Current News

Vermont apple growers are not typically faint of heart. Each year, they self-confidently face freezes, droughts, heat, hail and pests - and that’s before the challenges of the fall harvest even begin. The wave of warm weather early this spring launched Vermont’s crop unusually early. By early May, Vermont orchards were in full bloom as freezing temperatures were forecasted.
The early bloom has resulted in Vermont’s apple crop coming in about ten days earlier than usual. Resulting damage from the freeze was lighter than anticipated, and most growers are anticipating yields close to 2009 levels. Paula Red and some of the other early apples are ready for picking. McIntosh, the state’s leading variety, should be ready to pick by early September.

South Burlington has been rated in the top ten school districts nationally with housing costs under $500,000, according to a review by a national rating firm. While millions throughout the nation prepare for traditional back to school activities, some families are searching for affordable housing based on local schools or desirable school districts. In some cases, proximity to quality schools is so important buyers may choose to rent close to a preferred school until the right home becomes available, especially if they're running out of time before the first day of school.

Hunger Mountain Coop in Montpelier is extending its search for a possible second location in Waterbury. While its research showed that moving The Coop into the current RJ’s Friendly Market under the proposed plan poses too great a financial risk, the studies also indicated the potential for adding a Waterbury store remains feasible. As a result, The Coop will continue to explore options for an optimal storefront, though no final decision is anticipated in the near future.
“We’ve heard from a lot of people who live and work around Waterbury that The Coop would be a welcome addition to this vibrant area”, explains Coop General Manager Kari Bradley. “But, we have to find the right fit before bringing this to a vote of our Member-Owners. They have raised a lot of questions during this process that will need to be addressed.”

For the second consecutive year, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), of Waterbury, Vermont, has been ranked on Fortune’s annual list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. GMCR ranked #2 overall on the list released today.
GMCR was the highest-ranked consumer package goods company on the list, which includes profitable, publicly-held companies with at least $50 million in annual revenue. Companies are assessed by revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and three-year annualized total return to investors. Last month, GMCR reported its 11th consecutive quarter of better than 40 percent net sales growth. For the first nine months of fiscal 2010, the company has produced net sales growth of 70% over the prior year and excluding acquisition-related expenses, earnings per share growth of 89% over the same period for fiscal year 2009.

US Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch said that a $5.5 million stimulus broadband grant and loan package to Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, announced today, will help connect their most rural and remote customers to high speed fiber optic Internet access.
Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday was joined by representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and of the U.S. Department of Commerce in announcing that Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom would be receiving a $3.891 million grant and $1.668 million loan to extend a fiber-to-the-home network capable of delivering between 5 megabits per second and 100 megabits per second to 1,385 residents of Addison, Chittenden, and Washington Counties. According to Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom officials, these residents will be among some of the hardest to reach and hardest to serve in the company’s territory.

Governor Jim Douglas was joined by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local officials today to announce that the State of Vermont has been awarded $400,000 from the federal government to replenish its revolving loan fund for cleaning up contaminated brownfields sites. The Governor made the announcement at the site of the former Fonda Container Company/Solo Cup property, which received $400,000 in federal funds last year for the ongoing cleanup of contamination caused by paper manufacturing there.
“These funds will help us continue with the re-development of sites like this all over the state,” Governor Douglas said. “Turning these brownfields into clean, safe spaces for re-development will help communities from St. Albans to Springfield revitalize their local economies.”

FairPoint Communications has asked the Vermont Public Service Board to reconsider its rejection of FairPoint’s bankruptcy plan. FairPoint is under US Bankruptcy Court protection as it seeks to restructure most of its nearly $3 billion debt. It filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York last year and hoped to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of this summer. However, the Vermont regulators threw a wrench into the case when it rejected on June 28 the restructuring plan. Regulators in Maine and New Hampshire have approved the plan.
WATCH VIDEO or http://www.vermontbiz.com/

Vermont has had the second highest success in the nation in creating new jobs with federal stimulus funds. It also ranks 12th in stimulus-related funding per capita. Meanwhile, in a new analysis conducted by Onvia, the leader in gBusiness solutions and the creator of Recovery.org, reveals that the "Recovery Summer" being promoted by the White House is poised to usher in a wave of new jobs in the second half of this year.
For a complete look at the heat map visit:
http://promotions.onvia.com/documents/map_arra_private_sector_jobs_impac...
To date, only one-third of the Recovery Act's $275 billion that is allocated for projects to create private sector jobs on Main Street has been awarded. The remaining $218 billion represents a substantial amount of new projects that are about to get under way across the U.S.
Top line findings:

The Vermont Chamber’s Aerospace and Aviation Association (VAAA) will hold an Open House event at the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport in North Clarendon on Thursday, August 19, 2010 from 3 - 5 p.m.
Join us for this high-profile event, sponsored by GE Aviation of Rutland, that will feature greening aviation and the important and growing role that GE Aviation Rutland plays in the production of the GEnx engine, which will be used to power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the 747-8 with greater gains in fuel efficiency and performance. This event will also celebrate the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport and the work to upgrade the facilities by Senator Leahy, Congressman Welch and the Rutland Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The lineup of speakers includes:
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy
Brent Raymond, Office of Vermont Congressman Peter Welch
Vermont Lt. Governor and VAAA Chair and ASA National Chair Brian Dubie

Flanked by law enforcement officials at the Vermont Department of Public Safety headquarters, Sen. Bernie Sanders today announced $500,000 in federal funding for Vermont law enforcement agencies.
‘The brave men and women in law enforcement are on the front lines every day protecting our people and our communities,’ Sanders said. ‘We are all grateful for the work that they do.’
Sanders secured the federal funds for programs providing police officers for public schools, technology upgrades for police training facilities, and digital cameras for county sheriffs. In addition, Sanders and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) secured funds for special investigations units.

Saint Michael’s College earned the rank of 93rd amongst National Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges by U.S. News Media Group. U.S. News, the original rankings program, covers various categories of national and regional colleges and universities. The rankings are available today at www.usnews.com/colleges, and will also be published in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report, on newsstands starting August 31.
Saint Michael’s shares the 93rd position with Allegheny (PA), Birmingham-Southern (AL), Millsaps (MS), St. Mary’s (IN), and Washington (MD) Colleges. Last year Saint Michael’s ranked 105th in the national liberal arts category, and before that Saint Michael’s ranked in the top 15 of the North Regional Master’s Universities for 17 years. Saint Michael’s was switched last year to the liberal arts category in the U.S. News arena as a result of a change in Carnegie classifications.

This week the Lake Champlain Basin Program released several requests for proposals, seeking to award up to $840,000 in local pollution prevention, aquatic invasive species spread prevention, and education grants. Funding for the grants comes through the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. The amount of the grant awards for pollution prevention and aquatic invasive species grants has increased to $25,000 this year and education grants will be capped at $7,500.
Small organizational support grants for local watershed groups also are included in this grant round. The deadline to submit proposals is October 7, 2010. For further information, log onto http://www.lcbp.org/grants.htm.