Current News

Fuse, a marketing firm based in Burlington, has been named to the Inc. 5000 by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation (www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/fuse). There are more than 27 million businesses registered in the US.
‘It is an honor to receive this recognition from such a well-regarded magazine like Inc.,’ said Bill Carter, Partner, Fuse. ‘This acknowledgement is especially exciting for Fuse considering we are a fifteen year old company and still growing. We have a great team working together at Fuse ‘ probably the strongest we have ever had - and I am so thankful for our employees for their hard work.’

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office, six other states and the Federal Trade Commission have settled court claims that the former president of a Florida payment processor violated federal and state laws law by debiting, or attempting to debit, more than $200 million from consumers’ bank accounts on behalf of fraudulent telemarketers and Internet-based merchants. The settling defendant is Derrelle Janey, who served as president of Your Money Access, LLC (’YMA’) from 2003 to 2006.

Vermont Wind LLC, which is developing a 40-megawatt, 16-turbine project near I-91 on Granby Mountain in Sheffield, has received its final permits from the Vermont Environmental Court. The Vermont Supreme Court ruled in favor of the project in February 2009, upholding the Vermont Public Service Board's issuing of a certificate of public good for the project. Some abutters and even Governor Douglas have opposed the project. The company will pay Sheffield $520,000 a year.
First Wind, based in Boston, on behalf of its subsidiary, Vermont Wind, has issued the following statement regarding the August 30, 2010, ruling by the Vermont Environmental Court on permits related to the company’s proposed Sheffield Wind Project:
‘We are pleased with today’s ruling by the Court. First Wind plans to construct the project in accordance with the Vermont Public Service Board’s conditions as detailed in the Certificate of Public Good granted for the project.

Representative Peter Welch on Wednesday called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate a new syrup product that appears to violate FDA labeling rules.
The ‘All Natural Syrup’ marketed by Log Cabin Syrup, a division of Pinnacle Foods LLC, appears to include ingredients the FDA does not allow in products labeled as ‘natural.’
‘Vermont’s hardworking maple sugar makers are known far and wide for producing the highest quality maple syrup available. Any artificial syrup product masquerading as ‘natural’ confuses consumers and dilutes the value of one of Vermont’s finest products,’ Welch said. ‘I am asking the FDA to take swift action to enforce its regulations and preserve honesty in labeling.’
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, of which Welch is a member, has jurisdiction over the FDA.
Welch joins Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Roger Allbee in urging regulators to determine whether Log Cabin Syrup has violated FDA standards.

Just two years after achieving independence, Vermont College of Fine Arts’ (VCFA) MFA writing programs have been ranked first among programs of their kind by Poets & Writers, the leading creative writing publication in the U.S. This honor comes on the heels of several other major achievements for VCFA, including achieving accreditation as a degree-granting institution in record time.
Established in 1981, the Vermont College MFA in Writing Program is the original low-residency writing program in the country. The Atlantic named it one of the top five low-residency programs nationwide. The Writing for Children & Young Adults track was established in 1997 and was the nation's first fully developed graduate program focusing on writing for young readers and numbers among its alumni New York Times bestsellers, ALA award winners and National Book Award finalists.

Vermont tourism officials are expecting another brilliant foliage season this year and encourage visitors to take advantage of midweek deals being offered through the fall.
Dozens of inns, hotels, attractions, historic sites and museums are offering a variety of midweek specials during the fall foliage season as part of the statewide ‘Midweek Peek’ promotion organized by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. Deals range from discounted lodging to reduced admission prices. For details, visit www.VermontVacation.com/midweek.
‘Visitors can find a diverse range of options for lodging, dining and activities during Vermont’s legendary foliage season, and midweek is the

Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery announced today that their Bonne Bouche won second place overall at the American Cheese Society’s annual cheese competition in Seattle WA. The reserve champion award was among six ribbons that the company received for their creamery’s crème fraiche, cultured butter, quark, feta, and Coupole. With record breaking entries, Bonne Bouche was judged among 1,462 cheeses made in North America.
‘This is the most exciting award of our 26 years of making cheese and entering contests,’ said company co-founder, Bob Reese. ‘Not only did we win for the aged goat cheese category, but we also won among the 92 first place winners across all 350 categories.’ The American Cheese Society’s annual competition is considered one of the world’s most influential and prestigious competitions in artisanal and specialty cheesemaking.

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual meeting luncheon, revolving around the upcoming election, followed by its annual awards gala and dinner. Both events will be September 21 at Sugarbush Resort.
Vermont Chamber Annual Meeting Luncheon
The Stakes are High: Predicting Vermont's Political Future

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), announced today a price increase on all K-Cup® portion packs for its Keurig® Single Cup brewing system sold in North America. The increase will occur across all sales channels and will be effective beginning October 11, 2010. Consumers could expect to see a purchase price increase of approximately 10 to 15 percent over the next several months as a result.
The increase is in response to several factors affecting the coffee industry including a sustained increase in the price of green coffee, differentials for premium quality coffees, increases in prices of other raw materials, as well as higher packaging and transportation costs. Over the past three months, green coffee prices have increased from $1.45 per pound to $1.90 per pound, or approximately 31 percent.

The College of St. Joseph in Rutland has received a grant from the Hilda & Preston Davis Foundation for its pioneer STEPS (Students Taking an Effective Path to Success) program. The foundation, based in Greenwich, CT, gave the college $10,000 to further its work in the STEPS program. This is the second $10,000 grant the college has received from the Hilda & Preston Davis Foundation, which provides charitable funding to organizations that aid in the development of the lives of children and young adults. In particular, the Foundation recognizes organizations that focus on providing education for the underprivileged.
STEPS is a unique program designed specifically to meet the needs of Vermont youth transitioning from state custody to college. Fall 2010 marks the third year of the College’s pilot program. STEPS is the first program of its kind in the state of Vermont.

Vermont Technical College today announced the beginning of a public campaign to raise $250,000 to rehabilitate the historic Allen House situated at the entrance to its Randolph Center campus. The college has already raised $550,000 of the $800,000 needed to complete the project and will ‘break ground’ once the remainder is secured.
The renovated building will house the college’s Center for Sustainable Practices, an organization dedicated to applying emerging green and sustainable technologies and practices in the areas of energy, buildings, agriculture, and land use. ‘This project shows how we can ‘walk the walk’ by improving energy efficiency while conserving embodied energy’ said Donna Barlow Casey, Director of the Center.

Edward Crane III, President of the Cato Institute, will speak on "The Prospects for Liberty" at Sheraton Burlington Conference Center, University Amphitheatre, on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, at 7 pm.
Ed Crane is the founder and president of the Cato Institute. Under his leadership, Cato has grown to become one of the nation's most prominent public policy research organizations. Crane has been a pioneer in framing the political debate as one, not between liberal and conservative, but rather between civil society (the voluntary sector) and political society (government power).
Crane was at the forefront of promoting personal accounts for Social Security reform and was one of the first national leaders of the term limits movement. He is the coeditor of several books, publisher of Regulation magazine, and is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.