Current News
by tim
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, Monday reported financial results for its first quarter fiscal year 2012, and reaffirmed guidance for its 2012 fiscal year.
Highlights for the quarter included:
Revenue growth of 4.3 percent in quarter was driven mainly by higher solid waste pricing and higher recycling commodity prices.
Overall solid waste pricing growth of 1.5 percent was primarily driven by strong collection pricing of 2.4 percent as a percentage of collection revenues.
Adjusted EBITDA* was $28.7 million for the quarter, up $0.9 million from same quarter last year.
Company remains on target to achieve Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow* guidance ranges for fiscal year 2012.
by tim
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and coffeemakers, today announced a definitive Stock Purchase Agreement pursuant to which ARAMARK Refreshment Services, LLC (ARAMARK), a leading provider of office coffee and refreshment services, will acquire all outstanding shares of Van Houtte USA Holdings, Inc., also known as the Van Houtte U.S. Coffee Service business or "Filterfresh" business from GMCR, for an aggregate cash purchase price of approximately $145 million. The purchase price is subject to adjustment based on Filterfresh's working capital and indebtedness as of immediately prior to the transaction's closing.
by tim
Areas of Vermont are still under water but rivers are now receding. Much of the state is starting to dry out but there are still many hazards and the public is encouraged to exercise caution. Everyone is asked to stay off roads unless absolutely necessary. Many roads are still damaged, and many may be washed out under the road surface and could give away at any time.
A number of towns are asking that all traffic stay away, please respect detours and all road closures. See map and list below.
Local road closures are too many to list. It is estimated more than 250 roads around the state are damaged, many of them are impassable. Every state road with the exception of Interstates 89 and 91 were closed at least for a time and many are still closed.
Transportation and emergency officials are out today ensuring citizens are accounted for, assessing damage, and determining what areas are safe.
by tim
The state of Vermont issued the following announcement this morning, Monday August 29, 2011.
"Due to weather conditions, all state offices have been authorized to
be completely closed on Monday, August 29, 2011. State office
buildings will not be open for business, and only specifically
authorized critical staff members should report for work at their
designated alternate work sites. We anticipate that the state will
open as normally scheduled on August 30, 2011. Employees should pay
close attention to news and website updates before leaving for work on Tuesday, August 30th."
Source: Governor's office. 8.29.2011
by tim
Early Monday morning about 200 utility workers fanned out across Vermont Electric Cooperative’s (VEC) service territory to repair damage that left thousands of VEC members without power. During the course of this outage event caused by Tropical Storm Irene, over 8,000 VEC accounts lost power.
At 11:00 a.m. about 3,300 VEC members waited for power restoration. Most customers will have electricity by the end of Monday. The remaining outages are likely to be restored on Tuesday with some lingering into the middle of the week. This is because heavy rains and flooding are making it difficult for crews to reach some outages. As flooding recedes and roads are reopened, it will become easier to reach damaged electric lines and equipment.
by tim
The remnants of Hurricane Irene have moved out of Vermont, but not before washing dozens of utility poles and roads away and leaving Central Vermont Public Service with an army of workers unable to access thousands of customers in need.
CVPS says recovery will entail a monumental effort due to closed bridges and washouts not seen in generations. More than 55,000 customer outages resulted from the storm, with 37,500 still without service as of 7 am.
by tim
As of 10:30 am on Monday, Green Mountain Power has roughly 2,800 outages throughout its service territory, down from 12,000 last night. The bulk of the outages are in Washington and Windham Counties. In Washington County, about 1,300 GMP customers are without power largely due to the Waterbury substation being down as a result of flooding last night. The remaining outages are scattered throughout Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden and Windsor Counties. See www.vtoutages.com for updated details.
Last evening, rising waters levels put the Marshfield dam at risk, which necessitated the evacuation of residents downstream. Fortunately, the water level stabilized at the Marshfield dam and we did not have to take the emergency action of releasing overflow waters . Those residents who evacuated are now free to return home.
by tim
With the brunt of Tropical Storm Irene now past the eastern seaboard, Entergy’s Indian Point Energy Center in New York, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts and Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vermont all remain operating safely and at full power.
‘Entergy’s nuclear generating plants continue to operate safely while supplying electricity to the region’s customers,’ said John Herron, president and CEO of Entergy Nuclear.
Entergy Nuclear plants began preparations for the storm early in the week, coordinating activities with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, independent system operators and various government officials.
by tim
Farmers around the state are benefiting from in-depth, one-on-one business planning services provided by the Vermont Farm Viability Program. Since 2003, the program, which is administered by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, has enrolled more than 375 farmers and ag-related businesses, providing on-farm business and financial planning as well as technical assistance ranging from veterinary services to marketing consultants. The program can help farmers to solidify their business skills, examine their farm’s profitability, plan for an expansion or diversification, transfer the farm to a new generation, and more.
by tim
Vermont-born global economist David Hale will appear on the EAI platform for the seventh time on Monday, August 29, at 7 pm in the University Amphitheatre at the Sheraton Burlington Conference Center.
David and his wife Lyric are the editors of a just released book, What's Next? Unconventional Wisdom on the Future of the World Economy (Yale University Press).
In this unique book, more than twenty leading economists and experts offer rigorously researched prognoses for the world's major economies over the next five years. Factoring in such varied issues as the price of oil, the strength of the U.S. dollar, geopolitics, tax policies, and new developments in investment decision making, the contributors ground their predictions in the realities of current events, political conditions, and the health of financial institutions in each national economy.
by tim
Workers today began the process of transport and lifting into place the center arch span of the new Lake Champlain Bridge. A webcam showing the event (click HERE or see link below) offers still photos of the event. As of 2 pm Friday, August 26, the center arch was being positioned between the existing spans for installation. The first photo is of the final placement. The other photos show the progress of lifting the span into place
August 29 10 am
5 pm
3:45 pm
2:45 pm
Picture taken at 2:15 pm Friday August 26, 2011.
by tim
Entergy Nuclear's Indian Point Energy Center in New York, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts and Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station inVermont are continuing to track Hurricane Irene's path and potential for high winds and rainfall as the storm approaches New York and New England.
"Our nuclear plants are designed and built to withstand extreme weather," said John Herron, president and CEO of Entergy Nuclear. "Our team of expert personnel worked diligently this past week to ensure our plants are prepared for any impacts resulting from this storm."