Current News
by tim
Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C., a business and litigation law firm with offices at 209 Battery Street in Burlington, announces that Jeffrey J. McMahan, Esq. has become a shareholder and director of the firm.
McMahan is a corporate attorney who rejoined the firm in December 2002. His practice focuses on counseling businesses in business formation issues, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property protection and licensing. He has particular experience with the legal issues faced by software companies, representing both software vendors and institutions purchasing computer systems.
Prior to rejoining the firm, he was Deputy General Counsel of AllScripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a publicly-traded health care information technology company based in Chicago. He also served as Division Counsel to Channelhealth Inc., an Internet subsidiary of IDX Systems Corporation, and was Corporate Counsel in the IDX Legal Department.
by tim
Northeast Benefits Management, LLC in South Burlington, VT is pleased to
announce that Kate Fosher has joined its organization as a Benefits
Administrator.
Kate has a B.A. in History with Secondary Education
Licensure from Johnson State College.
Kate, formally of Morgan Stanley
will be supporting clients that utilize NBM's web-based flexible spending
account claims and processing system.
NBM is an independent firm,
delivering a full range of employee benefits management services. As a
fee-for-service company, we provide organizationally targeted employee
benefits program planning, including review, analysis, administration and
employee communication. NBM offers effective, comprehensive solutions
targeted to the specific needs for companies.
NBM is delighted to welcome
Kate Fosher to its growing team.
by tim
Saint Michael's College has received the largest number of applications
for fall admission to the first-year class in the history of the liberal
arts Catholic residential college. As of March 28, the number of
applicants totaled 2,753.
"We are extremely pleased to break the application record, of course,"
said Jerry Flanagan, vice president for marketing and enrollment. "But we
are even more pleased with the quality of the applicants," he said.
"Having read every student application to Saint Michael's for going on 30
years, I can say this applicant pool is outstanding-for academic
achievement, for diversity, for volunteer service (67 percent indicate
they have done and want to do volunteer service)-we're just delighted."
Director of Admission Jacqueline Murphy said the college accepted about 65
percent of the applications received. She said women make up 49 percent of
by tim
Green Mountain Power Corporation (NYSE:GMP) has been
named to Business Week magazine's list of top-performing small-cap
companies. The Company was ranked 25th out of 50 companies ranked and was
the only Vermont-based company included. The list was compiled by ranking
the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 stocks by one-and three-year total
returns as of Feb 14.
"It is very satisfying to see Green Mountain Power included in Business
Week's list of top performing companies. We have vigorously pursued
improving customer service while finding new ways to control costs. The
results have clearly benefited our shareholders right along with our
customers," said Christopher L. Dutton, president and chief executive
officer of Green Mountain Power.
According to the Business Week article, most of the best companies
prospered by increasing productivity and aggressively cutting costs.
by tim
With war raging in Iraq, the latest national “America At Work” poll commissioned by the Employment Law Alliance shows that the vast majority of American workers do not believe the conflict poses a direct threat to their job security. The most recent ELA “America at Work” poll shows that 84% of workers are not worried about losing their jobs because of the war in Iraq.
Karen McAndrew, a partner in the Employment Law Group at Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, the ELA affiliate in Vermont, said the poll reflects some unexpected optimism in the workplace. “While you can’t predict a significant post-war economic rebound on the basis of worker optimism alone,” McAndrew said, “the positive effects of a confident work force should not be discounted.”
by tim
The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission is pleased to announce that it has hired Gregory Brown as its new Executive Director.
Brown has almost twenty years with Vermont planning organizations. He served as the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs from 1998 to 2003, after being DHCA's Deputy Commissioner and Director of the Planning Division. As Commissioner of the Department, he was responsible for leadership of state housing and land use policy, community development, and historic preservation. He designed legislation strengthening the Vermont Downtown Program, overhauled the Community Development Block Grant Program, and led policy on development around interstate exits. Prior to joining DHCA, he worked for the Windham Regional Planning Commission in Brattleboro.
by tim
xA coalition of business leaders is doing everything it can to create jobs in Vermont. A new website, www.vermontcpr.org, has arrived on the scene to encourage revision of Vermont’s permitting process in order to pump life into the Vermont economy. The website urges legislative initiatives to make meaningful changes to the Act 250 process this legislative session.
Sponsored by the Coalition for Permit Reform (CPR), the goal of the new site is to mobilize individuals to encourage the legislature to enact reform that creates a more consistent, more predictable and more timely permit process, while preserving Vermont’s existing environmental protections.
by tim
Charter One Financial, Inc (NYSE: CF) has announced that Ethan A “Skip” Allen, Jr has been named vice president of corporate banking in Vermont.
Allen will be responsible for overseeing the expansion of Charter One’s corporate banking efforts by originating new commercial loans and managing existing loan relationships in the eastern New York and New England regions.
Prior to joining Charter One, Allen served as a vice president with Community National Bank. He brings over 30 years of experience in banking to his new position.
Allen holds degrees from Champlain College and the University of Vermont.. He is a member of the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing agency and the Vermont Banker’s Association.
by tim
A coalition of business leaders is doing everything it can to create jobs in Vermont. A new website, www.vermontcpr.org, has arrived on the scene to support revision of Vermont’s permitting process in order to pump life into the Vermont economy. The website urges legislative initiatives to make meaningful changes to the Act 250 process this legislative session.
Sponsored by the Coalition for Permit Reform (CPR), the goal of the new site is to mobilize individuals to encourage the legislature to enact reform that creates a more consistent, more predictable and more timely permit process, while preserving Vermont’s existing environmental protections.
by tim
Mike Wallace, co-editor and correspondent of CBS's 60 Minutes will be the keynote speaker at the Governor's Summit for the Employment of People with Disabilities.
This year's summit will focus on the employment of people with mental health issues. Wallace will speak about his struggles with depression, a mental health disorder that affects 18 million Americans.
Governor James Douglas will be presenting awards to Vermont businesses that have made a difference in employing people with disabilities. Senator James Jeffords will also be speaking at the luncheon.
The Luncheon will be held April 7 at 1:00 pm at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center. For more information please contact Chris McCarthy, VABIR, 802-655-7215
by tim
Husky Injection Molding Systems has announced a $13 million expansion plan for its Milton, Vermont plant. The expansion could bring as many as 100 jobs to the area within the next year. Husky has begun the hiring with 50 new jobs now with the prospect of hiring an additional 50 over the coming year. These jobs would be in engineering, manufacturing and support.
Plans include a 17,000 square foot addition to the Husky plant located on North Road in Milton. There are plans to move part of the operation to a 20,000 square foot plant in the Catamount Industrial Park in Milton.
The construction will start as soon as permits are in hand and completion of the project is slated for September.
Husky manufactures molds and machines for the plastics industry and employs 400 at its Milton Plant.
by tim
A group of four Vermont chief executives―Ed Colodny of Fletcher Allen Healthcare, Liz Robert of Vermont Teddy Bear, Joe Boutin of Merchants Bank and John Casella of Casella Waste Systems―will participate in a panel discussion titled “How do Responsible Public Companies Handle the Issues of Enron+1?” on April 10 at Middlebury College. The town-meeting-style open event, which is the 2003 D.K. Smith Spring Forum, will take place from 4:30-6 p.m. in Room 216 of Bicentennial Hall on Bicentennial Way off College Street. Following the panel, there will be a reception in the Great Hall of Bicentennial Hall.