Current News

Burlington Job Market Expected to be Among Strongest in Nation
December 9, 2008 - Burlington-South Burlington area employers expect to hire at a favorable pace during the first quarter of 2009, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Among survey participants, the Burlington-South Burlington area employment outlook is the fourth best in the nation.
"From January to March, 25% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7% expect to reduce their payrolls," according to Manpower spokesperson Amanda Niklaus. "Another 62% expect to maintain their current staff levels and 6% are not certain of their hiring plans."

CNL LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES ADDS OKEMO, CRESTED BUTTE AND
SUNAPEE TO SKI & MOUNTAIN LIFESTYLE PORTFOLIO

-- Relationship with family-owned Triple Peaks, LLC provides immediate capital and
long-term stability for top-ranked ski mountains --

(ORLANDO, Fla.) Dec. 5, 2008 - CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust
(REIT) focused on lifestyle properties, announced today its acquisition of the privately held
assets of three ski and mountain lifestyle properties: Vermont's Okemo, Colorado's Crested
Butte and New Hampshire's Mount Sunapee. CNL Lifestyle Properties is purchasing the resorts
from family-owned Triple Peaks, LLC and leasing the properties back to Triple Peaks to
manage the ski, golf, hospitality and conference operations under a long-term lease.

Rockingham Area Community Land Trust Receives $27,900 to Support Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Efforts

Alpine Skier Bode Miller Invests in New England "better for you" snack-food company
with plans to expand distribution nationally
Beaver Creek, CO (December 4, 2008) Bode Miller, Olympic Skier and two-time World
Cup Overall Champion, has invested in Madhouse Munchies (MHM), an up and coming
snack-food company based out of Burlington, Vermont. Miller, who recently purchased
an organic farm in Sugar Hill, NH, plans to supply MHM with potatoes in the future for
greater quality assurance and reduced -transportation costs. The announcement came
today in Beaver Creek, CO as Miller prepares to compete for gold in the 2008 men's
World Cup Alpine Ski races.
"If you produce a great product, it doesn't matter that you're the underdog, you don't
concern yourself with that, you know you have something great and it's not hard to
challenge the Superpowers at that point," states Miller. In announcing the partnership,

UNICEL ADDS CELL SITE IN JAMAICA,

ENHANCES MAGIC MOUNTAIN AND BROMLEY COVERAGE

Latest Technology, Improved Coverage for Area Wireless Customers
Colchester, VT - Unicel customers in northern Windham County can now benefit from better coverage and signal strength, a larger calling area, better voice quality and access to high-speed data transfer and other features.

VA Opening 31 New Outpatient Clinics
World-Class Health Care Brought Closer to More Veterans
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Veterans will have easier
access to world-class health care under a Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) plan to open 31 new outpatient clinics in 16 states.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake today announced VA
will establish new clinics in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida,
Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
"VA is committed to providing world-class health care to the men and
women who have served this nation," Peake said. "These new clinics will
bring VA's top-notch care closer to the veterans who have earned it."
With 153 hospitals and about 745 community-based clinics, VA operates

Is Your Business A Century Old?
If Yes, Then The Secretary of State Is Looking For You!
Program Honors Vermont's Centennial Businesses
Montpelier. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz has put out a call for nominations for the 2009 Vermont Centennial Business Awards. This program, a joint project of the Secretary of State's office, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and the Vermont Business Magazine, honors businesses that have operated in Vermont for at least 100 years.
Secretary Markowitz said, "Any business that has been in operation in Vermont for 100 years or more can participate in the awards program by filling out an application and providing verification of its business start date." Vermont's centennial businesses will be presented with a plaque at an awards ceremony in March.

The Vermont History Expo will be suspended for June 2009
BARRE, VT (12/4/08) -- The Board of Trustees of the Vermont Historical Society (VHS) met on Friday, November 21st. At that meeting the decision was made to suspend the Vermont History Expo for this upcoming year ('09).
Tess Taylor, VHS Director of Education and Public Programs, explained, "The Expo has had a nine-year run at the historic Tunbridge Fairgrounds for one weekend in June each of those years. Thousands of Vermonters, and "Vermonters at Heart" old and young have been treated to two days of exhibitions by local historical societies, for whom this event was created, plus offerings by history museums, cultural heritage organizations and associations, performers, history presenters, traditional trades people. It is often referred to as 'Vermont's Family Reunion.'"

YEAR-END TAX TIPS FOR BUSINESSES

Six Tax-Optimizing Tactics to Consider Before January 1
Montpelier, VT-With 2008 fast coming to a close, many area businesses are actively working on preparing tax filings for what has been an economically volatile year. This year, Congress has enacted important changes to the tax laws that provide opportunities for businesses to reduce their income tax burden for the year. Now is the time to review some possibilities for action before year-end.

The following six tips from the Vermont Society of Certified Public Accountants can help your business make the most of these time-sensitive tax opportunities (and don't forget maybe the most important tax tip: organize your records and tax files before meeting with your accountant. It'll save your CPA time, and you money):

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Announces Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2009 Results
RUTLAND, VT, Dec 03, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, today reported financial results for the second quarter of its 2009 fiscal year.
Highlights of the quarter include:
-- Free cash flow* for the quarter was up $8.2 million over the same
period last year;
-- Operating income for the quarter was up 1.3 percent over same period
last year; and
-- Solid waste operations continue to perform well through the economic
slowdown, while the recycling group faces pressures from volatile commodity
pricing.

Cornell Nutritional Expert, Vermont Baby Formula Company Urge Parents Not to Dilute Formula with Extra Water
GEORGIA, Vt., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to press reports of parents diluting baby formula in this difficult economy, a nutritional expert and a leading manufacturer of infant formula are urging parents to breastfeed or use formula responsibly by following the instructions on the can.
"It is critical that parents refrain from diluting baby formula with extra water during these tough economic times," said Barbara S. Levine, R.D., Ph.D., director of the first NIH-funded Nutrition Information Center at Weill Cornell Medical College. "If parents choose to formula feed, they must remember it is an infant's sole source of nutrition."

MONTPELIER, Vt. The numbers are in, and the state's new job creation incentive program had a strong rookie season, creating 265 new jobs and generating nearly $600,000 in new tax revenues for Vermont in 2007.

A final report released by the Vermont Economic Progress Council and the Vermont Department of Taxes, which jointly administer the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive program, shows that the seven companies approved for activity during its first year created $10 million in new payroll.

They also made $23 million in capital investments, and the new jobs and economic activity generated an estimated $583,000 in net new tax revenues to the state, almost twice what was initially estimated.