Current News

Vermont s primary election will be moved from its traditional date in the middle of September to the fourth Tuesday in August, a change which will take effect this year. This year s primary will occur on August 24. Governor Jim Douglas allowed the bill to pass into law last week without his signature.
Lawmakers initiated the change in response to a new federal regulation that requires ballots for military and overseas voters to be shipped 45 days before election day in November. Because Vermont s primary date was traditionally in September, election officials would be left without enough time to confirm primary results, print the ballots and distribute them overseas by the deadline.

The new CEO of Ben & Jerry s, Jostein Solheim, has promised to keep the company rooted in Vermont, citing the Vermont brand as an important part of marketing the product. He also pointed to the company s history, its social and environmental causes, the Vermont plants proximity to raw materials and the skills of the workers in those plants as reasons to stay put.
Solheim took the helm at Ben & Jerry s in March after former CEO Walt Freese stepped down from the position. He has been with Ben & Jerry s corporate owner Unilever for 19 years, spending 14 of those in Unilever s ice cream division, which also includes Breyers, Klondike, and Popsicle.

Central Vermont Public Service was the top scoring utility company on Forbes Magazine s The 100 Most Trustworthy Companies list last week. The companies which made the list had what Forbes called the most transparent and conservative accounting practices and most prudent management.
Companies which made the cut were divided into small, medium, and big cap categories, depending upon their market capitalization. CVPS scored third overall in the small cap category, and rated higher than other electric utilities in all categories. It joins big name companies such as Lowe s, Whirlpool, and Columbia Sportswear on the list.

FairPoint Communications will build a fiber-optic network to bring high-speed Internet access to northern Chittenden County, rather than above ground towers, according to a story in the Burlington Free Press. The company cited reliability, cost effectiveness, and timing as reasons behind the decision. FairPoint plans to make high-speed Internet accessible to 80 percent of the state by the end of 2010, and to provide service to 95 percent of its exchanges by the end of June 2011. The company had received state approval to construct three towers on privately owned land in Essex and Milton, but there was opposition to an additional tower planned to go up in Essex. The fiber-optic network will provide coverage to the same area that the towers would have.

The total number of visits to Vermont ski areas may have hit 4 million again this year. Last season, the number of visits to the 20 ski areas across the state topped out at 4,068,698. According to the Vermont Ski Areas Association, the steadily favorable temperatures in the mountains may have contributed to a high number of skiers and riders despite the lack of significant snow storms in Vermont this winter. Large amounts of snow in nearby metropolitan areas also contributed. The final number for this season will be released at the association s annual meeting at Stratton Mountain Resort in June.
(Source: The Ski Channel)

The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund has announced that grants amounting to $125,000 will be made available for their Algae Feedstock Analysis R&D Program, as part of VSJF s Vermont Biofuels Initiative. Grants will be awarded based on proposals for using microalgae as a biofuel feedstock. Any Vermont individual, organization, business, farm, or school is eligible to submit a proposal The minimum grant award is $40,000, and the maximum is $65,000. Proposals must be submitted by May 17, 2010. The RFP and application are available at www.vsjf.org/what-we-do/grants/apply.

(Source: VSJF)

After a four year term as president of Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center, Ty Handy will leave the position this summer. Handy has been hired as president of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida, a school with a larger enrollment and a larger budget than VTC. He cited proximity to family and the opportunity to head a larger school as reasons for the move.
During Handy s tenure at VTC, enrollment at the Randolph Center campus grew from 850 to 1000 students. Seven new academic programs were instituted, including the only four-year dental hygienist program in New England, and a number of campus facilities were built or renovated. U.S. News & World Report also named VTC to its list of top ten northern schools this year.

(Source: The Herald of Randolph)

The Vermont Agency of Transportation on April 14, 2010 will close a portion of Route 7A in Bennington. The closure, which will last approximately four weeks, is necessary to perform structural repairs and widening of Bridge 1 just north of the intersection with Route 67A, commonly referred to as Northside Drive.
During construction, VTrans will replace a deteriorated bridge rail as well as rehabilitate the existing bridge deck and widen the travel portion of the bridge from 19 feet 8 inches to 24 feet. The final product will be a new, wider, bare concrete bridge deck with fascia mounted rail designed to last for years to come.
Berard Street, a town highway adjacent to the project, will also be closed during this period. Traffic will be re-routed to Phyllis Lane. The detour will constitute less than a half mile, and motorists are advised to allow for extra time to reach their destination.

Heritage Aviation will unveil its brand new, 79,000- square-foot, eco-friendly Fixed Base Operation (FBO) at the Burlington International Airport (BTV) during a celebration to be held on May 20, 2010. The company is proud to offer a full-service facility with 24/7 service at this important international gateway. At the event, sister company Heritage Flight, will celebrate 25 years of providing charter flight services.

Vermont continues to ahve one of the lowest foreclosures rates in the country, but the national rate is still at a record high, though it appears to be finally leveling off. The latest Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services, Inc. (NYSE: LPS), a leading provider of mortgage performance data and analytics, shows that the total number of delinquent loans was 21.3 percent higher than the same period last year. Although the data showed a small 1.45 percent seasonal decline in delinquencies from January 2010 to February 2010 month-end, the national delinquency rate still stood at 10.2 percent. The report is based on data as of February 2010 month-end.

The Brewers Association of Denver, CO has announced the winners of the World Beer Cup 2010, a global beer competition that evaluates beers from around the world and recognizes the most outstanding beers being produced in the world, and has singled out three Vermont breweries for excellence.
The Alchemist Pub & Brewery of Waterbury received a Gold medal in the Gluten-Free Beer category for their Celia Saison.
Harpoon Brewery of Windsor, VT and Boston, MA, was awarded the Silver medal in the American Style Wheat Beer with Yeast category for the flagship of their UFO brands, UFO Hefeweizen.
Lawson s Finest Liquids of Warren, VT won a Bronze medal in the Specialty Beer category for Maple Tripple.
Celia Saison A Belgian-inspired gluten free Saison made with sorghum, orange peel, coriander, and Amarillo hops ~ 5.4% a/v

Christopher L Dutton was named president and chief executive officer of Vermont Electric Power Company this morning following a vote by Vermont Electric Power Company s board of directors.

Chris Dutton brings a wealth of Vermont utility CEO experience, is recognized across the state as an innovative and thoughtful leader, and is the perfect person to lead VELCO into its next stages of development, said Robert Clarke, Chairman of the VELCO Board.

Dutton, 61, assumes the position effective immediately and succeeds John J. Donleavy who resigned April 10th. VELCO is the state s provider of electric transmission service. Dutton has served on the VELCO Board of Directors since 1997.