Current News

The American Lung Association released its State of Tobacco Control 2010 report today, which tracks progress on key tobacco control policies at the federal and state level, assigning grades based on whether laws are adequately protecting citizens from the enormous burden caused by tobacco use.
This year, the Lung Association applauds the federal government for major advances in protecting citizens from tobacco-caused illnesses but faults most states for lagging behind and failing to enact much-needed laws and policies.
Tobacco continues to take a devastating toll. Each year, 443,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses and secondhand smoke exposure, making tobacco the leading cause of preventable death. In addition, it costs the economy more than $193 billion annually in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ ‘ UNB) has announced Net Income for the fourth quarter 2010 of $1.38 million or $0.31 per share compared to $1.28 million or $0.29 per share for 2009. Net Income for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $5.59 million or $1.25 per share compared to $5.23 million or $1.17 per share for the same period in 2009. Results for 2010 reflect a year-to-year increase in net interest income of $868 thousand or 4.84% and in net income of $360 thousand or 6.9%. The increase in net interest income was mainly driven by the reduction in interest expense despite the 8.4% growth in average core deposits, including noninterest bearing demand deposit accounts during 2010, while interest rates paid on renewing time deposits continued to decrease and volume dropped 5.6% on average for 2010.

Tennis champion Billie Jean King, a pioneer in women's sports, will deliver the address to graduates at the University of Vermont's 2011 Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 22.

The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program has awarded a $40,000 grant for 2011 to Gifford Medical Center to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer.
The Avon Breast Health Outreach supports community-based, non-profit breast health programs across the country and is part of the Avon Foundation for Women, the largest corporate philanthropy dedicated to women’s causes globally.
This is the 10th consecutive year that Gifford’s Breast Health Program has received funding from the Foundation, resulting in a total of more than $380,000 invested regionally to increase awareness of the life saving benefits of mammograms and clinical breast exams.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Name of product: Propane (LP) Gas sold in portable cylinders and delivered to storage tanks
Units: About 700 rail cars
Manufacturer: Aux Sable Liquid Products, of Morris, Ill.
Hazard: Some of this propane does not have sufficient levels of the odorant that is added to propane to help alert consumers to a gas leak. Failure to detect leaking gas can present fire, explosion and thermal burn hazards to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

John Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the nation’s leading recycler of electronics and e-waste, has been named an official Advisory Member of the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC).
NERC is a non-profit organization focused on the 10 Northeastern states. Its mission is to advance an environmentally sustainable economy by promoting source and toxicity reduction, recycling, and the purchasing of environmentally preferable products and services. Part of that mission, for more than a decade now, has been for NERC to dig deeper on a national scale regarding the problems surrounding electronic waste. NERC was responsible for extensive national research regarding government attitudes toward electronic waste and has worked directly with various state government agencies, manufacturers and the recycling industry to help develop a better understanding and solutions to the problem.

One month from today, Brattleboro, Vermont will be jumping with excitement at the annual Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition presented by Pepsi, slated for Saturday and Sunday, February 19 and 20.
Ski jumping at Harris Hill is one of Brattleboro's much loved traditions that dates back to 1922. Over the years the event grew to draw jumpers and spectators from around the world to this small Vermont town. After the 2005 event, the jump had to be shut down due to the wooden structure falling into disrepair and safety concerns for the jumpers. After an intensive fundraising campaign and the generosity of local and regional businesses and residents, a new 90-meter ski jump reopened to a record crowd in 2009.

Stephan Jost is stepping down as director of Shelburne Museum, Board Chairman James Pizzagalli announced. Jost has accepted a position as director of Honolulu Academy of Arts in Honolulu, Hawaii.
‘It was with regret that the board accepted Stephan Jost’s resignation. His dynamic leadership raised the museum’s profile and set the museum on a strong and steady course even in economically challenging times,’ Pizzagalli said.
In his five years at Shelburne Museum, Jost’s contributions have been many. Under his watch educational programs that serve tens of thousands of adults and children each year were revitalized and expanded. This included the addition of evening hours, summer camps, garden walks, expanded family programs and Passport to Learning, an innovative K-8 curriculum.

The man charged with developing Vermont’s health care reform effort, Dr William Hsiao of Harvard University, presented his report to the state Legislature today. He outlined three options and of those recommended a hybrid single-payer system that would offer a government-mandated, essential benefit package managed by a private entity and include an oversight board. Savings will be realized by administrative savings through a uniform benefits package and the system will be financed by a payroll tax. There would be exemptions for low-wage employers and low-earning workers. He suggests implementing it in 2015.
‘Beyond yielding greater cost savings, we believe Option 3 is most feasible because it is likely to be accepted by the broadest cross-section of Vermont stakeholders. In other words, we designed Option 3 to be both economically responsible and politically palatable,’ he told lawmakers. Hsiao's statement is pasted below.

The University of Vermont and the city of Burlington have been selected to host the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship, as announced today by USA Hockey at a press conference this afternoon at the Waterman Building on the campus of UVM.

Gutterson Fieldhouse will host all U.S. and Canada games, plus the playoff and medal rounds.

Dairy farmers who say attorneys representing them are not looking out for their best interests have filed opposition to the proposed settlement submitted in the class action antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vt. Acting on behalf of its dairy farmer owners, Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA), together with Dairy Marketing Services, LLC (DMS), also has filed objections to this settlement.
DFA and DMS' filing on January 18 joins at least 24 dairy farmers ‘ representing diverse cooperative members and independent producers ‘ who submitted their own affidavits challenging the fairness of the settlement.

There were 942 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 572 from the week before, as the data continued to show great volatility. Altogether 12,903 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 1,167 from a week ago and 2,149 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 2,203 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 80 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 869 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is a decrease of 25 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc