Current News

SBE Inc. (DBA SB Electronics) has announced today that they will be partnering with the nonprofit Vermont HITEC and the Vermont Department of Labor to educate and train unemployed and underemployed Vermonters.

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Tuesday announced that the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is accepting applications for $1.3 million worth of federal assistance.
Created and funded by Congress, the NBRC is a federal-state partnership devoted to economic development in the northernmost regions of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. Today’s announcement marks the first time the NBRC, which was first funded last year, will be accepting grant applications.
The NBRC plans to award this round of grants by Sept. 30, 2010.
‘As northern Vermont communities work to create jobs and strengthen their local economies, the Northern Border Regional Commission presents important opportunities,’ Leahy, Sanders and Welch said. ‘We encourage Vermont organizations to explore whether NBRC funding makes sense for them.’

NBT Bank Regional President Matt Durkee announced that the bank will build an office in Williston, Vermont.
NBT Bank of Williston will be located adjacent to the Ninety Nine Restaurant in the Tafts Corner Shopping Center on Route 2 in Williston. The building formerly on the site has been demolished, and construction of the new office is underway. The full-service branch is scheduled to open this fall and will include two drive-ups and an ATM.
We are very excited to be joining one of the busiest retail hubs in Chittenden County,’ Durkee said. ‘This is the next step in our plan to grow our unique brand of community banking here in Vermont.’
NBT Bank provides personal banking, asset management and business services. The independent community bank, based in Norwich, N.Y., has 85 offices in upstate New York and one office in Burlington, Vt. NBT Bank’s parent company, NBT Bancorp Inc., had assets of $5.4 billion as of June 30, 2010.

Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) today reported second quarter 2010 as-reported earnings of $315.3 million, or $1.65 per share, compared with $226.8 million, or $1.14 per share, for second quarter 2009. On an operational basis, Entergy's second quarter 2010 earnings were $325.7 million, or $1.71 per share, compared with $244.0 million, or $1.23 per share, in second quarter 2009.
Operational Earnings Highlights for Second Quarter 2010

To continue to stay ahead of rising demand for wireless voice, 3G multimedia and Internet access in Chittenden County, Vermont, Verizon Wireless has expanded its local network. Since 2000, the company has invested $2.6 billion into its New England network, including $192 million in 2009, and recently earned recognition from J.D. Power and Associates for “Highest Call Quality Performance among Wireless Cell Phone Users in the Northeast” *.
New cell site provides increased wireless voice and 3G data coverage to downtown Richmond, including along East Main Street/Route 2, Route 117 and I-89 near exit 11, as well as the surrounding area

Expanded 3G data coverage in Richmond lets more customers using notebook computers or smartphones:

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) today announced that the US Department of Veterans Affairs will open a new community-based health clinic in Newport this month.
The clinic will provide veterans in the Northeast Kingdom greater access to primary health care without having to travel long distances.
“People who have put their lives on the line for our country deserve the best health care we can provide and that means providing care where they live,” Sanders said. “The Newport clinic should save veterans who live in the Northeast Kingdom a lot of time and trouble traveling to White River Junction to get the care they deserve.”
Sanders is a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. To address health care needs of veterans in rural areas, Sanders urged the VA to open another Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in the Newport area after hearing from Northeast Kingdom veterans.

Online advertised vacancies rose 139,200 in July to 4,293,300, including a strong showing in Vermont of 1,300 jobs, following a very small increase in June, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series released today. The gap between the number of unemployed and advertised vacancies (supply/demand rate) stood at 3.52 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in June (the last available unemployment data) but is down from its peak of 4.73 in October 2009.

Sandy Blitz, the Federal Co-Chair of the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), announced that a grant award process has been put in place to begin to accept applications for federal assistance. Chairman Blitz stated that “It is our goal to award approximately $1.3 million in grants by September 30, 2010”.
The NBRC, created by the Congress, to alleviate economic distress, and to save and create job opportunities throughout a thirty-six county region in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, became operational on April 29, 2010 upon Mr. Blitz officially assuming his duties. The Commission has responsibility for fourteen counties in New York; six counties in Vermont; four counties in New Hampshire, and twelve counties in Maine. The NBRC is governed by a Board consisting of the Federal Co-Chair and the Governors of the four states.

Green Mountain Power today asked the Vermont Public Service Board to authorize a 3.1 percent rate adjustment to go into effect on October 1, 2010, as part of its alternative regulation plan. The increase is primarily due to factors that affect all utilities in the region, such as the costs of reliability upgrades to the New England transmission grid.
"Our goal is to provide premier service to our customers while operating effectively to keep rates as low as possible," said Mary Powell, Green Mountain Power President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have successfully controlled operating expenses under our direct control while significantly investing in projects to benefit customers in terms of reliability and generation without compromising our ability to provide services that our customers have come to expect. In fact, GMP operations and maintenance costs have remained about flat in two years while greatly expanding our system capabilities."

Starting this month, Vermont Business Magazine will begin running full interviews online (VIDEO). The first of these is with Bob Young, CEO of Central Vermont Public Service. The occasion for this piece is his recent announcement that he will step down next May.
As Young explains in the interview, there is much to do between now and then and that includes finding his replacement.
Young also talks at length about Vermont Yankee. He says that Entergy will have to make a decision on whether to close the plant as early as this winter, in part because it has a substantial fuel buy to make if the plant is to remain in operation beyond the expiration of its license in 2012.

Captive insurance professionals from throughout the United States and around the world will gather in Burlington, Vermont for the world's largest captive insurance conference, August 10 - 12, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center and the UVM Davis Center. The event is the 25th Annual Conference hosted by the Vermont Captive Insurance Association.

The City of St. Albans now has a state-designated Growth Center, a move that will help streamline permitting for future development and pave the way for additional benefits to support development in the town.
The Vermont Downtown Development Board approved the city’s Growth Center plan at its meeting on Tuesday, setting the boundaries of the district roughly the same as the city limits.
“Growth Center designation is a very important step for St. Albans,” said Kevin Dorn, Secretary of Commerce and Community Development and chairman of Vermont Downtown Development Board. “While the city might seem pretty well built out, there is in fact a lot of development opportunity on brownfield sites, infill, and underdeveloped sites.”
St. Albans becomes the sixth municipality to obtain growth center and joins Williston, Bennington, Colchester, Montpelier and Hartford.