Current News

The first year of the recession hit hard in Vermont's private sector, especially in construction and manufacturing. About 6 percent of private sector jobs have disappeared since the recession started nearly two years ago. But the losses have also spread to the public sector in 2009, as state government made cuts to reduce state spending. The administration is on track to reduce the number of state jobs by more than 8 percent by the end of the year — eliminating a total of over 700 positions.
A new report, State of Working Vermont 2009 , by Public Assets Institute in Montpelier, highlights these changes and their effects on Vermont’s workers and their families. It argues that cutting state jobs has worsened the recession for the state’s economy and its people.

The TD Charitable Foundation announced today the 56 winners of its annual Housing for Everyone grant competition. Award winners will receive a total of $2 million in grants to support affordable housing initiatives from Maine to Florida, a $500,000 increase in program awards from 2008. Among the awardees are three Vermont organizations which will receive a total of $60,000.
Now in its fifth year, the Housing for Everyone grant competition drew almost 500 proposals from housing non-profits for projects that help to stabilize the housing environment in communities where TD Bank does business. Grant awards ranged from $10,000 to $100,000.
The winning organizations, as well as the total grants per market, include:

The Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA Law issued a report today analyzing newly released data from the US Census Bureau. The study examines data from the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS).
For the first time, the Census Bureau has released data in which same-sex couples who refer to one another as "husband" or "wife" are differentiated from those who refer to one another as "unmarried partners." This study is the first to examine the difference and similarities among same-sex couples and married different-sex couples in the ACS.
More than one-quarter of the estimated 565,000 same-sex couples in the United States designated themselves as spouses. Same-sex spouses were reported in every state.

Senate President Peter Shumlin and Speaker Shap Smith today sent a letter to Senator Cummings, Chair of Senate Finance, and Representative Klein, Chair of House Natural Resources and Energy, requesting that they hold a meeting to analyze Vermont's wholesale electricity market. The legislative leaders had set a deadline of November 1 for Entergy to offer a new power contract for Vermont Yankee. That deadline has now passed without a contract offer. Entergy was not expected to meet that deadline, nor was it clear what the repercussions were going to be if the Louisiana-based company did not meet it.

Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) has asked the Vermont Public Service Board to authorize a 5.91 percent rate increase under the company’s alternative regulation plan, which would leave the company’s rates among the lowest of the major utilities in New England.
The change would take effect with bills rendered starting Jan. 1, 2010.
The bill for a residential customer who uses 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month would rise from $73.49 to $77.89, a difference of $4.40. By comparison, the same customer would pay as much as $105.33 elsewhere in New England, according to the Edison Electric Institute.
Since 1999, CVPS rates have risen at a fraction of the rate of inflation in the energy sector, with a handful of small increases and decreases. Overall, rates in 2010 are expected to be just 12.6 percent higher than in 1999. Based on the latest federal data available, the Consumer Price Index for energy has increased 122 percent.

Competition among domiciles is heating up as many countries and US states vie to host insurance companies and their related business, according to the November 2 BestWeek US/Canada. Regulating insurers is a good business for governments. Insurance business brings jobs without pollution and boosts tax revenue. In 2007, Vermont, the top captive domicile in the United States, and third-largest in the world, said its busy captive market brought in just about as much revenue as the state lottery.
In BestWeek Europe, over the past two decades, the number of captives around the world has almost doubled, growing from 2,535 in 1989 to 5,211 at year-end 2008. Guernsey’s position in the global captive marketplace is well established. The island is home to nearly all of the protected cell companies in Europe, BestWeek reports.

Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) today announced the appointment of two independent directors to its Board of Directors. John M. Goodrich (59) was appointed to the Board of Directors, effective Nov. 3, 2009 and Elisabeth B. Robert (54) was appointed as an Advisory Director, effective Nov. 3, 2009.

New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Acting Commissioner Stanley Gee and Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) Secretary David Dill today announced that the states will not explore the crossing between Putnam, Washington County, New York, and Chipman’s Point, Addison County, Vermont, as a potential temporary bridge site. The states also advised motorists, pedestrians and boaters to avoid the closed Lake Champlain Bridge as a safety hazard.
“I have heard the residents loud and clear that any temporary bridge or temporary ferry service absolutely must be located in the vicinity of the Lake Champlain Bridge corridor, as close as is feasible and safe,” Acting Commissioner Gee said. “I am fully aware of how much this bridge closure has disrupted people’s lives and we will continue working to find a safe location for a temporary bridge to cross Lake Champlain in the Crown Point area.”

Statement of Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee regarding alleged animal welfare violations at Bushways Slaughterhouse: “The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture today suspended their respective licenses and thereby ceased operations at the Bushways Slaughterhouse facility in Grand Isle, Vermont.
“The Vermont Agency of Agriculture was notified by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) late Wednesday afternoon of alleged animal welfare violations at the facility. The agency immediately referred the matter to the USDA as the facility is operated and monitored under the inspection of USDA.
“USDA and the state have suspended the operation of the facility and are conducting an investigation. These allegations of inhumane handling and treatment of animals if verified, warrant prompt corrective actions to ensure they do not happen again.

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has been awarded a $13 million order by U.S. Army TACOM-ARDEC for the production of MK19 grenade machine guns. Deliveries are expected to begin in June 2010 and will be completed by late 2011. The order was made under a contract initially awarded in September 2008, and brings the total contract value to date to approximately $81 million. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
According to General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products gun systems program manager, Jeffrey Gramse, "The MK19 has been in service for over 20 years, providing lethal fire against a variety of targets. The weapon's accuracy and versatility provides the U.S. Armed Forces options for use in both offensive and defensive operations."

Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank based in Burlington, Vermont, has announced net income of $3.71 million and $8.68 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.61 and $1.42, for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009, respectively. This compares with net income of $3.31 million and $8.85 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.55 and $1.46, for the third quarter and first nine months of the previous year, respectively.
The return on average assets for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009 was 1.07% and 0.85%, respectively, compared to

Commuters and residents traveling between Addison County and New York now have several options for getting to and from their workplace or residence. All public transportation services are now free, minimizing the financial impact for many workers and employers. However, long travel times still exist for many. Below is a summary of the services currently in operation. More details and links to schedules are available at the website the Addison County Chamber of Commerce is maintaining: www.crownpointbridgeupdates.com
FERRY SERVICES

Fort Ticonderoga Ferry: Connecting Shoreham, VT and Ticonderoga, NY

Free service as of 10/27/09
Extended hours from 6 am to 8 pm

Lake Champlain Ferry: Connecting Charlotte, VT and Essex, NY