Current News

Excavation work began today on lower Church Street as part of a $1.6 million project which will significantly re-design pedestrian and streetscape elements of lower Church Street and Saint Paul Street.
In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity: A Legacy for User (SAFETEA-LU) act provided transportation funding to communities across the country. Through the efforts of Senator Patrick Leahy, the City of Burlington received $3 million for specific improvements on the Church Street Marketplace as part of the Church Street Marketplace Improvement Program and $3 million for improvements on the side streets to the Church Street Marketplace.

Three communities were awarded grants this week by the Vermont Downtown Development Board to fund local infrastructure improvements such as new sidewalks, signage and streetlights.
The Vermont Downtown Development Board announced the awards totaling $127,594 on Monday for Morrisville, Rutland City and St. Albans City. The funds, which are from the state’s Downtown Transportation Fund, are available to communities that are part of the Vermont Downtown Program. Established in 1994, the Vermont Downtown Program helps invest in the economic growth and cultural landscape of Vermont’s cities, villages and towns.
Funding Awards:

The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) has teamed up with Purdue University’s Technical Assistance Program to offer Green Generalist Online training, an interactive and educational online course that provides awareness of the key environmental issues facing companies and ways to redesign their business practices using environmentally friendly techniques. The Green Generalist Online workshop is appropriate for the entire workforce and all business sectors.
Green Generalist Online has seven sections, seven tests, and three interactive simulations. It takes up to four hours to complete. The cost is $175 per person using a special ‘Discount Code’ available through the VMEC website. A Green Generalist Certificate is also available from Purdue TAP upon course completion. Registration is possible through the VMEC website atwww.vmec.org or www.vmec.org/online-courses.

Draker Labs, a provider of high performance turnkey monitoring systems for large commercial and utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, has been selected by Ray Angelini Services, Incorporated (RAI), to monitor 11 solar projects located throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Seven of the projects have been commissioned and the remaining ones are currently under development. The projects include a mix of commercial sites and educational institutions.

Utility Risk Management Corporation (URMC) today announced the introduction of new thermal imaging technology ‘ Thermal Directâ ¢ ‘ capable of enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the nation’s electric grid. The technology represents a break-through for the industry in that it precisely measures conductor temperatures, enabling utilities to: improve system reliability and capacity; enhance the security of transmission assets; demonstrate compliance with applicable regulatory requirements; and reduce mitigation costs associated with compliance by as much as $2 billion dollars over a period of three years. In recent testing confirmed by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) sensors, Thermal Direct’s accuracy presented a 95 percent confidence level, with residual error of only 3.75°F or 2.09°C.

Saint Michael’s College associate professor of physics, Dr Alain Brizard, learned this month that he will be the recipient of a grant from the Department of Energy for $33,000 each of the next three years to support his research. The funding comes from the DOE’s office of Fusion Energy Sciences of the Office of Science.

On Tuesday, March 29, NOFA Vermont joined dozens of farmers, seed producers, agricultural businesses and non-profit organizations across the country and Canada, as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against Monsanto Corporation. The suit challenges the validity of the chemical giant’s patents on a number of its genetically engineered (GE) crops. It also asks the court to prevent Monsanto from continuing its unwarranted and damaging patent infringement lawsuits against farmers and others for alleged patent infringements when their organic and non-GE fields and crops become contaminated by Monsanto’s GE crops.
The suit was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs in federal district court in Manhattan by patent attorney Dan Ravicher, Executive Director of the Public Patent Foundation, a not-for-profit legal services organization affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org March 29, 2011 Darcie Johnston, a political campaign consultant for GOP candidates, is galvanizing support ‘ and money ‘ for a campaign to kill the universal health care bill that just passed in the House. Johnston started her organization Vermonters for Health Care Freedom, a ‘free’ market group that opposes a ‘single-payer’ style medical coverage system for the state, just a few weeks ago as a Facebook campaign.
Her mini movement has ‘ thanks to money from an unnamed source ‘ migrated from the somewhat limited realm of social networking sites to a website and a burgeoning list of 200 donors, ‘friends’ and supporters. Johnston, who is the volunteer prime mover of a faction of disaffected conservatives, rallied the anti-single payer flag and got dozens of opponents of H.202, the universal health care bill, to come to the Statehouse last weekend to decry the evils of government-controlled payment systems for medical care.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (Nasdaq: BHLB) and Rome Bancorp, Inc (Nasdaq: ROME) today announced the preliminary results of elections made by Rome Bancorp, Inc stockholders as to the form of merger consideration to be received in the pending merger of Rome Bancorp with and into Berkshire Hills Bancorp. The election deadline for Rome Bancorp stockholders to have made merger consideration elections in connection with the proposed merger expired at 5:00 p.m., EDT, on March 18, 2011.
Of the approximately 6,777,551 shares of Rome Bancorp common stock outstanding as of March 18, 2011:
The holders of approximately 5,043,184 shares, or 74.4%, elected to receive Berkshire Hills Bancorp common stock;
The holders of approximately 710,243 shares, or 10.5%, elected to receive cash; and
The holders of approximately 1,024,124 shares, or 15.1%, submitted elections expressing no preference as to the form of merger consideration or did not make a valid election.

Small business owners with eligible commercial real estate mortgages maturing after December 31, 2012, will be able to secure more stable, long-term financing through the US Small Business Administration’s temporary 504 refinancing program as a result of a change that will be published in The Federal Register by April 6.
In February, SBA implemented a temporary refinancing program enacted under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which allowed small businesses facing maturing commercial real estate mortgages or balloon payments before December 31, 2012, to refinance with an SBA 504 loan. The SBA change will lift the date limitation and will allow more small businesses to secure stable, long-term financing and avoid potential foreclosure on mortgages approved before and during the recession that were based on inflated real estate values.

Woolrich, the Original Outdoor Clothing Company®, will partner with Jager di Paola Kemp Design (JDK) of Burlington, Vermont, to create and implement a global brand development strategy. JDK's collaboration with Woolrich will key on the development of an international brand platform for the iconic American apparel maker.
Founded in 1988, JDK's design driven branding approach and proprietary Living Brand® strategy has garnered them international recognition as a leader in the discipline. The Living Brand process reveals the core ideas behind a brand, while the emotional, rational, and cultural aspects of the brand are also taken under consideration. JDK's work includes development of creative and distinctive branding strategies for a wide range of brands including Burton Snowboards, Levi Strauss, Champion Paper, and Microsoft Xbox 360.

In a move to support local businesses and reduce Vermont’s reliance on foreign oil, Governor Peter Shumlin today called for incentives to promote clean-burning, energy efficient wood heat.

Governor Shumlin called on Efficiency Vermont and the state Department of Public Service to create an incentive program to assist Vermonters who choose to switch from oil heat to wood pellet options, and to ensure that plan becomes part of the comprehensive energy plan due from the DPS this fall.
‘This makes sense for Vermont’s economy; it makes sense for Vermont’s environment; and it makes sense for Vermonters’ pocketbooks,’ the Governor said at a morning news conference at the State House.
Governor Shumlin said the reasons for switching to clean-burning wood pellet heating systems include: