Current News

JELD-WEN, Inc has signed a long-term lease renewal for 212,340 square feet of industrial space at 36 Precision Drive in North Springfield, Vermont, from Winstanley Enterprises. A global window and door maker based in Klamath Falls, OR, JELD-WEN utilizes the site for product manufacturing for the New England region.
In the transaction, the company was represented by Bo Mills, Mark Detmer, Will Strong, and Jackie Orcutt of the Phoenix office of Cushman & Wakefield, and Thomas Farrelly of the firm's Manchester, N.H. office. Landlord WE 36 Precision Drive LLC, an affiliate of Winstanley Enterprises, was represented by Arthur Ross of Hart Corp.
"With its prime location near I-91, this facility is well-suited for JELD-WEN for serving its regional market," said Mills. "Recently renovated, this industrial property works well for the company's window and door business."

The Vermont Arts Endowment Fund and the Concert Artists Fund, two component funds of the Vermont Community Foundation, announced that together they have awarded a total of $85,028 to 26 organizations and individuals across the state.
The Vermont Arts Endowment Fund awarded grants totaling $38,528 to support the creation and production of new work by Vermont artists and arts organizations, and provide technical assistance for arts organizations. The Concert Artists Fund awarded $46,500 to support performances of classical music in Chittenden County.
Grants funded by the Concert Artists Fund
Bella Voce Women’s Chorus of Vermont, Essex Junction
$1,000 to support the production and performance of "A Christmas Flourish."
Burlington Chamber Orchestra, Burlington
$2,000 to support 2011-2012 performances in the McCarthy Arts Center Recital Hall at St. Michael's College.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Green Mountain Section presented Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) with the Service of the Year award during their annual meeting banquet dinner held on December 2 at the Inn at Essex. One of nine awards presented during the evening, recognized VEC for its role in driving improvements to the state of the art of smart grid technology and services.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC), parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp, a US-based leader in firearm design and manufacturing, today announced that it has received contracts from the Massachusetts State Police and the Vermont State Police for new duty firearms from the M&P Pistol Series. The Massachusetts State Police has selected the M&P45 pistol, while the Vermont State Police has adopted the M&P40 pistol as its new service firearm. Both of the statewide law enforcement agencies have initiated the transition process and Troopers are currently using the M&P pistol in the field.
Vermont State Police

Organizers of the ninth annual Gift-of-Life Marathon Blood Drive are voicing cautious optimism as they prepare for a run at the national one-day blood drive record Dec. 20 in Rutland.
‘We have more than 1,800 appointments so far, but we still have a long way to go to actually break the record,’ said Central Vermont Public Service spokesman Steve Costello, one of the organizers. ‘The record is 1,968 pints, and to do that we’ll need about 2,200 or 2,300 people to show up.’
The event, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., will be held at the Paramount Theatre, American Legion Post 31, and the College of St. Joseph gymnasium. Appointments can be made by calling 800-RED-CROSS or at www.giftoflifemarathon.com. The event is sponsored by CVPS and WJJR.

US Senator Bernie Sanders and Governor Peter Shumlin today announced a $15 million, three-year partnership with Sandia National Laboratory to establish a joint Center for Energy Transformation and Innovation to be housed at the University of Vermont.
‘I am very proud to announce that we are bringing a very significant national lab presence to New England, by establishing the Center for Energy Transformation and Innovation right here in Vermont,’ Sanders said. ‘It is our goal that this Vermont/Sandia partnership will lead to a long-term national lab presence in Vermont, and that our state and the nation can benefit from the research conducted here for years to come.’

Vermont Law School today released its second annual Top 10 Environmental Watch List today, spotlighting the nation's most critical environmental law and policy issues of 2011 and how they may play out in 2012.
The Watch List (see below) is available at http://watchlist.vermontlaw.edu/
This year’s report contains 10 essays, plus a Special Mention essay and three additional issues to watch in 2012. The issues were chosen based on their significance to the environment and public well being and whether a key development is expected in the coming year.

Once again, snowmakers defied Mother Nature’s thoughts of a warm winter and made enough snow this week so that skiers and riders could celebrate opening day Saturday at Bolton Valley, just 30 minutes from Burlington and 10 minutes from Interstate 89.
Bolton Valley opened at 10 am with two trails and two lifts. Photos are available here.
To kick off the 2011-2012 season, Bolton Valley officials created a festive package of activities to complement skiing and riding on opening day. In addition to the inaugural turns on opening day, skiers and riders filled their tummies with yummy samples of some of Vermont’s finest food purveyors. Olivia’s Croutons and Two Guys in VT Soups, Vermont Natural Foods, Vermont Cookie Love, and Red Maple Granola were just a few of the companies offering samples of their wares from 11 a.m. ‘ 3 p.m. to guests at Bolton.

Mount Snow, in West Dover, Vermont, kicked off the 2011/2012 winter ski season on Saturday, December 10, with festivities surrounding the Grand Opening of North America’s only high speed detachable six passenger bubble lift, the Bluebird Express. The celebration included a ribbon cutting ceremony, champagne spray, lift line party and the entire enthusiastic crowd reciting the Bluebird Oath.
The technologically advanced lift cost $8.5 million to install and is now the primary lift from base to summit at Mount Snow carrying passengers to the 3,600-foot summit in just over seven minutes; half the ride time of the fixed grip triple chair it replaced.
Link to video coverage of today’s Grand Opening festivities.
http://youtu.be/0DfwMkYK8KA

West Dover, VT (December 10, 2011)

The Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities & Health Care Administration (BISHCA) has issued administrative charges against UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company to determine whether a fine or other sanction should be imposed on the national insurer for deceptive advertising. BISHCA alleges violations that include failing to file Medicare Supplement advertisements for approval by the Department and engaging in unfair insurance practices.
The charges state that throughout the fall, UnitedHealthcare placed unapproved Medicare Supplement advertisements in various Vermont newspapers and other media. It is also alleged that representations contained in some of the advertisements at issue are untrue, deceptive or misleading.
A preliminary pre-hearing conference on these charges is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13.

Rural Vermont is requesting all raw milk producers across the state participate in a survey on raw milk sales in Vermont. The Vermont Legislature has requested that Rural Vermont present data to the House and Agricultural Committees representing the viability of raw milk sales in the state. Farmers who sell raw milk will be asked questions ranging from gross annual sales to issues encountered with the current law. The motivation behind this comprehensive survey is to gather valuable information to convince policy makers that raw milk is a growing and important part of Vermont’s agricultural economy.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and other state officials will join FairPoint’s leadership team to honor the extraordinary dedication and service to Vermont and their fellow Vermonters following Tropical Storm Irene.
Tropical Storm Irene tested all Vermonters, and the FairPoint Vermont State President’s Awards were created to honor those who went way beyond the call-of-duty to keep Vermonters, and their towns and villages, connected.
2011 has been a tough year for Vermont. In addition to rebuilding Vermont telecommunications infrastructure post-Tropical Storm Irene, FairPoint helped communities recover from historic spring floods in Chittenden and Franklin counties. Wedged in between and during these 100-year events, FairPoint successfully completed the largest broadband buildout Vermont has ever seen with almost 1,100 miles of new fiber and nearly 90 percent of FairPoint’s Vermont customers now having broadband access.