Current News

Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) has completed the purchase of the Town of Readsboro’s franchise territory and electric department assets.
The $360,000 deal includes about 14 miles of distribution line and associated equipment, and the exclusive franchise Readsboro held to serve its 330 customers. The purchased assets also include Readsboro’s small ownership interest in Vermont’s high-voltage transmission company, specifically 133 shares of VELCO stock and 9,651 shares of Vermont Transco.
‘Readsboro customers will fit perfectly into our southern Vermont territory,’ CVPS President Larry Reilly said. ‘We have two operations centers within proximity to the town, and we serve most of the surrounding territory.
‘CVPS will be able to offer most customers lower rates, new services and rate choices, top-notch customer service, and award-winning operations. This is a nice addition to our customer base.’

The Vermont congressional delegation typically votes as a united block. But the budget crisis gripping Congress has broken their unity. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy voted for it, while Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Representative Peter Welch voted against the measure. The US Senate, needing 60 yes votes, passed the debt ceiling bill, 74-26, and President Obama signed it today ending, for at least a couple of months, the strangled hold it had on the budget, the economy, and Washington politics.
In the end, 28 Republicans and six Democrats voted against it in the Senate. The two independents, Sanders and Joe Lieberman, split, with the Connecticut senator voting for it. In last night's House vote, the measure passed 269 to 161, getting votes from 174 Republicans and 95 Democrats.

On Sunday, August 14th from 10am ‘ 1pm, numerous members of the Transplant Community including recipients, donor families, living donors, health care professionals and family and friends will come together for the first-ever Donate Life Vermont’s 5K Walk & Family Festival. The fun-filled, family event will unite Vermonters to help spread awareness of the critical need for organ donor registrants in our state, while raising money to support donor and recipient families.
The 5K walk will take place along the Lake Champlain waterfront, starting and ending under the pavilion at Waterfront Park. Afterward, there will be a picnic for walkers and supporters filled with food, door prizes, 50/50 raffles, a live band, and much more fun! To register for the event, visit http://donatelifevt.eventbrite.com/ .

Vermont employees of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. will sponsor and participate in their seventh annual River Cleanup event, in conjunction with American Rivers' National River Cleanupâ ¢, a nationwide effort to keep America's waterways clean. From August 1-5, employee volunteers will use paid time off to pick up trash in and around Vermont's Winooski River.
"River Cleanup is GMCR's most popular volunteer effort, and one way we make a difference in our hometown community," says Paul Comey, GMCR's Vice President of Environmental Affairs. "Clean water is important for both healthy communities and a good cup of coffee, so we are proud to support the River Cleanup for the seventh year in a row."

The US SBA loan volume report for the 10-month period (October 1st through July 31st) is $50,453,400. These are Vermont loans only. This compares to $64,826,244 for the same period last year. The federal fiscal year ends September 30. Once again, Peoples United Bank was the largest SBA lender with 51 loans totaling $9,612,100.

Shelburne Museum has been awarded two grants totaling $96,318 for technology and support of museum operations, interim director Robert Skiff, Sr. announced.
A grant for $93,000 from the Henry Luce Foundation was awarded as part of the foundation’s American Art Renewal Fund. The foundation developed the American Art Renewal Fund to respond to the economic downturn and the current need to strengthen American art activities at the nation’s museums. The grant will be used to support curatorial activities and staff.

Captive insurance professionals from throughout the United States and around the world will gather in Burlington, Vermont next week for the world's largest captive insurance conference, August 9-11, 2011 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center and the University of Vermont's Davis Center. The event is the 26th Annual Conference hosted by the Vermont Captive Insurance Association.

Attorney Peter D Van Oot of the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC has been named Volunteer of the Year for 2011 in the eleven northeast states by the Northeast Economic Development Association. The award will be presented at NEDA’s annual meeting on October 24 at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington.

The results of a study indicate that Lamoille County second homeowners contribute $47.7 million per year to the Lamoille County economy.
Of that, $17.4 million are paid in property taxes per year ‘ with Stowe accounting for 71 percent. Second homeowners who own condominiums or townhouses spent $11.8 million in associate dues and related fees. The study found $5 million was spent on fuel and groceries. Additionally, Lamoille County second homeowners spend about $4.5 million on restaurant dining, $330 thousand on ski passes, and $25 thousand on hunting and fishing licenses.
Second homeowners also contribute to the well being of the community. 54 percent donate money to social causes and 18 percent volunteer for various charities, the arts, music and other social causes.

It will soon be easier for local families to access fresh food and other goods from local, Lamoille County farmers and value-added producers. An innovative on-line farmers’ market is being established by the Lamoille Economic Development Corporation in partnership with local farms.
Farmers and shoppers can find the market at www.yourfarmstand.com, under ‘Morrisville’ and register and set up their account right on-line. Farmers can reach a larger number of buyers while customers benefit from the diversity of products, prices and participating farms. The model has worked well in other Vermont locations and LEDC was approached by some area farms to organize the project here.

ilumisys, Inc. (http://www.ilumisys.com), developer and producer of next-generation solid-state lighting technology, announced today that it has partnered withLEDdynamics, Inc., based in Randolph, Vt. The partnership includes a license for Altair's patents on light-emitting diode (LED) fluorescent tube replacements.
"LEDdynamics is an established industry leader in solid-state lighting, and we look forward to working together to address the growing market demand for LED lighting solutions," said Dave Simon, president of ilumisys. "We are excited at the growth prospects for both organizations as ilumisys ramps up ourMichigan-based manufacturing operations."

A cooperative in northern Vermont serving a largely rural area has proven that even small utilities can achieve great smart grid results by planning wisely. For improving service to its members by developing a grid modernization strategy before "smart grid" was a buzz phrase, Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is the winner of the first POWER Smart Grid Award.
VEC is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative founded in 1938 and Vermont's third-largest electric distribution utility. VEC began putting its grid modernization plan together in 2001’well before what would come to be known as smart grid projects were on the radar of even large utilities.