Current News

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has placed a hold on the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. His statement follows:
“The American people overwhelmingly voted last year for a change in our national priorities to put the interests of ordinary people ahead of the greed of Wall Street and the wealthy few,” Sanders said. “What the American people did not bargain for was another four years for one of the key architects of the Bush economy.”
As head of the central bank since 2006, Bernanke could have demanded that Wall Street provide adequate credit to small and medium-sized businesses to create decent-paying jobs in a productive economy, but he did not.
He could have insisted that large bailed-out banks end the usurious practice of charging interest rates of 30 percent or more on credit cards, but he did not.

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today announced that Vermont’s Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program will receive an additional $536,400 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the program provides rebates to consumers replacing used appliances with new Energy Star-certified appliances. Vermont’s program, which will be administered by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation through the Department of Public Service, is scheduled to begin in March.
“This funding will help Vermonters reduce their energy bills by encouraging the use of more energy efficient appliances. It will help Vermont families save money, provide a boost to the economy and help the environment,” said Sens. Leahy and Sanders and Rep. Welch.

Union Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of two important community members to its Boards; Neil Van Dyke of Stowe and Daniel J. Luneau of St. Albans.

Vermont Electric Power Company’s recently completed bond sale earned the best results in the nation since the credit crisis struck two years ago and will save electricity customers millions. VELCO’s $135 million issuance of First Mortgage Bonds will refinance short term indebtedness necessary for construction of electric grid reliability projects. The 20-year fixed interest rate on the bond was set at 4.81% reflecting a credit spread of 96 basis points, the best pricing of any debt issue from any industry sector in the U.S. private placement market in more than two years and $60 billion worth of new issues. The estimated savings over the life of the bond is in the range of $20 million.

Central Vermont Public Service has filed an agreement with the Vermont Department of Public Service that, if approved by the Public Service Board, will govern the level of company staffing in customer rates over the next five years.
The docket was opened because of a disagreement with the DPS over employment levels and the associated cost to customers. Under the settlement, the DPS and CVPS agreed that the company will reduce employment by 17 positions within five years, from a starting point of 549 employees as of Jan. 1, 2009, giving CVPS credit for reductions made this year.

Governor Jim Douglas today urged Legislative leaders to make property tax reform a top priority next session. If left unaddressed, rates will skyrocket a staggering $0.22, an increase of more than 25% in the next three years. Lawmakers learned yesterday that residential and non-residential property tax rates next year will increase $0.02, further adding to the burden of our struggling families and businesses. The Governor has pushed for comprehensive changes for the past several years but lawmakers have not acted to reform our education funding system.
“During this difficult economic time, we cannot allow property taxes to continue to increase on the people of Vermont. We must act quickly to reform our education spending system,” said Governor Douglas. “The time for studies and hearings is over. We must act during the next session to address this economic crisis.”

There were 1,802 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 492 from the week before. Altogether 11,845 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 435 from a week ago and 1,217 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 4,291 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 234 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,526 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 23 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

Sonnax Industries has recently contracted to install a solar photovoltaic power generation system at the company headquarters in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The 102 kilowatt installation, contracted with groSolar of White River Junction, Vermont, represents an investment of more than half a million dollars.
“Adding solar power to our facility is a sound business decision,” said Sonnax CEO Tommy Harmon. “With the savings realized in energy costs, plus the tax incentives, the payback on our capital expenditure is approximately two years.” This solar power generation system will allow Sonnax to generate almost 20 percent of the electricity required for operations of the Vermont headquarters building. Since the power generated cannot be stored, power produced during times that exceed Sonnax’s consumption will be sold to the local power grid, further offsetting the costs.

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) today released its 14th annual rankings of the states according to their public policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship in the "Small Business Survival Index 2009: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the Nation." (Access the SBSI 2009 report and map of the states by visiting http://sbecouncil.org/survivalindex2009/.)
The Index helps business owners, investors and lawmakers understand the public policy burdens placed on entrepreneurship and small business in the states, and ranks them accordingly.

Kaplan EduNeering, a leading provider of compliance and knowledge management solutions, and Seventh Generation, a pioneer and leader in sustainability, announced the launch of their new Sustainability Institute. The Kaplan EduNeering/Seventh Generation Sustainability Institute (www.InstituteSustainability.com) will provide business and governmental managers, employees, subcontractors and supply chain partners with best practices and specialized training in the development and implementation of sustainability initiatives.

Washington County Senator Phil Scott, a Republican, has announced that he will be running for Lieutenant Governor in 2010. He gave the following speech surrounded by a large crowd of supporters:
“I’m Phil Scott - native Vermonter, graduate of Spaulding High School and the University of Vermont, fisherman and snowmobiler, mechanic and laborer, truck driver and stock car driver, both a cyclist and a biker, father and business owner, State Senator, proud Republican, and as of today, candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the State of Vermont.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc announced that yesterday it submitted an enhanced proposal to acquire Diedrich Coffee, Inc for $35 per share in cash pursuant to a cash tender offer, in a transaction with a total value of approximately $290 million. GMCR has been informed by representatives of Diedrich’s Board that this offer continues to constitute a superior proposal, as defined in the existing merger agreement between Diedrich and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc to Peet’s November 30, 2009, cash and stock proposal. GMCR anticipates that this transaction will be neutral to slightly accretive within the first 12 months following the close, excluding one-time transaction expenses, and accretive thereafter.