Current News

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, today announced net income of $4.50 million and $12.92 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.73 and $2.10 for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively. This compares with net income of $3.71 million and $8.68 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.61 and $1.42 for the same periods in 2009. Merchants previously announced the declaration of a dividend of $0.28 per share, payable November 18, 2010, to shareholders of record as of November 4, 2010. The return on average assets was 1.25% and 1.21% for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively, compared to 1.07% and 0.85% for the same periods in 2009. The return on average equity was 18.39% and 18.14% for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively, compared to 17.37% and 13.93% for the same periods in 2009.

Governor Jim Douglas announced that Vermont State Parks reported the busiest operating season in 15 years. As the regular season came to a close on Columbus Day, State Park attendance was up 15 percent over 2009 as 836,984 visitors enjoyed Vermont beaches, mountains, campgrounds and trails.
‘As Park staff are cleaning up and turning off the lights for the last time until next spring, they have much to celebrate, as do all Vermonters,’ said Governor Douglas. ‘Vermont State Parks are a fun and affordable get-a-way that more people are now taking advantage of that thanks to foresight, innovative marketing and smart investments at the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation. Vermont capitalized on a great season, boosting our local economies around the state at the same time.’

US Senator Patrick Leahy Monday told members of the Friends of Algiers Village and project partners working to reopen the Guilford Country Store that he has secured a $65,000 grant in partnership with the Preservation Trust of Vermont to help with their efforts. During a news conference at the store, leadership from the Friends of Algiers Village estimated the store would reopen next summer.
‘I have long believed that Vermont’s village stores help define our state and provide neighbors a place to catch up on local politics and on the weather -- the most important of Vermont concerns ‘ and on each others’ lives and families,’ said Leahy during the news conference. ‘I am proud to stand with you today as part of your effort to reopen the heartbeat of this village, the Guilford Country Store.’

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, in partnership with Vermont Housing & Conservation Board and Champlain Housing Trust, has received a $350,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The two-year grant will be used to demonstrate how deep energy efficiency retrofits in single- and multi-family residences can make housing permanently and comprehensively affordable by reducing energy usage and costs.
In addition to establishing energy usage as a significant component of housing affordability, the project will also show how various sources of government funding might be harnessed to finance energy efficiency retrofits.

A temporary, two-lane bridge has been launched and Route 36 in Fairfield has been reopened. Also, Route 108 through Smugglers' Notch was was reopened Monday. At some point VTrans will will close the roadway for the winter.
The Vermont Agency of Transportation had closed a section of Route 36 in Fairfield just east of Swamp Road due to a failed culvert. The road was expected to be closed into November until the Agency erected a temporary bridge, which subsequently went in ahead of schedule.
The average daily traffic for this section of Route 36, which is located 1.7 miles east of the St. Albans/Fairfield town line, is about 2,700 vehicles per day.
Source: VTrans. 10.22.2010

The Vermont Public Service Board rejected yesterday the application of David Blittersdorf of AllEarth Renewables (and related NRG companies) to develop in Hinesburg what would be one of the state's largest solar energy facilities. The board concluded that together with an adjacent facility of the essentially the same size, also owned and operated by companies Blittersdorf is affiliated with, that the two would exceed the statutory limits for net metering. The two solar arrays are rated for 143.6 kW and 147.6 kW. The net metering limit is 250 kilowatts.
Blittersdorf is a long-time advocate of renewable energy NRG systems in Hinesburg was an early leader in wind energy technology. AllEarth is headquartered in Williston, which develops and builds both wind turbines and solar products. It employs 23.
The PSB ruling does not affect Blittersdorfs solar development in South Burlington. That $12 million project would be larger and able to power about 500 homes.

US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on Friday toured the State Department’s new Vermont Passport Agency office under construction in St. Albans, as Vermont prepares to join the ranks of fewer than two dozen states with such passport offices. During the visit State Department officials told Leahy that they expect to open the new facility to the public early next year, in February.
The new office will occupy St. Albans’ ornate former Post Office building on South Main Street. The renovation of the 6,650 square-foot facility is funded with $2.3 million of the $15 million for new passport agencies that Leahy included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is expected to employ 17 people, and most will be hired locally.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), which operates locally as KeyBank Vermont, today announced third
quarter net income from continuing operations attributable to Key common shareholders of
$163 million, or $.19 per common share. These results compare to a net loss from continuing
operations attributable to Key common shareholders of $422 million, or $.50 per common
share, for the third quarter of 2009. The third quarter 2009 results were negatively impacted by
a $733 million loan loss provision. Third quarter 2010 net income attributable to Key common
shareholders was $178 million compared to a net loss attributable to Key common shareholders
of $438 million for the same quarter one year ago. Net income attributable to Key common
shareholders for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2010 was $111 million compared
to a net loss attributable to Key common shareholders of $1.364 billion for the same period one
year ago.

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September 2010 was 5.8 percent which is a decrease of two tenths of percent from the previous month’s reported level of 6.0 percent. Compared to a year ago, the September unemployment rate is lower by a full percentage point. Since the start of the calendar year, the Vermont seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has been in continued decline. In January it was 6.7 percent. February and March were 6.6 percent. Then the next three months each saw declines of two tenths of percent to put the state rate at 6.0 percent in June, where it stayed for three consecutive months leading up to today’s announcement. The US rate for September was 9.6 percent.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (Nasdaq: BHLB) reported net income of $3.4 million, or $0.25 per share, in the third quarter of 2010. This was a 78% increase over third quarter 2009 results of $1.9 million, or $0.14 per share, and included the benefit of positive operating leverage from strong revenue growth. For the first nine months of the year, Berkshire's net income increased by 25% to $10.2 million in 2010 from $8.1 million in 2009. Earnings per share for the first nine months more than doubled to $0.73 in 2010 from $0.32 in 2009 due to the impact in 2009 of retiring government preferred stock.
THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS(revenue and expense comparisons are to prior year third quarter, unless otherwise noted)
15% growth in net interest income
9% growth in total net revenue
15% annualized growth in total commercial loans
7% annualized growth in total loans
6% annualized growth in total deposits.

Burlington is one of eight cities serving as a research site for a Phase I clinical trial for people suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a serious lung disease. The clinical trial will take place at The University of Vermont and patients are actively being recruited.
IPF is a devastating lung disease that is progressive and generally fatal. An estimated 128,000 persons in the United States suffer from IPF, with 48,000 new persons diagnosed annually and 40,000 patients dying from the disease each year. The number of deaths annually is the same as breast cancer and greater than other cancers such as multiple myeloma. Currently no FDA-approved medicines exist for IPF in the United States or Europe.

The College of St. Joseph in Rutland, VT, is pleased to announce that the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Vermont Community Foundation, has presented the college with a grant for $33,000 to support its STEPS Program. STEPS (Students Taking an Effective Path to Success) is a program designed to assist young people in foster care with the transition to college. The program, now in its third year, is the first of its kind in the state of Vermont.
College president Frank G. Miglorie and the CSJ community express gratitude for the generosity of the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation through their contribution to the STEPS program. The J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation provided financial assistance to the college when it launched the STEPS program in 2008. The continued generosity of the Foundation has enabled the program’s great success at CSJ, which has helped students find the means to pursue higher education through STEPS.