be corrected by the state until they are made public on October 30 and Evslin predicted that there will be corrections.

Most US states do not adequately protect the rights of abused and neglected children, leaving our most vulnerable citizens exposed to the vagaries of the juvenile court system without adequate legal representation, according to a state-by-state study conducted by two national child advocacy organizations. Vermont, meanwhile, received a grade of A, putting it among the top 11 states nationally.
The peer-reviewed study -- A Child's Right to Counsel: A National Report Card on Legal Representation for Abused and Neglected Children -- was released today on Capitol Hill by First Star and the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law (CAI). To view the full report, visit www.firststar.org, or www.caichildlaw.org.