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With Killington Resort leading the way, Vermont is officially open for the 2014-15 ski and ride season. Resorts all over Vermont have been taking advantage of great snowmaking temperatures to lay down the white stuff, along with some help from Mother Nature. Find out all the resorts’ opening dates and what they are doing to prepare for another stellar snow season. Nearly all Vermont ski resorts are scheduled to open before December 1.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), the parent company of Berkshire Bank with offices in southwestern Vermont, and Hampden Bancorp, Inc (Nasdaq: HBNK) today announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Berkshire will acquire Hampden and its subsidiary, Hampden Bank, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $109 million.

Vermont Business Magazine After a summer and early fall of very low unemployment claims, new unemployment claims in Vermont were up again last week and are near 800 claims for the first time in several months. Levels this year have been running consistently lower than those of last year, but the last two weeks were ahead of last year's numbers. For the week of October 25, 2014, there were 797 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 257 from the previous week's total, and 141 more than they were a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine The City of Burlington received permission from the Vermont Public Service Board to sell the assets of Burlington Telecom to a local investor in an order dated November 3, 2014, but the city will continue to be responsible for the operation of the telephone, cable and Internet provider. Under the agreement, the city will fund the largest component of the city's $9.03 million settlement payment with Citibank through a sale of substantially all the assets of Burlington Telecom to Blue Water Holdings LLC, which will then lease BT's assets back to the city. Blue Water is a Vermont limited liability company formed by Raymond C Pecor III as owner and managing member, as part of a sale and operating lease financing. Pecor and his family are the owner/operators of the Lake Champlain Transportation ferries and the Lake Monsters minor league baseball team, among other things.

Murs Woods, a 160 acre mountain estate listed by Vermont Country Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, recently sold for $4.35 million. The transaction represents the highest residential real estate sale in Vermont in the last 12 months. Murs Woods is a 160-acre mountain retreat sited within minutes of Stratton Mountain Resort. Designed as a family estate, it encompasses a gracious Adirondack-style main residence, airy carriage barn guest house, and an authentic Michigan log house, each with its own serene setting overlooking a 5-acre pond. Twelve acres of manicured and landscaped grounds open to woodlands and trails. The property also includes a caretaker’s cottage, post-and-beam barn, and small hunting camp.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org With two weeks before the Vermont Health Connect web portal is due to go back online, state officials insist users will enjoy a smooth open enrollment period. But internal documents provided to VTDigger show that while new registrants — who are expected to number about 8,000 — may have an improved experience, the exchange is far from resolving issues for its existing customers. And just getting through open enrollment will cost as much as $20 million, the documents show. The state has already spent $100 million on Vermont Health Connect. In order to relieve stress on the incomplete website, previously insured users are being asked to avoid it and, unless they have a problem, the call center, too. Snail mail is the recommended option.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Not all parents are equipped to be good parents, Cary Brown concedes. But among the ready and willing, too many never get the chance. The consequences surpass parental regret, a panel of speakers suggested Tuesday night in Montpelier at an event moderated by Brown, executive director of the Vermont Commission on Women. When parents can’t provide or afford high-quality early childhood care, their children suffer and society pays. That was one takeaway from a new documentary “The Raising of America,” that was screened at the event.

The accomplishments of Veteran small business owners around the country will be celebrated during National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) November 3-7. US Small Business Administration district offices and resource partners nationwide will host more than 100 local events, including entrepreneurship training such as Boots to Business: Reboot classes, veteran access to capital workshops, and government contracting roundtables. In Vermont, a Veteran Small Business Conference is being held on Thursday November 6, 2014 from 1 to 4 pm at Heritage Family Credit Union Operations Center, 26 Allen Street, Rutland, Vermont. This free event covers business plans, government contracting and registering as a veteran owned business.

FairPoint Communications, Inc (Nasdaq: FRP), a leading communications provider and Vermont's largest telecommunications company, recently submitted this open letter in state and regional newspapers to the communities of northern New England. FairPoint and two unions representing over 1,700 workers are locked in a dispute over a new contract, which resulted in a strike that began on October 17. The contract talks broke down over benefits, retirement plans and the use of non-unionized workers.

Letter: The Future for FairPoint

Do landlines really matter in an era of smartphones, tablets, texts and tweets?

Wireless calls, social media interactions, tweets and texts are being carried and transported by high capacity landlines and the best way to do that is through fiber optic lines.

Vermont Business Magazine will present the Rising Stars, Class of 2014, at a special reception and dinner, Thursday evening, November 6, 2014, beginning at 5:30 pm. The ceremony will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel on Williston Road, South Burlington. The awards will be presented to 40 individuals for their commitment to business growth, professional excellence and involvement in their communities. Governor Peter Shumlin will welcome the winners and say a few words at the opening reception. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott will be on hand to congratulate all the winners as he hands them their plaques.

During the overnight hours between November 1 and 2 when most people were relishing an extra hour of sleep due to the end of daylight-saving time, Okemo Mountain Resort’s snowmakers were hard at work. At the same time Mother Nature was delivering her first dusting of natural snow, Okemo’s snowmakers were initializing the resort’s energy-efficient snowmaking system and engaging HKD tower guns along several upper-mountain trails. Okemo is based in Ludlow, Vermont.

Following a $1 million investment in its snowmaking system last year, Okemo added another 100 tower guns to its arsenal this season. Utilizing energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology allows Okemo to maximize its water-pumping ability and snowmaking potential. With the continuation of favorable conditions, Okemo will begin the 2014/2015 ski and snowboard season on its target opening date of Nov. 15.

Ski Vermont launched a new website this fall working with Methodikal, Inc. and Eternity Web to give users a new and better online experience, and to provide a comprehensive place for people to find information about Vermont resorts, deals, conditions, events and places to stay. Highlights include an updated Resort Finder, helping those looking for the perfect Vermont ski and snowboard vacation, and a responsive design for easy use on mobile phones, tablets and desk top computers.