Current News

Verizon Wireless ranked highest among all other national wireless providers in the New England region in the JD Power 2014 Wireless Network Quality Study, Volume 1, issued March 6, 2014. The New England region includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. This is the 19th consecutive reporting period that Verizon Wireless ranks highest in the Northeast.
The J.D. Power study measured network quality among U.S. wireless service providers in its survey of wireless subscribers about calling, messaging and data service between July and December 2013. Based on their responses, Verizon Wireless, for the second consecutive time, was ranked highest among national wireless companies in all six regions.

The Burlington Business Association (BBA) has selected the winners of its 2014 Annual Awards, which include David Finney of Champlain College, Burton Snowboards and Hotel Vermont.

A newly released report shows AT&T wireless customers in Vermont are enjoying a network experience ranked highest in a tie for combined/overall voice, data, and text performance by an independent mobile research and testing organization.
Seattle-based RootMetrics has released a national wireless network performance study (SEE FULL REPORT), which awarded AT&T a tie for first in Vermont with Verizon for its combination of call, text and data performance.**
"AT&T is tied for the highest rank in our National Study of overall network performance in Vermont. Our National Study looks at data, call and text performance across all network technologies, including 4G LTE in Vermont. We look at performance from a consumer's point of view, and AT&T offered a very strong overall performance for those in Vermont during our tests," said Bill Moore, president and CEO of RootMetrics.

National Bank of Middlebury has announced a major donation in support of Howden Hall in Bristol. Pledged in celebration of the bank’s 175th Anniversary (2006), NBM donated its gift of $25,000 upon the recent completion of the renovations to the home of the Bristol Historical Society.
Howden Hall was the subject of a massive restoration project (total project was approximately $120,000) encompassing outside renovations (painting, siding repair, attic insulation), as well as indoor renovations (new boiler, new wiring, new windows, ADA lift for accessibility to both floors, and a complete renovation of the basement to create a modern meeting room with kitchenette).
"The Hall provides a fitting home for the Historical Society,” added G. Kenneth Perine, NBM’s President, “an important institution that reminds us of our roots, and a wonderful, modern meeting space with its completely renovated basement will allow for the community to benefit from this space."

by Morgan True vtdigger.org
Vermont Republicans are questioning the Shumlin administration’s decision to hire a special lobbyist to push its health care reform agenda. In an email blast on Wednesday, the GOP attacked the man tapped for the job.
Former House Majority Whip Floyd Nease has reemerged at the Statehouse, and it was reported last week that he’s back to marshal support among his former colleagues for single-payer health care.
Republicans are curious why Shumlin needs additional help to sell a Democratic super-majority on his plans to transition the state to a single-payer health care system, according to a statement released Tuesday.

Vermont Business Magazine Susan L Donegan, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, announced today that the state has received more than $270,000 as the result of a settlement reached last week into the conduct of a Rutland area securities broker. The investigation determined that George “Rip” Lincoln IV of Shrewsbury had made overly risky recommendations to many clients and then manipulated their financial records to mislead his supervisors.

Between 2008 and 2012, Lincoln led his supervisors to believe that some speculative investments were appropriate for his clients even though he was aware of his clients’ need for more conservative investments and/or limited investable assets. As a result, many Vermonters’ portfolios contained unsuitable investments.

Louise McCarren, a Charlotte resident with extensive experience in public service and private business, has been elected by the board as the chair of Campaign for Vermont (CFV).
“I’m very excited to have someone of Louise’s talent and experience to lead CFV as we continue to grow,” said Bruce Lisman, co-founder of CFV, Vermont’s largest grassroots public advocacy organization. “I am confident that Louise and the entire Board will successfully lead CFV to achieve significant progress that will surely benefit Vermonters for years to come.”
McCarren has held numerous leadership positions throughout her career, including chair of the Vermont Public Service Board, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, Vermont state president for Verizon, and, most recently, CEO of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Wednesday led a coalition of 17 senators and 24 members of the House in support of a proposed regulation by the Food and Drug Administration that will improve the labeling on generic drugs and secure equal treatment for consumers who take generics.

Madrid­-based BKOOL.com has chosen St Johnsbury, Vermont, to set up its first American sales and support office, tapping long time bike industry veteran and Peacham resident Craig Harrison as US brand manager.

Founded in 2009, BKOOL has created an internet-­connected fitness ecosystem, melding multi­player gaming technology, Ant+ advanced wireless data transmission, and extensive fitness research conducted at the University of Granada in Spain. The result is a system that allows for extensive possible applications, from indoor bike races using the BKOOL stationary bike trainer to customized training plans and virtual bike touring anywhere in the world, complete with real world on­course video or Google Earth simulations. Fitness junkies can even use BKOOL outdoors without the trainer, uploading their activities from their smartphones through the BKOOL web portal to track their riding and create simulations of their favorite rides.

Out of concern and respect for passengers, CCTA is advising the public that a potential strike by its drivers’ Union could interrupt service beginning Monday, March 10, 2014, it said in a statement issued Thursday.
Teamsters Local Number 597, the drivers’ Union at CCTA, has indicated to CCTA the potential for a labor action beginning Monday, and public comments by the union’s surrogates suggest it is planning for a strike, despite the fact that negotiations are planned to resume this Saturday.
If CCTA drivers do not report to work on Monday, March 10, no public transportation service provided by CCTA drivers will operate. The services cancelled would include all CCTA local routes, local commuter routes, and LINK Express routes, with the exception of the Montpelier LINK Express trips and 116 Commuter trips operated by non-Union drivers.

B Corp, the premier entity that measures the social and environmental practices of businesses nationwide and internationally, has certified Gardener's Supply of Burlington, Vermont, a leading online and catalog garden products retailer and wholesaler, as a Certified B Corporation.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Green Mountain Power’s Kingdom Community Wind project got a vote of confidence from Lowell residents on Town Meeting Day. The 65-megawatt wind project in the Northeast Kingdom has been the center of the debate over industrial-scale power generation in the Vermont – criticized by some as damaging to the state’s natural ridgelines and supported by others as a step toward meeting the state’s renewable energy goals.
Voting 110-27 in favor of the project, Lowell voters backed the 21-turbine project for the second time – rejecting a town meeting article critical of the project’s impact on the surrounding environment.
Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility, said in a statement the vote represents lasting support for the project.