Current News

In its annual Reader Resort Survey, SKI (skinet.com) named 10 Vermont resorts in the top 20 in the East, including the top three in the US and four of the top 10. With Tremblant, Quebec, number one, a spot it often holds, Smuggs, Stowe, Killington and Okemo were in the top 10, with Sugarbush, Jay Peak, Stratton, Mount Snow, Mad River Glen and Bromley also in the top 20. The reviews were written by SKI editors Joe Cutts and Gordy Megroz. Now in its 26th year, SKI’s annual resort survey is the longest running survey in the industry.

To view the gallery and see information on all the winners go to: http://www.skinet.com/ski/galleries/2015s-top-ranked-eastern-ski-resorts

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today raised new questions about skyrocketing prices for prescription drugs, including a new treatment for Hepatitis C that costs more than $1,000 per pill, and what he calls “staggering” price hikes for generic drugs. Sanders’ focus on the Hepatitis C medication stems from his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which recently learned that the costly new treatment is projected to cost the Department of Veterans Affairs $1.3 billion over the next two years.

The VA treats roughly 174,000 veterans with Hepatitis C and the drug requires a 12-week course of treatment for most patients. The impact on the VA budget is significant, even though the large health care system receives a discount on Sovaldi from Gilead.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: NHTB) has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of thirteen cents ($0.13) per share payable October 31, 2014, to stockholders of record as of October 24, 2014.New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc is the savings and loan holding company of Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb, a federally chartered savings bank that provides a wide range of banking and financial services.

Agriculture is one of Vermont’s most important economic sectors, and two institutions from the Higher Education Food Systems Consortium are collaborating to offer students a global take on climate change and sustainability. Sterling College and Vermont Tech are teaming up in a Global Field Studies course on Agricultural Adaptations to Climate Change that provides students the opportunity to study the political, ecological, and historical aspects of sustainable agriculture in and around Chiapas, Mexico. The Chiapas region offers a unique living classroom for students to learn about climate change and sustainability. This two-week international course is open to the public and will provide each student with four college credits.

Visitors to Burlington’s Waterfront Park will soon have a view unobstructed by power lines and large utility poles. Lines originally built in 1958 are coming down this week, as Green Mountain Power is removing the lines through Waterfront Park and north into Burlington’s Waterfront Access North project area.

“We are very pleased to be able to remove these lines along our scenic waterfront,” said Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “The significant upgrades we’ve made to the transmission system throughout Chittenden County now make it possible to operate reliably without these lines on the Waterfront.”

Moran plant with power lines near Burlington's waterfront. VBM file photo.

Sugarbush Resort announces the development of Gadd Brook Residences--new private, slopeside homes in Lincoln Peak Village. The construction of Gadd Brook is the next phase of construction in the resort’s Lincoln Peak Village master plan, concept approval of which was received in the summer of 2012.

Situated between historic Sugarbush Village and Lincoln Peak base area, the Lincoln Peak Village master plan envisions a 93-unit multi-phase residential development that provides a mixture of ownership opportunities. Rice Brook Residences--the first phase of the plan--created fifteen slopeside homes across three buildings, and was completed in late 2013. Based on the success of Rice Brook, Gadd Brook will be of similar design in that it will offer a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom privately-owned condominiums.

The University of Vermont and the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, Local 267 have reached agreement on a three-year contract, subject to ratification by UE membership. The union represents service and maintenance workers at UVM. UVM stated that ontract details will be available once ratification has taken place.

“I am very pleased that we were able to reach agreement on a new contract with the UE,” said Wanda Heading-Grant, Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. “Our service and maintenance workers are essential to the successful operation of the University. They are important and vital members of the UVM community.”

Less than five months after breaking ground on a new 2 megawatt solar project in Brattleboro, Winstanley Enterprises on Wednesday was joined by development team members and supporters to officially mark the project’s completion. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott and State Representative Mollie Burke headlined a group of dignitaries joining Winstanley Enterprises, Integrated Solar, REC Solar, Green Mountain Power and supporters and advocates of renewable energy to celebrate this project.

The newly constructed solar array sits on a 12-acre parcel owned by Winstanley Enterprises, and is the first project of its size in southeastern Vermont. Over 8,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels comprise the 2 megawatt system which on a clear, sunny day will produce 40 percent of Brattleboro’s electrical needs.

“Leading the Change in Energy” explores the challenges and opportunities of transitioning into an efficient, renewable energy future from the most critical aspect: human behavior. With the average American spending just six minutes per year thinking about energy, how do we encourage our society to move towards a clean energy future as quickly and efficiently as possible? From offering to empty attics to help weatherize a home, to showing the energy savings from solar hot water – numerous opportunities exist to engage the consumer.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) responded last week to a legal petition from 20 farm, consumer, and environmental groups, including NOFA Vermont, by reinstating some authorities of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), while continuing to limit the Board's advisory authority. The NOSB was established by Congress in 1990 to operate as a permanent independent authority. In May of this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reauthorized the Board under the Federal Advisory Committee Act as it is required to do every two years by law. Changes made to the charter, however, mistakenly re-categorized the NOSB as a time-limited Advisory Board subject to USDA's discretion and narrowed the Board's responsibilities.

Ensyn Fuels, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ensyn Corporation, has signed a contract with Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, New Hampshire, for the supply of RFO, Ensyn's advanced cellulosic biofuel. Ensyn Fuels will provide the hospital with approximately 250,000 gallons/year of RFO for a renewable term of seven years, commencing deliveries by April 2015. This contract will allow Valley Regional to convert its entire heating requirements from petroleum fuels to Ensyn's renewable fuel, lowering the hospital's greenhouse gases from heating fuels by approximately 85 percent and reducing the hospital's operating cost.

Ensyn's RFO is a liquid fuel produced from non-food solid biomass including forest and mill residues. RFO, essentially "liquid wood," directly displaces petroleum fuels in heating operations and is also a renewable feedstock for refineries for the production of gasoline and diesel.

Energtek Inc (OTC BB: EGTK), a provider of natural gas solutions and Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) technology, has announced that the Vermont Public Service Board will allow Energtek North Country Inc to use "competitive market forces to control rates, service quality, and reliability" for ENCI's commercial and industrial natural gas customers, especially to small and mid-size enterprises, rather than using regulated rates. ANG is compressed gas that is trucked to customers who do not have access to a gas pipeline.