Current News

Forest biomass could replace as much as one quarter of the liquid fossil fuel now being used for industrial and commercial heating in the Northeastern United States. That's according to a new report released today by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
But the report also has sharp caveats: The potential for forest biomass varies widely within the region, and forest resources must be carefully managed to protect the other important services and goods they provide. Under the right circumstances, however, the report found that forest biomass can provide a domestic energy resource, create local jobs, and provide incentives to forest owners.

The Vermont Family Business Initiative (VFBI) and the Coaching Center of Vermont have announced a partnership this week to assist Vermont family and privately owned businesses with transition, succession, and financial planning issues. The Coaching Center of Vermont joins Gallagher, Flynn and Company, and hmc2 Agency as current partners of the VFBI. The VFBI works with business owners and their successors to identify challenging transitional issues and develop strategies for successful business transition and strategic growth.

Attorney General William H. Sorrell announced today that his office has charged Williston-based home improvement contractor Donald Bevins with three counts of failing to maintain workers’ compensation insurance and two counts of violating a Vermont Department of Labor Stop Work Order.
According to documents on file with the Court, Bevins failed to secure workers’ compensation for two of his employees performing roof repairs in Richmond, Vermont and another employee performing roof repairs in Essex, Vermont. In addition, Bevins continued to perform home repairs in Essex and Essex Junction Vermont after the Department of Labor ordered him to stop working immediately.
Bevins pled not guilty to all counts and was released pending trial on the condition that he, any company he has an ownership interest in, or anyone working at his direction or request, not perform any home repair.

In a December 20, 2010, article titled ‘America’s Best And Worst Banks,’ Forbes.com ranked NBT Bancorp as the eleventh-best bank in the nation. NBT Bancorp was one of only three institutions from the Northeast to make the top 12.
Forbes ranked the 100 largest banks, thrifts and holding companies on data provided by Charlottesville, Va.-based SNL Financial. Eight measures of financial health were used to gauge asset quality, capital adequacy and profitability. Those measures included: return on average equity; net interest margin; nonperforming loans (NPLs) as a percentage of loans; nonperforming assets as percentage of assets; reserves as a percentage of NPLs; two capital ratios (Tier 1 and risk-based); and leverage ratio. Forbes ranked the financial institutions on each measure and averaged the individual rankings to make its determination.

Senator Patrick Leahy announced Thursday that more than 30 government agencies and prime contractors will be available to meet with Vermont’s small businesses during a contract matchmaker event next Thursday, February 24th, at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington. The event will also feature Governor Peter Shumlin, U.S. Small Business Administration New England Regional Administrator Jeanne Hulit, and U.S. General Services Administration Regional Administrator Robert Zarnetske.

Governor Peter Shumlin today signed the state’s Budget Adjustment Bill, a milestone for progress in the legislative session. The governor noted that this is the earliest date any governor had signed this legislation in at least a decade, and complimented the leadership in the House and the Senate for moving swiftly to affordably address the needs of Vermonters.

Larry Reilly, former president of distribution companies at New England Electric System and executive vice president at National Grid, will be the next president and chief executive officer of Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE: CV).
Reilly told Vermont Business Magazine that some of the first issues he will face are with the renewal, or not, of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon; the set up the SmartGrid system; and the ongoing upgrade to infrastructure, particularly the transmission system, which will be costly.
Reily will begin that effort March 1. Bob Young, who as president led Central Vermont Public Service through a cultural, service and environmental transformation, announced his planned retirement in July 2010 effective May 3, 2011. Reilly will begin as president and CEO on March 1 and will report to Young, who has been named executive chairman of the company, until May to allow for an orderly transition.

The Lake Champlain Bridge Community, the grassroots organization entrusted to create, plan and lead the public festivities that will celebrate the replacement and re-opening of the Lake Champlain Bridge, is pleased to unveil the logo design that will be used to promote the event.
The Lake Champlain Bridge Community solicited Vermont- and New York-based professional and student graphic artists to submit prospective designs, pro bono. The selected design was created by Linus Biederman, a junior in the Design & Illustration Program at the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury, Vt. Linus is a Middlebury resident and the son of William Biederman and Gloria van den Berg. He is also an active member of the Middlebury Union High School varsity boy's lacrosse team.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. announces public disciplinary actions against the following individuals' right to use the CFP® certification marks, effective immediately.
Public disciplinary actions taken by CFP Board, in order of increasing severity, include letters of admonition, suspensions and permanent revocations. The basis for each decision can be found in a Disciplinary Action Report below and on CFP Board's Web site. Consumers may check on any planner's disciplinary history and certification status with CFP Board at www.CFP.net/search .

On February 17th, the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies will be releasing a new report on the outlook for converting forest biomass into renewable energy in the Northeast. Forest Biomass and Bioenergy: Opportunities and Constraints in the Northeastern United States details the availability of forest resources and the applications that are the most effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and foreign oil dependence while promoting rural economies.
Join experts for a discussion about how biomass energy can be used to help the Northeast work toward a renewable energy future. Also learn about existing pressures on forests, regions that show the potential for forest biomass energy growth, and the need to manage forests for multiple uses, including carbon sequestration and wildlife protection.

CredAbility, one of the leading nonprofit credit counseling and education agencies in the United States, today released the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index results for the 2010 fourth quarter. The Index, a quarterly measure that tracks the financial condition of the average U.S. household, found that rising stock prices helped propel growth in consumers' net worth. But lower scores in three of the index's other four categories -- employment, housing and household budget ‘ drove down the overall index. The health of household budgets declined each quarter in 2010 and is at the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, American households scored a 64.3 on the Index's 100-point scale, down slightly from 64.4 in the third quarter of 2010. For all of 2010, the index showed a small improvement, moving up from a score of 63.9 in 2009's fourth quarter.

GreenPath, Inc., a nonprofit consumer credit counseling agency doing business as GreenPath Debt Solutions, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of New Hampshire and Vermont. GreenPath is now providing free debt counseling and financial education from offices in Concord, Dover, Keene, Lebanon, Manchester, and Nashua, New Hampshire; and in Barre, Burlington, and Rutland, Vermont.
GreenPath is committed to strengthening local services. "We are looking forward to providing our GreenPath products and services to residents of New Hampshire and Vermont," said Jane McNamara, president and CEO, GreenPath, Inc. "CCCS of New Hampshire and Vermont's long history of providing local services will continue and expand under the GreenPath name."