Current News

by Timothy McQuiston Vermnt Busness Magazine FairPoint Communications, Inc (Nasdaq: FRP), Vermont's largest communications provider, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015. The landline phone and Internet company reported that accrued pension and other post-employment benefit obligations have declined a combined $680.3 million from December 31, 2014 to March 31, 2015, based primarily on the new collective bargaining agreements following the resolution of the prolonged strike, which ended in February. Also, unlevered Free Cash Flow minus Estimated Avoided Costs(1) of $32.9 million for the quarter; adjusted EBITDA minus Estimated Avoided Costs(1) were $61.7 million for the quarter; capital expenditures were $26.4 million; net loss was $45.2 million; and revenues were down $3.1 million.

The East Central Vermont Community Fiber-Optic Network (ECFiber) today formalized its longstanding policy of giving extra bandwidth to schools, public institutions and libraries. See list of qualifying organizations below.

“Thanks to our high speed infrastructure and state-funded dark fiber and grants that have helped interconnect many of our hubs, ECFiber has excess bandwidth (particularly during daytime hours) and we are pleased to be able to offer it to all these institutions, many of which operate under tight budget constraints,” said Irv Thomae, Chairman of ECFiber and Governing Board delegate from Norwich. “Although 400 Mbps is currently the fastest speed we offer, we hope to be able to continue to provide these institutions the fastest speed we offer in the future. We hope to provide 1 Gigabit per second speeds within one year.”

(For those who remember connecting at 56 kbps dial up speeds just a few years ago, 1 Gbps is 200 times faster than 56 kbps.)

Eight rural, underserved Vermont communities are getting help to boost broadband Internet speeds. The towns of Norwich, Pittsfield, Randolph, Royalton, Jamaica, Rochester, Reading, and Bradford will receive nearly $900,000 for speed improvement upgrades, Governor Peter Shumlin announced today.

“I’m proud that we have reached near universal broadband coverage in this state in the last four years,” Shumlin said. “Now our focus has to turn to improving the infrastructure we have rolled out so that it keeps pace with the changing needs of a 21^st century economy. That means boosting broadband speeds, and these grants will do that in some of the hardest to reach Vermont towns.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing entitled, “Ensuring an Informed Citizenry: Examining the Administration’s Efforts to Improve Open Government.” Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has long worked to improve government openness and transparency, and was inducted into the FOIA Hall of Fame in 1996 for his work.

by Mike Barwell, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Three national organizations have confirmed Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s (DHMC) leadership for providing the highest quality of patient care. The distinctions include accreditation with the Gold Seal of Approval by The Joint Commission, a four-star rating for patient satisfaction on Hospital Compare; and recertification as the region’s primary trauma center:

The Brookfield Floating Bridge Celebration Planning Committee has announced today two-day celebration focused around the opening of the 8^th Brookfield Floating Bridge on May 23 and 24. Festivities will take place in the center of Brookfield, Vermont, in the vicinity of Hippo Park, the floating bridge, and the Old Town Hall. The Brookfield Floating Bridge is the only bridge of its kind east of the Mississippi. There have been seven bridges over the past centuries, and the opening of this bridge marks the eighth bridge traversing the lake. The bridge, designed by TY Lin and constructed by the Kenyon Corporation and Miller Construction, is expected to last 100 years.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will present 34 citizenship candidates to the Vermont District Court during a special venue naturalization ceremony at the Neshobe School in Brandon on Wednesday, May 6. USCIS will present the candidates to the Honorable Colleen A. Brown, US Bankruptcy Judge, US District Court Vermont District, who will administer the Oath of Allegiance to America’s newest citizens.

The Honorable Judge Brown and representatives from Vermont’s congressional delegation will welcome the new the citizenship candidates and their guests. Musical selections will be performed by the Neshobe School 5th and 6th grade chorus and the Preamble to the Constitution will be performed by the 5th grade students.

Governor Peter Shumlin will sign new legislation passed in the 2015 session strengthening Vermont’s captive legislation in a variety of areas including groundbreaking changes to the investment guideline to allow marketable securities along with cash, trusts and letters of credit to meet the minimum capital requirement. Governor Shumlin will hold a ceremonial signing of the bill alongside captive insurance industry professionals on May 7, in Burlington.

“These improvements in Vermont’s law may seem technical,” Governor Shumlin said, “but taken as a whole they continue to advance Vermont’s standing as the ‘Gold Standard’ for domiciles and will provide greater flexibility and clarity going forward for our companies.”

After a warm, dry weekend and a Red Flag warning yesterday that ended with more than 25 new reports of wild fires, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) has issued an order for all of the state's forest fire wardens to cease issuing burning permits as of 3 pm on May 5 through May 19. A Red Flag Warning means there are critical fire weather conditions including low relative humidity, high winds with little to no precipitation had fallen in the past few days. Fires that ignite during these conditions spread rapidly and with high intensity. The ban may be revoked or extended based upon weather conditions.

"We have received notification from many Forest Fire Wardens that they have stopped issuing permits in their towns," said Lars Lund, Vermont Forest Fire Supervisor, “This non-burn order supports their efforts.” This ban is a cooperative effort between FPR and the Green Mountain National Forest.

Satellite television retailers sent a letter to lawmakers today urging the Legislature to reject a Senate proposal to impose a new tax on satellite television subscribers. This tax would be an addition to the 6% tax already paid by Vermonters making the total tax among the highest in the nation.

Satellite television retailers across Vermont sell and service satellite television for about 100,000 Vermonters. They say the plan will give cable an unfair advantage. This tax hike targets Vermonters who depend on satellite television for news, emergency information and entertainment, costing them millions of dollars. In addition, the cost of doing business for this industry will go up and could lead to job losses.

Three alumni and their families have made gifts totaling $5 million to endow three head coaching positions at Dartmouth College. With these three gifts — supporting men’s soccer, women’s tennis, and men’s Nordic skiing — Dartmouth is $3.5 million away from its goal to raise $20 million in permanently endowed coaching positions to increase the school’s ability to attract and keep the best coaches and athletes in the Ivy League.

Vermont Business Magazine Following an executive shakeup involving its chief technology officer, Waterbury-based coffee company Keurig Green Mountain (NASDAQ: GMCR) issued this statement: “Kevin Sullivan, formerly Keurig’s Chief Technology Officer, remains with the company and has no plans to leave. Over the past 15 months, Kevin and Brian Kelley, Keurig’s President and CEO, have been working closely together to shift Kevin’s responsibilities at his request. Kevin will now focus exclusively on critical technology initiatives for the company. In April 2015, following a comprehensive search to find the best candidate to serve as Keurig’s Chief Technology Officer, Mark Choe assumed the position, joining Keurig from Whirlpool Corporation. Since Mark began in his role, he and Kevin have been working closely together to ensure a seamless transition. There has been no shake-up in our R&D division.”