Current News

Union Bank announces new Danville Office
Danville VT, August 14, 2008 - Union Bank has announced the official opening of its new Danville office, located in the Marty's 1st Stop complex, Route 2 in Danville. A grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting was held on Saturday, August 9th for both the new Union Bank office and the newly-expanded Marty's 1st Stop store.
"We are very excited about serving the greater Danville area with our new office," said Ken Gibbons, Union Bank President and CEO. "Marty's 1st Stop is a center for a great deal of activity for both local residents and commuters, and our new office will feature extended hours to accommodate their banking needs. The new office will be open Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., and our ATM and night depository will continue to be accessible 24/7."

Woodbury College, Champlain College Announce Merger
BURLINGTON, Vt. (Aug. 14, 2008) - The leaders of Champlain College and Woodbury College announced today that they have signed a letter of intent to merge and create The Woodbury Institute at Champlain College beginning fall 2008.
"We have found a wonderful partner whose culture, infrastructure, and support will allow us to capitalize on numerous and significant opportunities," said Woodbury College President Larry Mandell.
Champlain College President David Finney agreed. "Over the course of its 33-year history, Woodbury has established itself as one of the nation's premier institutions of higher education in the critically important areas of legal studies, mediation, and advocacy."

On Thursday, June 5, 2008, Engineering Ventures, Inc. was awarded the Grand Award for Structures from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Vermont, for their structural work at the Dudley H. Davis Student Center, at the University of Vermont.
The 186,000 square foot building was also awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Ninety two percent of all construction waste from the project was reused or recycled.

The civil work performed by Engineering Ventures, Inc. for a new snow making system at Cochran's Ski Area was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Water Resources. Cochrans Ski Area is a 501 (c)(3) Non-Profit organization offering ski and snowboard programs for children and families.

The awards ceremony was held in the Livak Ballroom, at the Davis Center.

Secretary of Administration Michael K. Smith today released General Fund revenue results for the month of July, the first month of Fiscal Year 2009. General Fund revenues totaled $96.66 million for July 2008, +$8.07 million or +9.11% above the $88.58 million consensus revenue forecast for the month and year-to-date.
The monthly targets reflect the most recent Fiscal Year 2009 Consensus Revenue Forecast that was agreed to by the Emergency Board on July 29, 2008. The State's Consensus Revenue Forecast is normally updated two times per year in January and July. However, with the uncertainty of the national economy, the Emergency Board is considering an interim review of the Consensus Revenue Forecast in November, 2008.

There were 713 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 138 from the week before. Altogether 7,181 new and continuing claims were filed, 148 less than a week ago and 1,861 more than a year earlier. In addition, the Department processed 2,310 claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008, an increase of 757 from last week.

To view the full report click here

Draker Laboratories (Draker) announces a series of partnerships and the securing of a significant investment today. These partnerships and investment greatly improves Draker's ability to grow the company's position in the renewable energy monitoring industry. This exciting development includes strategic alliances with Campbell Scientific and the Nathaniel Group as well as investments from FreshTracks Capital II L.P and the State of Vermont through its Clean Energy Development Fund. Draker is now on track to complete the development of a next generation renewable energy monitoring product that will be unveiled at the Solar Power 2008 conference in San Diego, CA this fall. We are excited about the strategic infrastructure Draker has assembled through this transaction, said AJ Rossman, founder and CEO of Draker, these partnerships allow Draker to better serve the commercial renewable energy sector through improved hardware, software and customer support

Food Industry Veteran Rick McKelvey Appointed President
of Putney Pasta

Vermont Congressional Delegation to Take Part in
Lyndon State College Ground Breaking
Lyndon Center, Vt. - Vermont Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders along with Representative Peter Welsh will all take part in ground breaking for the new academic and student activity building at the college August 12 at noon. The ceremony will take place in front of the Vail Center, followed by a reception in the Vail Student Center.
Space for student clubs and activities has been at a premium at Lyndon for a number of years, and, with growing enrollment recently, academic space has also been tight. This building project, approved by the Vermont State Colleges board of trustees last year, will provide instructional and faculty office space and space for academic programs that are increasing in size and technological complexity. Its multipurpose student activity space will meet a range of cultural, entertainment, academic and social needs for the Lyndon student body.

Search engine marketing company @Web Site Publicity, announced today the signing of a new client, 800response, a leading provider of vanity 800 phone numbers and call tracking solutions based in Burlington, VT. @Web Site Publicity will support the 800response website with search engine marketing strategies, specifically search engine optimization consulting. The goal is to make 800response's informative Web content and online services even more accessible to the businesses that use the major search engines to find the best resources to support their marketing initiatives.

New Jersey Edges New York for Nation's Highest State-Local Tax Burden
Washington, D.C., August 7, 2008 - New Jersey taxpayers bear the heaviest state-local tax burden in 2008, and Alaskans have the lightest tax burden, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation.

In Tax Foundation Special Report, No. 163, "State-Local Tax Burdens Dip As Income Growth Outpaces Tax Growth," senior economist Gerald Prante computes each state's combined state-local tax burden, accounting for taxes paid out of state.

The nation as a whole paid 9.7% of its income in state-local taxes, down from 9.9% in 2007 primarily because income grew faster than tax collections between 2007 and 2008.

CVPS provides $50,000 grant for solar project

BURLINGTON, Vt (August 6, 2008)&America's oldest and most renowned flour company, King Arthur Flour, has named Kelliher Samets Volk as its agency of record, according to Tim Volk, president of the independent advertising agency. The account, previously handled by Digital Flannel in Woodstock, Vermont, was awarded after a quiet national review of agencies. Billings for the account were not revealed.

Based in Norwich, Vermont, King Arthur Flour has been making naturally pure flour for more than 200 years. Each of their numerous types of unbleached flour is milled from premium wheat, and the results are lauded by baking professionals around the country. The company is also famous for its catalogue, award-winning cookbooks, and baking education classes.

We are thrilled to be working with such a strong food brand, said Mr. Volk. Their national reputation, dedication to quality, and socially responsible business model inspires us to create great work.