Current News

A barn collapse in Chester on Monday night is the latest in a string of such structure failures that have occurred around Vermont over the past few days. Today’s extra snowpack is adding to the concern over snow loads on roofs around Vermont.
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Department of Public Safety divisions of Emergency Management and Fire Safety, and Vermont Health Department are once again urging homeowners to diligently monitor their roofs and clear off snow if it can be done so safely. If there is a concern for personal safety while clearing a roof, a professional contractor should be called in to inspect the roof, or to clear the roof of snow.
‘Farms have lost livestock to the barn collapses,’ Deputy Agriculture Secretary Diane Bothfeld said. ‘There has been no loss of human life, but there are often farm workers in the barn throughout the day and there is a real safety concern for them if a roof collapses while they are working.’

FreshTracks Capital announces the return of Peak Pitch Vermont on March 10th. Now in its seventh year, Peak Pitch gives entrepreneurs and investors an exciting opportunity to network on the slopes of the Sugarbush Resort. Peak Pitch brings entrepreneurs and investors together for a unique version of the classic "elevator pitch." In the traditional elevator pitch, entrepreneurs take advantage of an opportunity to share an elevator ride with a potential investor and present their business idea. At Peak Pitch, a shared chairlift ride gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business plans to a variety of venture capitalists, angel investors, commercial lenders, and other entrepreneurial advisors as they ride up the mountain on a chair lift.
Peak Pitch combines business networking and skiing or boarding in an
informal setting while providing the opportunity for entrepreneurs and

Brattleboro based business, Recycle Away has increased recycling at over
200 corporations, universities and municipalities in the past 18 months.
Recycle Away (www.recycleaway.com) assists corporations such as Google,
Hewlett Packard, Quaker Oats and Kellogg in ordering specialty containers
for corporate-wide recycling programs. Champlain College in Burlington VT
recently purchased several systems designed to serve a newly constructed
LEED Certified student center. In October 2010 the State University of NY
Medical Center dispersed hundreds of Recycle Away containers around campus
and hospital floors.
Municipalities around the country are stepping up recycling efforts on
main streets and city parks. Skagit County, WA, Galveston, TX and
Brattleboro VT are three examples of communities with proudly printed logos

Entergy Corporation reported fourth quarter 2010 earnings of $1.26 per share on an as-reported basis, compared to the same period last year of $1.64. For year-end 2010, earnings were $6.66 versus $6.30 for 2009. Entergy is the parent company of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon.
SEE FULL REPORT HERE

Based on soldier trials, technical compliance and best value pricing, Revision, leading developer of protective eyewear for militaries worldwide, has secured a UK Ministry of Defence contract for Protective Combat Eyewear. Following tender evaluation and user trials, Revision was selected for providing the best value and for being the most technically compliant bidder. The estimated contract value is £3.4 million to provide the UK MoD with Revision’s Sawfly Military Eyewear System and Bullet Ant goggles.

‘Revision is extremely proud to receive the UK MoD contract for Protective Combat Eyewear,’ said Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision. ‘The focus behind all Revision eyewear is to meet and exceed the stringent requirements set forth by our military customers. It’s an honor to be supplying UK troops with what we believe to be the best performance-enhancing eye protection products.’

With the Mountain West in the strongest position, Vermont continues to have the lowest foreclosure rate east of the Mississippi. However, Vermont's foreclosure and delinquency percentages both rose in December from November (2.9 percent to 3 percent and 8.1 percent to 8.3 percent respectively, see table below).
The December 2010 Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services, Inc (NYSE: LPS) shows a continued increase in the inventory of foreclosed mortgages in the United States as more loans advance through the default process. The number of newly delinquent loans declined during 2010, helping push overall delinquent inventories down 18 percent for the year. The volume of loans moving to REO (real estate owned by lenders - repossessed) remains extremely low as moratoria and process reviews continue, further pressuring foreclosure inventories.

Growth is on the horizon as Gordon’s Window Décor, a local family business that has been manufacturing custom window treatments in Essex Junction for 25 years, transitions to the next generation..
‘I think our growth is due to the fact that we manufacture insulating window shades that save substantial amounts of energy- a vital component in our country’s efforts to cut our dependence on fossil fuels’ Explains Gordon Clements, owner of Gordon’s Window Décor.
And grow they have. With distribution now well established in Ireland, as well as across the US, similar interest from Russia and recent sales in Japan Gordon’s has been hiring and just bought a larger factory/showroom in Williston. They will be moving at the end of March. That is a lot of change for any company especially combined with serious succession planning. It has truly been a busy year for Gordon’s.

The Pentagon awarded $285 billion in three years to companies that defrauded it, according to a report produced at the request of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The study has generated editorials and columns in newspapers and magazines around the county.
‘The dollar amounts are large enough to justify public anger at the sloppy way the Pentagon conducts its ‘ our nation’s ‘ business. If our government’s going to spend all that money on behalf of military preparedness, at least the people should get their money’s worth,’ the Barre and Montpelier Times Argus said in an editorial.
‘Fraud is big business at the Pentagon. Always has been, always will be. When you're spending more than $1 million a minute, some is bound to be pilfered one way or another. But it's rare to find all such chicanery cataloged in one place. Thanks to Sen. Sanders we now have one-stop shopping for Pentagon fraud,’ according to Time magazine.

Appellants filed a notice of appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court of the
rulings by the Vermont Environmental Court to reaffirm a stormwater
construction permit for UPC Vermont Wind’s Sheffield project.
‘It is our belief that the Environmental Court’s rulings are based on
critical misinterpretations and applications of Vermont laws involving the
Water Quality Standards (VWQS) and the issue of who has the burden of
proof,’ said Stephanie Kaplan, attorney for the appellants. ‘The
decision is inconsistent with Vermont legal precedent, with legislative
intent, and if allowed to stand eviscerates the VWQS when it comes to
stormwater, which cannot be permissible under the Clean Water Act.’
The citizens argue that the most significant error the Court made was
ruling that monitoring of streams during construction and applying the
numerical standards and anti-degradation requirements of the VWQS are not

At Granite Industries of Vermont, a business recognized for its commitment to the Vermont National Guard, Representative Peter Welch on Monday unveiled new legislation to encourage Vermont businesses to hire veterans.
The Veterans Employment Tax Credit Act, which Welch will introduce in the U.S. House this week, would provide a $2,400 tax credit to businesses that hire veterans who have been unemployed for at least four weeks. A similar tax credit was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but lapsed at the close of 2010.

Harbour Industries, which that makes wires and cables, has been ordered by EPA to pay a $123,840 penalty for violating its Clean Air Act permit over a period of three years. The Shelburne company manufactures high performance wire and cable through processes that emit volatile organic compounds. The company operates a gas-fired regenerative thermal oxidizer to control these emissions.
According to EPA, Harbour violated its permit in 2008, 2009, and 2010 by failing to use an approved method to show it was complying with its volatile organic compounds (VOC) limit of 50 tons a year, and by failing to develop and submit for approval an operation and maintenance plan for the oxidizer meant to control emissions. The facility was operating in violation of a permit that is issued by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. The conditions of this permit can be enforced both by the state and EPA.

Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE-CV) met all of its service quality standards in 2010, the seventh straight year the company achieved that goal ‘ the best record in Vermont.
‘Service quality and reliability are critical to our customers and drive us every day,’ President Bob Young said. ‘Employees make a tremendous effort to provide customers with high-quality service, and they measure that effort every day through our SERVE standards.’