Current News

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional vertically-integrated solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, has reported financial results for its second quarter fiscal year 2012, and provided updated guidance for its 2012 fiscal year.

Highlights for the quarter included:

Revenue growth of 5.7 percent over the same quarter last year.
Overall solid waste pricing growth of 1.6 percent was primarily driven by strong collection pricing growth of 3.4 percent as a percentage of collection revenues.
Adjusted EBITDA* was $30.5 million for the quarter, down $0.3 million from same quarter last year.
Free cash flow* was $6.0 million for the quarter and $3.4 million year-to-date.
Company reaffirms Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow guidance ranges for fiscal year 2012.

Burlington's Progressive Mayor Bob Kiss announced this morning on a popular local radio program that he would not be seeking another term.
His announcement came while a guest on the Charlie + Ernie + Lisa show on WVMT AM 620. Kiss said his decision not to run was not influenced by other candidates, but rather by a need for him personally to move on and focus on other things.
Up until Wednesday morning, Kiss had remained reticent about his possible reelection bid and had many in Burlington and in his own party scratching their heads.
Many progressives had become skeptical of Kiss' viability as a mayoral candidate, casting doubt on his chances of securing another term. The embattled mayor recently won praise for his handling of the Occupy Burlington movement, especially his ability to quell unrest following one of the occupiers’ suicide, and the peaceful dismantling of its City Hall Park encampment.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin announced today that he has tapped Chief Deputy Dean Shatney to replace retiring Caledonia County Sheriff Michael Bergeron when Bergeron steps down at the end of the year.

‘Dean’s extensive experience with the Sheriff’s Department, as well as his lifelong commitment to his local community and civic involvement, make him a great choice to replace Sheriff Bergeron,’ said Gov. Shumlin.

Shatney was one of two candidates for the post forwarded to the Governor by the Caledonia County Republican Committee. The other was William O’Hare, Deputy Sheriff with the Special Investigations Unit in Essex County. Gov. Shumlin said both candidates had strong credentials for the Sheriff’s position.

The former president of Vermont Public Radio has been hired to lead the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. The Board of Directors of the MPBN announced Tuesday that it had chosen Mark Vogelzang as its new President and CEO. Vogelzang will be in charge of both public radio and television. In Vermont, public television is a separate entity.
Vogelzang, 56, is a veteran of public broadcasting, having served most recently as station manager at WBFO-FM, Buffalo's NPR member station, where he helped facilitate a merger to be completed in 2012 between WBFO and WNED in western New York.

Turns out Vermont does not have the highest percentage of senior citizens in the nation. Vermont ranks 7th. But even though the US population is getting older, and Vermont's is getting older with it, all that is not much solace as the state is getting more older than the rest of the nation. In the 2000 census, Vermont ranked only 28th in the percentage of its citizens 65 and older.

Looking at it another way, from a total Vermont population growth of 16,914 over those 10 years, nearly all of it (13,568 or 80.2 percent) was in people 65 or older.

Vermont currently spends $3.3 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 32 percent of the $10.4 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Vermont include:

Vermont this year will collect $108 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 3.1 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. This meansVermont is spending just 3 cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
Since 2009, Vermont has cut funding for tobacco prevention by 37 percent, from $5.2 million to$3.3 million.
The tobacco companies spend $19 million a year to market their products in Vermont. This is 5 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The US Senate has approved legislation by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to give the National Guard its first seat on the nation’s highest military council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The bill, which has 71 Senate cosponsors, was added by voice vote Monday night as an amendment to the annual Defense Authorization Bill.
Leahy and Graham are the co-chairs of the Senate’s 84-member National Guard Caucus. Their National Guard Empowerment and State-National Defense Integration Act (S.1025) ‘ also known as ‘Guard Empowerment II’ -- is the latest in a series of successful efforts led by the Guard Caucus over the last six years to give the Guard a more meaningful voice in Pentagon circles where key policy and budget decisions are made that affect the Guard.

The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) and the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) today announced key appointments associated with implementation of Vermont’s health reform efforts. Richard Slusky, Director of Payment Reform for DVHA and former CEO of Mount Ascutney Hospital, will move to the GMCB and assume the role of overall Director of Payment Reform for the state. Lindsey Tucker will be the Deputy Commissioner for the Health Benefits Exchange within DVHA. Tucker is currently a policy manager with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and formerly was Health Reform Policy Manager for Health Care for All, a Massachusetts consumer advocacy organization.

States across the country have more flexibility and resources to implement the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today. Vermont today joins 12 other states receiving grants to help establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges ‘ one-stop marketplaces where consumers can choose a private health insurance plan that fits their health needs and have the same kinds of insurance choices as members of Congress.

Seventh Generation, the country's leading innovator of non-toxic and renewable household solutions and the number one "green" brand in America, has been named a 2011 Leader for Change by the United Nations and the Foundation for Social Change. The award was accepted by Seventh Generation CEO John Replogle at a special presentation at the United Nations Global Conference for Social Change in New York City.

The Champlain Housing Trust announced today that the organization has been selected as a winner of the TD Charitable Foundation’s 2011 Housing for Everyone competition, one of 25 selected nationally out of a pool of about 500 submissions.
The Housing for Everyone award comes with a $100,000 grant to advance CHT’s efforts to provide and sustain affordable housing in northwestern Vermont. The grant specifically will be dedicated to an expansion of the Champlain Housing Loan Fund, CHT’s affordable lending arm, including attaining Community Development Financial Institution certification from the United States Treasury.

Ai Squared, the worldwide leader in screen magnification software for the visually impaired based ini Manchester, has announced the release of ZoomText 10, the latest version of its popular screen magnifier/screen reader. ZoomText makes computers accessible and friendly for Windows users by magnifying and speaking what appears on the screen.
In addition to the already versatile capabilities of ZoomText, the new ZoomText 10 release is full of new features designed to enhance users’ productivity by allowing them to multitask, navigate around the web faster and easier than ever before, take their work with them on the go when they’re away from the computer, and access print material. Plus, Ai Squared is growing their list of accessories to include a webcam magnifier.