Current News

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) announced today that it has executed a Share Purchase Agreement pursuant to which GMCR will acquire all the outstanding shares of LJVH Holdings, Inc. (’Van Houtte’), from an affiliate of Littlejohn & Co, LLC, a private equity firm headquartered in Greenwich, CT, for a cash purchase price of CAD$915 million or USD$890 million based on the exchange rate as of September 13, 2010, subject to adjustment. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2010.

The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Boards of Trustees have approved a Fiscal Year 2011 budget, intended to close a projected $50 million budget gap, which includes reducing 4 percent of the workforce and cutting its health insurance share, while maintaining the organization’s goals of high-quality, high-value, patient-centered healthcare.

At its regular quarterly meeting Sept. 2-3, the Trustees also reaffirmed Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s commitment to several major projects, including the ‘eD-H’ electronic health records project and the ongoing development of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, an integrated health system that will coordinate resources, expand access to the specialized services and research available at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and enhance the quality of care in communities throughout New Hampshire and eastern Vermont.

Hunger Mountain Coop in Montpelier has decided that it is not in The Coop’s best interest to accept the offer from Pomerleau Realty to lease the RJ’s Friendly Market space in downtown Waterbury.
‘Based on our market study and financial analysis, it was determined that it is not financially viable for The Coop to operate in that particular storefront’, explains Coop General Manager Kari Bradley. ‘Overhead costs were a particular challenge, as was its large retail area.’

The US Department of Energy awarded $620,000 to Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vt., to help boost the speed and scale of midsize wind turbine technology, Vermont’s congressional delegation announced today.
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said the grant will accelerate the development of wind turbines manufactured in the United States.
The delegation had urged U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to support the proposal that they said is projected to create additional jobs at Northern Power and its suppliers and ‘has the potential to meet a critical need in America’s growing green economy.’
‘Northern Power Systems greatly appreciates the support of our congressional delegation,’ said Jim Stover, vice president of product management and engineering for the Barre-based company. ‘Selection by DOE validates our world-class technology position in permanent magnet direct drive turbine development.’

Vermont students posted a strong showing on the 2010 College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams and Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT), as well as the 2010 ACT exams, ranking fifth in the nation, the Department of Education announced today.
The AP program offers high school students college-level courses in a variety of subject areas. In all, 3,677 Vermont students participated in the AP program (up 5.2 percent from 2009) and took 6,057 AP exams (up 5.3 percent from last year). According to the College Board, Vermont continues to increase the number of students taking AP courses even as student enrollment is declining overall.
AP exams are scored on a scale of one (lowest score) to five (highest score). Sixty-two percent of Vermont exams were scored at three or higher. A score of three or above is considered demonstrating college-level mastery of the content.

Organizers of Rutland’s annual Gift-of-Life Marathon congratulated the city of Boston today for beating its New England-record for a one-day blood drive ‘ and vowed to regain the record at the eighth annual event in December.
Boston, which held the record of 772 until Rutland collected 856 in 2008 and 1,024 in 2009, collected 1,177 pints Saturday at Fenway Park. Boston’s annual 9/11 blood drive is held to honor victims of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
‘Blood supplies have been low, and this will give us an enormous challenge as we plan the 2010 Gift-of-Life Marathon,’ said CVPS spokesman Steve Costello, one of the organizers of the annual Rutland event. ‘Game on! We won’t set our official goal until early November, but we already have our sights set on reclaiming the New England record.’

Results from the recount of the Democratic gubernatorial primary, which was completed today ahead of schedule, show that state Senator Peter Shumlin won by 203 votes. The official count just after the August 24 primary indicated he beat state Senator Doug Racine by 197 votes. Racine requested the recount because of the closeness of the initial tabulation.
‘Each of my opponents brought something special to this race and their participation in this process has strengthened our state,’ said Shumlin. ‘I would like to thank them for engaging in a respectful campaign that elevated the political discourse in Vermont and articulated a shared vision for getting Vermonters back to work.’
Racine conceded the race shortly after noon in Burlington.
‘I remain respectful of Doug’s decision to call for a recount,’ said Shumlin. ‘It is incredibly important that every vote be counted and I am pleased that we can now move forward together.’

The Addison County Chamber of Commerce recognized local businesses, organizations, and individuals with its annual awards during the Chamber’s annual meeting held on September 8th at Basin Harbor Club. Four awards were presented in front of a crowd of 135 attendees which included Governor Douglas, Chamber members and other local dignitaries. In addition to the award presentations, the Chamber membership voted on a new board of directors.

In the run-up to the primary, state Senator Peter Shumlin issued the following economic plan. Now the Democratic nominee, his "Vision for Vermont" can be found here.

www.shumlinforgovernor.com

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has released a report showing that low-wage jobs will provide the biggest share of Vermont employment growth through 2018.
‘Unfortunately, many of the new jobs being projected for Vermont and America are low-paying jobs. We can and must do better,’ said Sanders, a member of the Senate labor committee.
As the state and nation struggle through the worst recession since the 1930s, Vermont’s 6 percent unemployment rate and the 9.6 percent national jobless figure overshadow a decline in manufacturing jobs and other occupations that once supported middle-class families.
The employment structure in Vermont reflects a national trend.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Thursday participated in the grand opening of a new community health clinic for Northeast Kingdom veterans.
The clinic housed at Newport’s North Country Hospital will be the sixth operated by the White River Junction VA Medical Center. The other clinics serving Vermonters are in Bennington, Brattleboro, Colchester, Rutland, and Littleton, N.H. The Brattleboro clinic opened in June of this year.
The clinics provide access for veterans to primary care physicians, laboratory tests, medications, mental health services, and preventative services such as flu shots.
‘We have heard over the years from many veterans in the Northeast Kingdom that it has been hard to access care,’ said Sanders, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. ‘The Newport clinic should save them a lot of time and trouble traveling to White River Junction to get the care they deserve.’

Nine years after entering into a court order to settle claims of consumer fraud, Publishers Clearing House (PCH) has once again had to enter into a legal settlement with the VermontAttorney General’s Office, 31 other states and the District of Columbia. This latest development follows allegations that PCH’s mailings in recent years violated the earlier order and deceptivelyimplied that consumers had a better chance of winning a big-money sweepstakes if they bought merchandise from PCH’in effect, that you had to ‘pay to play.’ ‘This company just doesn’t get it,’ said Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell, ‘so as often as we need to take legal action to protect our citizens, we’ll do so.’