Current News

Merchants Bank donates $50,000 to help Vermonters heat homes
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT -Thomas S. Leavitt, Executive Vice President for
Merchants Bank has announced that Merchants Bank and Merchants Bank Foundation are providing a total of $50,000 to support fuel assistance programs in Vermont. Fifteen thousand dollars will be granted to the CVPS SHARE HEAT program and $35,000 will be granted to Vermont's six Community Action Agencies. The contribution is part of an effort by Merchants Bank to help Vermonters heat their homes this winter and rise to the challenge of higher fuel costs.

Alain Brizard of Essex Junction
Saint Michael's physicist receives $50,000 US Dept of Energy grant to support his research in plasma dynamics
Alain Brizard, associate professor of physics at Saint Michael's College, has received a $50,000 research grant from the US Department of Energy, under the program Theoretical Research in Magnetic Fusion Energy Science, to support his research activities during his sabbatical leave from October 2008 to June 2009.

UNEMPLOYMENT EDGES UP SLIGHTLY TO 4.9% IN AUGUST, JOB GROWTH SLIPS DOWN -0.2%.
Montpelier (September 19, 2008) -- The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August 2008 was 4.9 percent, up one-tenth of a point from the revised July rate of 4.8% and up 1.1 points from a year ago.
"National economic conditions continue to have their impact on Vermont's labor market, though not quite to the same degree," said Patricia Moulton Powden, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor. "Vermont's one-tenth of a point increase in unemployment was much smaller than the nation's four-tenths increase in August. Job losses have been smaller on a percentage basis as well, though any job losses remain a concern."

Vermont's conservative financial ethos spares state, so far
By Kevin Kelley
The conservative financial practices of Vermont banks and of many individual Vermonters appear to have spared the state, so far, from the full impact of the financial crisis besetting much of the country.
Banks doing business in Vermont have "no liquidity problem," says state Banking Commissioner Thomas Candon.

"For qualified borrowers, there's no difficulty in obtaining credit in Vermont now."

Vermonters have significant opportunities to save energy in their homes, and today Governor Jim Douglas, Hal Cohen, Executive Director of the Central Vermont Community Action Council, and Jim Grevatt, Director of Residential Energy Services for Efficiency Vermont, unveiled a new initiative to help Vermonters learn how to reduce their home energy use and save money. Button Up Vermont will work with local energy committees and other civic groups to offer free home energy saving workshops in 100 Vermont communities throughout the fall.

Today, Governor Jim Douglas announced that Vermont received nearly $2.5 million in additional contingency FY2008 funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The news came as the federal government released the remaining $120.7 million in LIHEAP contingency funding for FY2008 to all states.

Prior to this latest funding award, Vermont had received roughly $16.9 million in LIHEAP funding in FY2008. This new contingency award brings Vermont's total LIHEAP appropriation in FY2008 to nearly $19.4 million.

The Vermont Public Service Board has issued a Certificate of Public Good approving Washington Electric Co-op's proposed expansion of its landfill methane generating facility at the state's largest landfill in Coventry. The PSB's Order was issued on September 17th, and authorizes the addition of a fifth generating engine at the plant, as well as a small expansion of the building and other related modifications.

The Coventry plant first began operation in 2005 and its generating capacity was previously increased in 2007. The facility is now generating almost two-thirds of all the electricity used by WEC's 10,000 member households and businesses in Orange, Washington and Caledonia Counties. The cost to WEC of this energy is significantly less than current market prices in the region, and the plant is the primary reason why WEC's members have not seen a rate increase in nine years and are not expected to for a few more.

GREEN MOUNTAIN POWER'S CEO STRONGLY ENDORSES
THE CALL FOR A DEEPER, EXPANDED RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN VERMONT AND QUEBEC
BAR HARBOR, ME - September 16, 2008 - Mary Powell, president and chief executive officer of Green Mountain Power, issued the following statement from the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers 32nd Annual Conference:
"We are thrilled that Governor Douglas and Premier Charest have embraced the concept of a broader and deeper geo-political relationship between Vermont and Quebec.
"This is entirely consistent with Green Mountain Power's stated strategy for our customers' energy future.

MARLBORO AND WOODBURY AWARDED OVER $28,000 IN GRANTS TO CONTINUE JOINT PROGRAM
Once again, two Vermont colleges are collaborating to help those who help others by offering a nonprofit management certification course. Starting this month, approximately 48 students will assemble at either Woodbury College in Montpelier or at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in Brattleboro for ten Friday workshops held over the next five months.
Each workshop will focus on an aspect of nonprofit operation, including successful fundraising and grant writing, financial and personnel management, conflict resolution, marketing, and strategic planning. The workshops are designed for incumbent workers in the nonprofit field who have either recently moved into a management position or plan to seek a management position in the near future.

OTTER CREEK AWNINGS
RETURNS TO VERMONT OWNERSHIP
Otter Creek Awnings, started in a Middlebury basement in 1976, is now owned once again by a Vermonter. Todd Warren of Essex purchased Otter Creek in late August, returning the company known for Vermont values home to its roots. Warren, a Johnson State College graduate born in Burlington, Vermont, joined Otter Creek in 1997 as Director of Sales and Marketing and has served as company President since 2001.
"It feels wonderful for everyone involved, and it is truly a great thing for our employees and the customers we serve. We've always conducted ourselves as a local company. Our heritage, our customers and our staff have always been local. We will continue to work to enhance the feeling and the experience of working with a Vermont company whose number one priority is customer satisfaction," Warren said.

National Summit Participants Praise New Ballot as a Solution to Continuing
Problems for Americans Away from Home Who Want to Vote
Washington, D.C. - An estimated six million Americans who are members of the
military or live overseas have a new way to ensure their vote for president
counts this November, according to experts speaking at a high-level summit
on military and overseas voters. Attended by members of Congress,
secretaries of state and other election officials, "Democracy at a Distance:
A Summit to Make Voting Work for Military and Overseas Voters" was convened
by the Pew Center on the States, in collaboration with the JEHT Foundation.
At the summit, Pew, the Overseas Vote Foundation, JEHT and Bear Code (a
Vermont company that builds custom online software) launched a new online
tool that allows voters to complete the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont to Bring Renowned Wellness Expert to Department of Health Conference
Burlington, VT - The Vermont Department of Health will hold its 2008 Work Site Wellness Conference, part of the "Fit & Healthy Vermonters Program," on Tuesday, October 7 at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington. The appearance of noted wellness expert Michael Samuelson as conference keynote speaker is made possible by major sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont.
Samuelson is President and CEO for The Health & Wellness Institute (HWI), affiliated with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Samuelson is widely published and is a frequent director, consultant, and advisor to numerous prestigious boards and organizations including The Men's Health Network, The Business Innovation Factory, The HERO Forum for Optimal Employee Health, The Lance Armstrong Foundation and The Department of Defense.