Current News

A draft report has been released on extending passenger rail service from the capital region of New York into southwestern Vermont. Several proposals on what could cost up to $200 million are outlined in a report that will be described in public meetings in New York and Vermont on December 14 and 15.
The most elaborate of the proposals (see cost chart and maps below) has a full loop that would extend service all the way from Albany to Rutland and going through North Bennington on the way up and Saratoga Springs on the way back down. Other options include a simple up and back with terminus in alternatively Manchester or Rutland, in what would essentially be a parallel service to the existing Ethan Allen Express. Alternatively, the Ethan Allen could simply be moved from a predominantly New York service to a predominantly Vermont service. Of course, the first proposal in the report is to do nothing.

Seattle law firm Hagens Berman is investigating Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR - News) following the filing of a class-action lawsuit.
Green Mountain's shares slumped almost 25 percent after analyst David Einhorn warned on Oct. 17 that the company's business model was weaker than most thought and that its accounting was suspect. Then, on Nov. 9, 2011 , GMCR announced disappointing earnings results and skyrocketing inventory. On this news, GMCR's shares plummeted an additional 40 percent, from a close of $67.02 on Nov. 9 to a close of $40.89 on November 10 .

Vermont Business Magazine will publish the 25th anniversary edition of its Vermont 100+ list of the state’s largest Vermont-based companies in its January 2012 issue. VBM includes all companies with corporate headquarters here, including subsidiaries, with $3 million or more in revenues.
All the companies ranked are also then broken out into industry sub-categories. They are also ranked into the fastest growing over 5, 10, 20 and 25 years. The list is used for the 5X5X5 growth awards next September, which VBM does in conjunction with KeyBank Vermont. The 5X5X5 honors the five fastest growing companies over the last five years in five different industry sectors.
A list of last year’s ranking, with National Life once again leading the list, is below. Any company wishing to be included who has not already received a survey letter may print out and return the attached form. The deadline to return the form is December 12, 2011.
The Vermont 100+ 2010

Fletcher Allen reported an operating income of $18.6 million for the first three quarters of the 2011 fiscal year. This includes an operating income of approximately $9.6 million for the third quarter. The third quarter covers the period beginning April 1 and ending June 30. This result reflects our spending significantly less on expenses than budgeted, while the trend of declining patient care revenues year-to-date continued to remain below budget.
Third Quarter Results

While Vermont still has the second fewest bad mortgages (delinquent plus foreclosed) east of the Mississippi, Vermont was one of only a handful of states that saw an increase in bad mortgages between October 2010 and October 2011, this is in contrast to the Unites States as a whole, which has seen a drop in non-current housing loans of 7.5 percent over the last year. Meanwhile, Vermont's number has increased 5.7 percent. Vermont is one of only seven states to see an increase in bad mortgages.

Central Vermont Medical Center is pleased to announce that it has made a significant commitment to environmental sustainability by joining Practice Greenhealth, a membership organization for institutions and businesses in the health care field who are engaged in reducing their environmental footprints.
Practice Greenhealth provides practical guidance, training, consultation, and business solutions to help its members in their efforts to implement environmentally responsible practices. More than 1000 healthcare providers have joined Practice Greenhealth since 2008, indicating the growing commitment among the healthcare community to reduce its environmental impact.

Thanking the student body at Montpelier Middle School for doing their part to support local businesses this holiday season, Governor Peter Shumlin, small business owners and others today urged Vermonters to support local retailers and employers this holiday season.
‘It’s always important to shop locally and do business with locally-owned companies, but especially critical this year in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene,’ the governor said. ‘Supporting our neighbors, keeping our dollars in our communities and strengthening the state’s economy have never mattered more.’

Tom Bailey, president of the Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) Board of Directors, announced today that George Lague will join the board as an eastern zone director. Lague was appointed by the board to fill a vacancy caused by the death in July of long-time director, Bert Lague. He will serve by appointment until the term expires in May 2012.
‘George brings a great deal of experience and expertise to the VEC Board of Directors,’ said Bailey. ‘He’s a great addition and will play a strong role in setting policy that reflects the interests of co-op members.’

Vermont’s congressional delegation ‘ Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Representative Peter Welch ‘ Thursday welcomed nearly $54,000 in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants to five Vermont maple syrup producers to make their operations more energy efficient. The news came as USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager is visiting Vermont.
The funding is provided through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and will allow producers to install reverse osmosis systems to remove water from sap before it is boiled down to syrup. By removing the water before boiling the sap, producers reduce the amount of energy consumed in the production process. The nearly $54,000 in USDA funding will help to leverage $182,298 in private investment for energy efficiency improvements.

The Vermont Community Foundation announced that its Special and Urgent Needs - Irene Recovery Fund has awarded a total of $185,000 to 40 Vermont nonprofit organizations impacted by Tropical Storm Irene since its creation in early September. As of November 30, total contributions received or pledged to the fund exceeded $369,000.
Grants awarded to date have been available to nonprofits, schools, and municipal entities that sustained damage from Irene or face significant resource challenges in providing services for those affected by Irene. The fund will continue to make grants to these organizations and has announced that it will expand its grantmaking to include community relief funds and programs that provide financial assistance to individuals and families impacted by Irene.

Last week we got a call from Christine Brozyna at ABC’s World News asking how our Made in America Holiday Shopping Challenge is going,’ said Peggy Farabaugh, co-owner at Vernon-based Vermont Woods Studios furniture store. Christine explained that we have been selected to appear on Diane Sawyer’s Made in America series on November 30.
ABC sent a camera crew to our showroom in Vernon last Tuesday to do a nightly news story on how the community is ‘buying American’ and ‘buying local’ this holiday season.
‘We invited all Vernon residents to participate in the filming. ABC’s producers and camera crew filmed at all the familiar hang-outs in town: the School House General Store, the Town Hall, the Portside Tavern, the Firehouse, the elementary school and of course at the local furniture maker’s workshop, Woodruff Custom Furniture. A couple large crowd scenes were filmed along with several interviews of local residents.

Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery (VBCC) announced today that they took home 5 awards, including 3 gold medals, at the World Cheese Awards annual cheese competition in Birmingham, UK. The World Cheese Awards is the world’s largest international cheese competition and considered one of the most prestigious in the cheese industry. There were over 200 international judges that tasted more than 2,500 cheeses from 30 countries. ‘This is a very exciting win for us. To think that our Bonne Bouche and Cremont both won gold medals in this international arena is humbling,’ said company co-founder Allison Hooper.