Current News
by tim
The Goddard College Board of Trustees today announced the election of seven new members: Marty Baumrind of Brooklyn, NY; Wayne Fawbush of New York, New York and Montpelier, VT; David Hales of Bar Harbor, ME; Liam Murphy of Burlington, VT; Avram Patt of Marshfield, VT; Hillary Web of Eliot, ME and Laurie Zivetz of Chevy Chase, MD.
‘The breadth of knowledge and experience that these individuals bring to Goddard College are tremendous gifts,’ said Goddard President Dr. Barbara Vacarr. ‘Their guidance and stewardship of Goddard will help usher the college into the future as it reclaims its prominence as the leader in experimental and radical education.’
by intern
Green Mountain College received the Second Nature Climate Leadership Award June 23 at the fifth annual Climate Leadership Summit of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in Washington, D.C.
Green Mountain College received the award for achieving climate neutrality this year. GMC, a 700-student liberal arts college in Vermont, is only the second college in the nation to reach this goal, and the first to do it through efficiency, adoption of clean energy, and purchase of quantifiable local carbon offsets. The College won the award in the baccalaureate college category.
President Paul Fonteyn and Provost William Throop received the award for Green Mountain at an awards ceremony held at George Washington University on Thursday.
by tim
Plasan, a global leader in the mass production of composite materials for defense and automotive clients with two plants in Bennington, today announced the acquisition of KaZaK Composites, a Massachusetts-based engineering design and manufacturing company specializing in pultrusion processing. The deal is not expected to effect employment at either company.
KaZaK Composites is a premier provider of value-added composite engineering. KaZaK specializes in high performance composite structures and low-cost automated composite manufacturing. From design and analysis through prototyping and manufacturing, KaZaK's technology offers a variety of applications in ship structures, building structures, space systems and numerous commercial applications.
by tim
People's United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBCT) today announced the merger consideration to be received by Danvers shareholders in People's United's acquisition of Danvers Bancorp, Inc.
People's United and Danvers Bancorp also today announced that their proposed merger was approved by the Office of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and the MassachusettsBoard of Bank Incorporation on June 27, 2011. The transaction was previously approved by Danvers Bancorp shareholders on May 13 and by the Office of Thrift Supervision on May 16. The closing of the merger is expected to occur on June 30, 2011.
Based on final election results and applying the proration provisions set forth in the merger agreement, Danvers shareholders will receive the following merger consideration:
Danvers shareholders will receive 1.624 shares of People's United common stock for each Danvers share for which they made a valid stock election;
by tim
Secretary of State Jim Condos announces updated fee structures for licenses in four of the 45 professions the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) oversees. Each year, OPR reviews the costs of each program and adjusts its fees accordingly.
Licensing fees for Nursing Home Administrators and the Psychologists will see significant reductions. Chris Winters is the Director of the Office of Professional Regulation, the division of the Secretary of State’s office supporting the regulatory programs for 45 professions and 55,000 licensees. According to Winters, ‘If our budget analysis reveals that our revenue from licensing fees is more than the costs of our public protection efforts, we lower the fees. This year, we are able to reduce fees for two professions.’
by tim
Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE: CV) announced in a statement Monday evening that the CVPS Board of Directors has authorized discussions with Gaz Métro Limited Partnership regarding Gaz Metro's unsolicited acquisition proposal. GazMetro is the owner of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas Systems.
On May 30, 2011, CVPS announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Fortis Inc. (TSX: FTS) providing for the acquisition of all of the outstanding common shares of CVPS by Fortis for $35.10 per share in cash, including approximately $230 million in debt, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $700 million. CVPS continues to be bound by the terms of that agreement.
by tim
The Saint Michael's College Board of Trustees announced the re-appointment of President John J. Neuhauser for an additional three-year term. The announcement was made at the college s trustee meeting June 10, by board Chairman Joseph P. Garrity, retired director of 4Kids Entertainment, New York City, current partner of Prospect Capital Partners and director for Wireless Telecom Group.
We have been most fortunate to have the leadership of President Jack Neuhauser for the past four years, Garrity said. Despite the most difficult global economic period in over a generation, significant progress was made in advancing Saint Michael's.
Pointing out President Neuhauser s successful leadership, Chairman Garrity said, We successfully completed our 10 year re-accreditation, a new strategic plan was developed and approved, our faculty passed a major curriculum revision, and this past year applications to Saint Michael's were up over 30 percent.
by intern
MBF Bioscience announced the release of AutoSpine, a
ground-breaking tool for automated detection and quantification of dendritic
spines. Using high-quality dendritic tracings obtained with Neurolucida or
AutoNeuron, AutoSpine identifies and counts the spines along the traced
dendrites.
AutoSpine provides researchers with numerous quantitative analyses, including:
number of spines, spine density, spines by branch order, spine head volume &
diameter, distance from spine head to dendrite surface, distance from soma
along a branch, and Sholl analysis.
MBF President Jack Glaser says For the first time, researchers have access to
fast, accurate, automated quantification of dendritic spines. We expect this will be
a powerful tool for researchers investigating anatomical aspects of important
neurological diseases.
AutoSpine integrates seamlessly with Neurolucida and AutoNeuron to create a
by tim
Middlebury Interactive Languages (MIL), an academic leader in world language instruction, today announced that its prestigious Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy (MMLA) summer immersion program is now fully accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC). With this accreditation in place, MMLA is now able to grant high school course credit for its 2011 language sessions.
To be eligible to receive course credit, students entering grades 9-12 must successfully fulfill the course completion criteria and meet language proficiency requirements. Credit will be issued through Middlebury Interactive Languages, fully accredited by NWAC. NWAC works under a reciprocity agreement with the other accreditation institutions across the country. A transcript granting the credit will be issued following the summer program; those wishing to apply MMLA credits to high school graduation should confirm that their institution's credit transfer policy will accommodate this.
V/T Commercial Real Estate of Burlington announces the sale of the former Suss MicroTec building located in Waterbury Center Vermont, to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
The property, owned by Suss Hunger Mountain, Inc., consists of 57 acres of land, a 35,000 square foot commercial building, and 6 residential town house units.
Suss MicroTec will be vacating in August. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters purchased the entire property and plans to use the commercial building for research and development.
Bill Kiendl and Ave Cook of V/T Commercial represented the Seller, Suss Hunger Mountain Inc.
by tim
US Senator Bernie Sanders today asked the Federal Communications Commission to let Vermont regulate basic cable television rates which increased in the state last year by an average of almost 10 percent.
Sanders asked the FCC to reconsider a determination that satellite providers, such as DirectTV Inc. and DISH Network, provide ‘effective competition’ to cable. Recognizing that satellite and cable are not genuine competitors could clear the way for the state to regulate so-called basic cable and force Comcast to justify rate increases.
by tim
The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has issued a traffic alert to motorists that blasting at the Route 2 Checkered House Bridge over the Winooski River in Richmond will continue into Wednesday, May 25. This will again require temporary road closings, including Interstate 89, for brief periods. Two blasts a day will occur ‘ at 11 am and 3 pm.
The blasting is related to preparation for construction of the temporary detour that will be installed so that traffic can be maintained while the bridge is widened.
During the blast, no traffic will be allowed into the blast zone. Flaggers will stop traffic from entering the zone. The State Police will manage a rolling roadblock on the highway. It is anticipated that traffic stoppages will last a maximum of 10 minutes during this period.
The following roads will be affected:
â ¢ Route 2
â ¢ Johnnie Brook Road
â ¢ Kenyon Road