Current News

Joe Adler, James Lockridge and Justin Hoy To Host Music Industry Gathering
On Saturday, January 14 ‘The 1st Annual Vermont Musicians Summit’ comes to Higher Ground. The event will bring together musicians and professionals from all facets of the Vermont music industry to take part in an array of music-related activities. From 5:30-7pm artists and industry pros alike are invited to come network, share stories, take part in panels and in all ways bring the Vermont music community closer together.
Afterwards, doors open to the public at 8pm for a concert beginning at 8:30 and featuring performances from Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band, Something With Strings, The Human Canvas, The Wind Woods w/ Brett Hughes, and more to be announced, including an all-star jam session with some very special guests.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Congressman Peter Welch (D) on Wednesday announced that the US Department of Transportation is releasing $134.6 million in emergency funds to help Vermont rebuild and repair roads and bridges destroyed or damaged by Tropical Storm Irene and in last spring’s flooding. The total includes $125,651,814 for costs associated with Irene and $8,975,130 for costs associated with the spring floods.
The funding is part of $1.662 billion in new emergency relief funding approved by Congress, signed into law by President Obama in November and released Wednesday by US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. There could be further installments of emergency federal road repair aid as repair work continues.

Shearer Volkswagen announces their move to 1030 Shelburne Rd., South Burlington (formerly Shearer GMC Cadillac Buick) across from the Olive Garden. This new location will handle new and pre-owned sales, all parts and service as well as an onsite full-service body shop for even greater customer service. SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT, December, 2011

State officials will visit Killington and Mendon at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11, 2012, to hold a town-meeting style discussion about how they can assist local communities recover from Tropical Storm Irene. The local visit is part of the statewide Community Recovery Partnership initiative launched by Governor Peter Shumlin, and is designed to not only identify local needs but also connect communities with the support and resources they require for both short- and long-term recovery.

Fitch Ratings today affirmed the 'A-' Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and 'BBB+' senior debt ratings of NLV Financial Corp. (NLVF), and the 'A+' Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings of National Life Insurance Company (Vermont)(NLIC) and Life Insurance Company of the Southwest (LSW) - collectively known as the National Life Group (NLGroup). A complete list of ratings follows at the end of this release. The Rating Outlook for all ratings is revised to Negative from Stable.
The rating affirmation reflects an updated review of NLGroup's credit related investment losses, which continued to decline in 2010 and through the first nine months of 2011. The investment portfolio as a whole was in a net unrealized gain position of approximately $300 million at Sep. 30, 2011.

Online advertised job vacancies in Vermont rose 800 and the nation as a whole increased by 93,800 in December to 3,951,000, according toThe Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine®(HWOL)Data Seriesreleased today. The December increase offset the dips of 76,000 in November and 14,000 in October. The Supply/Demand rate stands at 3.45, indicating there were 3.5 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy in November, the latest monthly data available for unemployment.

Vermont Public Television and Vermont Public Radio will collaborate on live web coverage of Governor Peter Shumlin’s state of the state address from the Statehouse in Montpelier on Thursday, January 5, at 2 pm. Viewers will find it at VPT’s website,www.vpt.org, and VPR’s website,www.vpr.net.
VPR hosts Jane Lindholm and Bob Kinzel will provide audio commentary.
VPT will also broadcast the address at 7 pm Thursday on the VPT World channel, which is VPT’s fourth channel for over-the-air viewers. VPT World is also on Comcast cable channel 321 and other Vermont cable systems.
It will be archived as video on demand on VPT’s website.

There’s a lot of commotion about the deals, events, snow and celebrations happening in Vermont this month. It’s all true: there’s family fun served up for the heartiest of skiers, riders and revelers alike. In addition to the launch of www.RideVermont.com, Ski Vermont has the $29 Learn To Ski & Ride Month promotion, free Nordic ski and snowshoeing on Winter Trails Day and ski resorts are fully equipped to please - from first chair to bed hair.
Plus, with Vermont's unrivaled snowmaking process, resorts have the power to deliver with a combined snow gun capacity to lay a foot of snow on 60 acres in an hour - that's like filling Gillette Stadium with 40 feet in just one hour.
Here’s Martin Luther King Holiday and January deals and happenings:
Bolton Valley is Like Recess, Only It Lasts All Day and Into the Night

St Albans Town Resident Joe Sinagra declared his intentions to run for the State Senate from Franklin County, a formal campaign kickoff will occur in the Spring. Sinagra said, ‘Franklin Countyand Vermont are at a cross roads, we are one of the oldest states in the county and we continue to export our young people, as a State Senator I will focus on improving our local and state economy withoutraising taxes.’
Former Lt. Governor and Fairfield resident Brian Dubie said, ‘I have known Joe for more than 10 years, he is the type of person we need in the State Senate. I am proud to fully support Joe’scampaign and I will be proud to call him my State Senator.’

On Saturday, December 10, Vermonters shopped till they dropped ‘ and raised over $5,000 to fight hunger.
Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel held their 2nd annual Charity Sale in December, and the store and its customers collectively raised over $5,000 for Lenny’s chosen charity partner, the Vermont Foodbank. This morning, Lenny’s owner Mark McCarthy presented that donation to Vermont Foodbank CEO John Sayles.
Lenny’s customers purchased tickets, for $5 each, to the one-day sale. With that ticket, customers qualified for substantial discounts on top gift items throughout the store. More than 550 tickets were sold, and 100% of the proceeds from those ticket sales went directly to the Foodbank. Each $5 ticket sold enabled the Foodbank to help provide 30 meals for Vermonters in need.
In addition to the ticket proceeds, Lenny’s also donated a percentage of the day’s sales to benefit the Foodbank, making for a total donation of $5,148.

Vermont Sports Magazinedebuts a whole new look this month, as the 20-year-old publication has freshened up with a glossy cover and layout redesign.
The magazine, published in Orleans, Vt., covers the outdoors in Vermont and Northern New England, including hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing and more.
The cover and redesign are the latest in a series of changes to the magazine that aim to better reflect the outdoor scene in Vermont, including more coverage for budding athletes and weekend warriors.
‘The new cover makes you want to dive right into the issue,’ said Sky Barsch Gleiner, Vermont Sports’ publisher and editor (and recipient of a 2011 Vermont Business Magazine Rising Star Award). ‘The glossy paper makes our cover photos pop, and it gives our advertisers a nice option to help market their products.’

Larry Sudbay, President and CEO of SymQuest® Group, the region’s leading provider of network and document technology solutions and services, is pleased to announce there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday, January 10, at 8:00 am at the SymQuest Service Center, 30 Community Drive. The ceremony is to celebrate the opening of the new 2,800 sf expansion that will house SymQuest’s Network Operations Center (NOC).
The NOC is the control center for SymQuest’s 25 top-level engineers who monitor, manage and remediate issues for close to two-thousand servers, workstations and other devices under their care. The newly renovated, secure space will provide enough room for another 12 engineers.