Current News

by Anne Galloway, www.vtdigger.org, April 22, 2011 House Republicans say a proposed mechanism for financing the Clean Energy Development Fund will give a solar developer who contributed large sums to Gov. Peter Shumlin’s campaign an unfair advantage.
A new provision in the energy bill (which is expected to go before Senate Finance) makes developers who have been approved for tax credits now eligible for grants. Instead of receiving a tax credit over a five-year period, they will, instead, get a grant up front for 50 percent of the value of the tax credit in this tax year. The program would be modeled on a federal tax incentive program for solar power. The proposal could save the state about $2.7 million.
Solar developer David Blittersdorf, a former member of the Clean Energy Development Fund, suggested the proposal to Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding several weeks ago.

by Anne Galloway, www.vtdigger.org, April 22, 2011 Senate discipline broke down last night. Instead of voting out a final version of the miscellaneous tax bill out and reading through the health care bill as planned, members engaged in a polite floor fight and went home early.
After three hours of hemming and hawing in committee and private meetings over a controversial hike in the cigarette tax, the Senate gathered on the floor and went through the parliamentary motions to begin what was supposed to culminate in a debate and vote on a new cigarette tax proposal. But within the space of 20 minutes, that plan went up in smoke, along with the introduction of Sen. Anthony Pollina’s surtax on wealthy Vermonters and the second reading of the health care reform bill.

William T Cleary, an early leader in developing Apple Computer’s marketing programs and a pioneer in Internet-based brand development, will deliver the Commencement Address when his son Ian and the rest of St. Johnsbury Academy’s Class of 2011 graduate Monday, June 6.
Cleary, a former teacher, joined Apple at its Cupertino, Cal. headquarters as the company’s Senior Marketing Manager in 1981, leading Apple’s sales promotional efforts, advertising, and merchandising until 1985.
In 1987, he founded the CKS Group, also based in California, a marketing and advertising firm that created innovative digital-media-marketing strategies and campaigns for some of the largest brands associated with the worldwide Web, including eBay, Amazon.com, Disney, AdForce, Yahoo, and Excite.
After leaving CKS in 1998, Cleary served as Chairman of the Board for Matchmaker.com, a highly innovative and fast-emerging new company, which was later sold to Lycos.

The Sustainable Energy Partnership, led by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC), has been selected by the District Department of the Environment to create and operate the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) in Washington, DC. The SEU will help families, businesses, and institutions in the nation’s capital save money and energy, and support local job creation and economic development, by offering programs that spur investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
With funding of approximately $7 million in fiscal year 2011, the SEU will operate under a seven-year performance-based contract with aggressive goals in job creation, energy savings, renewable energy deployment, and a significant level of targeted spending for low-income housing. Funding comes from the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund, established by the Council of the District of Columbia as part of the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008.

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced that its Board of Directors declared today, April 21, 2011, a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable May 19, 2011, to shareholders of record as of May 5, 2011. Merchants plans to release earnings on or about April 28, 2011.

The organic industry grew at a rate of nearly eight percent in 2010, bucking the current trend whereby "flat is the new growth" for many other segments of the economy. Further, some sectors of the organic market enjoyed annual growth of well over 30 percent, the Brattleboro-based Organic Trade Association (OTA) revealed today in releasing findings from its 2011 Organic Industry Survey. In 2010, the organic industry grew to over $28.6 billion.
"While total U.S. food sales grew by less than one percent in 2010, the organic food industry grew by 7.7 percent," said Christine Bushway, OTA's CEO and Executive Director. "Consumers continue to vote with their dollars in favor of the organic choice. These results illustrate the positive contribution organic agriculture and trade make to our economy, and particularly to rural livelihoods," Bushway said.

The Ninth Annual Vermont Employee Ownership Conference will take place on June 10, 2011, at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. The full-day conference will feature 19 workshops from introductory sessions for those exploring the idea of employee ownership to technical sessions designed for those in established employee-owned companies. Sessions include:
· An introduction to employee ownership
· Leadership in Employee-Owned Companies
· Forming a worker cooperative: Start-Ups and Conversions
· Avoiding ESOP Problems and Pitfalls
· Basics of business valuation
· Healthcare, Wellness and Safety in Employee-Owned Companies

Renting an apartment in Vermont continues to grow more difficult for the average Vermonter, according to a report released today.
The 2011 update of "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont" shows a modest 2-bedroom apartment in Vermont costs an average of $990 a month, a 7 percent increase over the year before and a 58 percent increase since 2000. A renter would need to earn an hourly wage of at least $19.03 ‘ or $39,595, annually ‘ to afford this.
"Renting an apartment has been a challenge in Vermont for some time because of rising costs and a low vacancy rate. This report confirms it continues to grow more challenging, especially for those on the lower end of Vermont's income scale," according to Sarah Carpenter, Executive Director of Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), the report's publisher.

Vermont licensed 7 new captives in the first quarter of 2011 which is the strongest start since 2005, according to the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA). The 7 new captives consisted of 4 single-parent, 2 risk retention groups and a special purpose captive.
‘We’re seeing wide diversity in the types of applications,’ said David Provost, Deputy Commissioner of Vermont’s Captive Insurance Division. ‘Captives formed for professional medical liability and smaller to mid-sized companies are trending strongly.’ The first quarter pace surpasses Vermont’s 30-year first quarter average of 5.2 captives.
‘It is encouraging to see this strong start to 2011,’ said Governor Peter Shumlin. ‘We will continue to work with the legislature to be responsive to industry needs. Vermont is committed to maintaining its ‘Gold Standard’ reputation.’

Three new businesses launched this month by recent graduates of the Women’s Small Business Program, (WSBP). WSBP is one of several programs run by Mercy Connections whose mission is to nurture self-sufficiency through education, mentoring and community. One is a cloth diaper service, another is a floral hair pin company, and the third is fitness retreat service.
Program Coordinator and graduate Ali Marchildon says, ‘WSBP has been teaching women how to write business plans for 22 years. We’ve graduated close to 1500 women, 150 of whom are currently running successful businesses. These three new businesses are opening their doors in the toughest economy since the Great Depression by starting small, designing or bartering for their own websites, keeping low inventory, and basing year one operations out of their homes.’

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) and ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announce the companies have reached an agreement to make Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa available in K-Cup portion packs for the Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing System. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The new Swiss Miss K-Cup portion pack will hold the perfect amount of Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa to create a delicious, sweet and classic beverage that will appeal to the entire family. Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa will be offered in a variety of at home channels for Keurig consumers beginning in August 2011. The new K-Cup portion pack will be offered alongside Café Escapes®, a line of dairy-based beverages in K-Cup portion packs geared to adult consumers looking to treat themselves with a delicious, indulgent reward.

People's United Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBCT) today announced net income of $51.7 million, or $0.15 per share, for the first quarter of 2011, compared to $32 million, or $0.09 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2010, and $13.6 million, or $0.04 per share, for the first quarter of 2010. The company's Board of Directors voted to increase the common stock dividend to an annual dividend rate of $0.63 per share. Based on the closing stock price on April 19, 2011, the dividend yield on People's United Financial common stock is 4.9 percent. The quarterly dividend of$0.1575 per share is payable May 15, 2011 to shareholders of record on May 1, 2011.