Current News

Ensuring a safe food supply is our top priority here at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. Accordingly, we protect consumers by maintaining aggressive food safety programs on both the retail and farm levels.
‘According to FDA reports, the eggs implicated in this nationwide recall were produced in Iowa. We trust those statements to be true, however to err on the side of caution, our staff of food safety inspectors remain on the lookout for recalled eggs at the retail level. To date, none of the recalled eggs have been found in Vermont, nor have any human cases of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) been reported to the Vermont Department of Health been linked to the recalled eggs.

CVPS crews restored power to about 14,000 customers after strong winds coupled with heavy rains pushed through the state. Restoration efforts in the Bennington County area from Sunday night’s strong winds were pretty much complete at 5 am Tuesday morning. CVPS reported that it is wrapping up some end-of-the-storm clean-up, and a few individual customer services. Crews also restored power to customers in Rutland and Addison counties and to an additional 900 customers in Windsor County, who lost power due to continued strong winds Monday.
The wind damage in Bennington County was extensive. Transmission lines in Arlington were brought down by trees, breaking crossarms and insulators and causing two substations to lock out through the night, and crews spent much of Moday working to repair those lines in off-road locations. CVPS is continuing to patrol its transmission lines in that area as well.

Casey Research (www.caseyresearch.com) has been named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing, privately held companies in America. The annual list published by Inc. magazine is determined by a company’s revenue and growth.
‘Casey Research has experienced tremendous growth since its inception, and the current economy has not changed that. As investors grapple with difficult markets and unheard-of economic conditions, more and more of them are taking control of their own investment strategies,’ said Olivier Garret, CEO of Casey Research.
‘With a team of skilled economists and analysts who travel the world looking for undervalued investment opportunities, Casey Research presents analysis of economic trends that allows our subscribers to make intelligent decisions.’

Business financing of $18.2 million was approved by the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA), helping to advance a number of economic development projects throughout Vermont.
‘New jobs will be created in Vermont, and current jobs retained, with the help of VEDA financing,’ said Jo Bradley, VEDA’s Chief Executive Officer. ‘These business development projects will bring new growth to the manufacturing, technology, agricultural, tourism, and small business sectors of Vermont’s economy.’
Approved by VEDA are:

Vermont Technical College this week was named among the top 10 best public baccalaureate colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report.
In its 2011 “Best Colleges” issue, Vermont Tech placed ninth among all ranked public baccalaureate colleges in the North and 31st among all northern colleges. This is the fourth year in a row that Vermont Tech has placed among U.S.News & World Report’s top performers.
U.S.News & World Report’s annual college rankings are widely anticipated, circulated and respected throughout the United States. There are 319 baccalaureate colleges ranked within four regions of the United States: North, South, Midwest, and West. Vermont Tech is one of just two Vermont colleges to make this year’s “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” list.

On July 1, Sarah and Thad Launderville realized their dream of becoming homeowners when they moved into their new house on Williamstown's Pleasant Street. Their purchase was the culmination of their 3-year quest to buy a home, finally made possible with help from Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and Central Vermont Community Land Trust (CVCLT).
The Laundervilles — including twins, Clara and Milly-Ellen, and newcomer, Evan — are one of several families helped over the past year by the federally funded Housing Acquisition & Rehabilitation Program (HARP) administered by VHFA.

The Vermont primary is TODAY, Tuesday, August 24. If you are voting with the Democratic ballot, you have probably had the following question posed to you and responded in the following way: ‘Who are you voting for?’ ‘I don’t know yet.’
To assist in your decision making now that it is down to the wire, Vermont Business Magazine has packaged all its relevant stories and interviews into this one file, which includes the televised debate from the Addison County Fair and Field Days, done in conjunction with WCAX-TV and WDEV Radio.
Debate: http://vermontbiz.com/video/addison-county-fair-and-field-days-gubernato...
Economic Plans: http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/august/democratic-candidates-governor-off...
Candidate Statements when asked, ‘Why do you want to be governor?’:

The State of Vermont is continuing its efforts to use technology to reduce the cost of government by introducing an online registry for mobile home parks.
‘Eliminating the paper involved in filing these reports makes the process faster, less costly, and less time-consuming for both the applicant and our staff.’
Commissioner of Economic, Housing and Community Development Tayt Brooks said that as of August 2, owners of mobile home parks in Vermont are now able to complete a required annual registration online.
‘This is another example of how we are using technology to be more efficient in state government,’ Brooks said. ‘Eliminating the paper involved in filing these reports makes the process faster, less costly, and less time-consuming for both the applicant and our staff.’

Strong winds pounded Bennington, Rutland and Addison Counties last night, knocking out power to some 14,000 CVPS customers at the height of the storm around midnight. As of 7:30 a.m., 4,800 remain without power, the majority in Bennington County.
Crews worked through the night last night and made great progress in Addison and Rutland counties. About 200 customers remain without power in Rutland County.
About 4,600 customers are without power in Bennington County. Arlington and Shaftsbury were two of the hardest hit towns, with outages also remaining in the towns of Bennington, Dorset, Manchester and Pownal, and scattered outages elsewhere.
‘This storm really pounded the Arlington and Shaftsbury area,’ said Storm Planning Chief Jeremy Baker. ‘But elevation really played a role in the wind damage; 400 or 500 feet really made all the difference whether you were seeing any winds or not.’

PennWell Corporation, a diversified global media and information company, announced today that it has acquired Tunbridge, Vermont-based Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazine and the website FireMagazine.com. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, founded in 1996 in Tunbridge, Vermont by C. Peter and Kathryn Jorgensen under the company name Fire Apparatus, LLC, is widely recognized as the leading source of information about fire apparatus-related products. Published monthly for a North American readership of 35,000, Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment caters to fire chiefs, purchasing and finance committees, trustees, commissioners and other fire professionals who buy trucks, tools, turnout gear and firefighting equipment. They read Fire Apparatus and the monthly Fire Apparatus eNewsletter for news and insight to make well-informed buying decisions.

Construction job gains were more widespread across the country and job losses were generally less severe in July than in June, the Associated General Contractors of America reported in an analysis of state employment data released today by the Labor Department. Twenty-six states added construction jobs in July, compared to 19 in June, while six states added construction jobs over the past year and most others are losing far fewer jobs than previously, association officials noted.
“Encouraging as it is to see some modest signs of progress, it is increasingly unlikely we’ll keep seeing these kinds of gains over the next few months,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “There is little to indicate that construction will be adding workers to a significant extent any time soon.”

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2010 was unchanged from the previous month’s report holding steady at 6.0 percent. Compared to a year ago, the July unemployment rate is lower by 1.1 percent. Compared to the US rate, Vermont is 3.5 points lower than the national average.
‘Based on the preliminary data, the Vermont unemployment rate remained unchanged in the month of July as did the national unemployment rate,’ said Valerie Rickert, Acting Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor. ‘The reported dip in employment from last month is related to seasonal influences and was anticipated. The overall trend of the Vermont economy remains stable. Compared to a year ago, there are 4,100 fewer Vermonters reporting being unemployed.’
Analysis of Job Changes by Industry