Current News

The Vermont Agency of Transportation opened Route 108 through Smugglers' Notch at 7:44 am this morning. With winter now hopefully behind us, VTrans anticipates the road will remain open until sometime in the fall when Mother Nature once again dictates its closure.
VTrans. 5.3.2010

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) (“GMCR”) today announced that Pebbles Acquisition Sub, Inc. (“Purchaser”), a wholly owned subsidiary of GMCR, has extended its previously announced $35.00 per share cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of Diedrich Coffee, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDRX) (“Diedrich Coffee”). The tender offer will now expire at midnight, New York City time, on Monday, May 10, 2010, unless further extended. The tender offer previously was scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, on Monday, May 3, 2010. All other terms and conditions of the tender offer remain unchanged.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) will host a public informational meeting regarding the status of the Lake Champlain Bridge crossing, including an update on the design of the new bridge, removal of demolition debris, commemoration of the old bridge and operation of the temporary ferry service. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11, at Addison Central School located at 121 Vermont Route 17W in Addison, Vermont, west of its intersection with Route 22A.

The Vermont Historical Society's award-winning Vermont History Museum and the annual Vermont History Expo have been recognized as 2010 Editors' Choices in Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide to New England. This designation is awarded by Yankee's editors and contributors, who name select restaurants, lodgings, and attractions in New England to the exclusive list.
"Yankee's editors and our trusted legion of travel writers select our Editors' Choice winners," says Yankee editor Mel Allen. "From their own experiences and extensive travel, they research and find the most deserving establishments in New England. Recipients range from the rustic to the refined, but all are noteworthy and memorable destinations."

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Vermont will receive $8.5 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
"When a school continues to perform in the bottom five percent of the state and isn't showing signs of growth or has graduation rates below 60 percent, something dramatic needs to be done," said Duncan. "Turning around our worst performing schools is difficult for everyone but it is critical that we show the courage to do the right thing by kids."

Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, today announced net income of $3.83 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.62 for the three months ended March 31, 2010. This compares with net income of $2.91 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.48 for the same period in 2009. Merchants previously announced the declaration of a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable May 13, 2010, to shareholders of record as of April 29, 2010.

Senator Patrick Leahy will keynote this year’s 20th Annual VBSR Spring Conference, being held on May 17 at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Burlington. The Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) is the oldest and largest regional association of values-led businesses in the country, with over 1,200 members that collectively employ 12% of the state’s workforce. The Spring Conference is one of the largest annual gatherings of socially responsible businesses in the country. WHAT:Senator Patrick Leahy will be keynoting the 20th Annual VBSR Spring Conference.

The Mortgage Monitor report released today by Lender Processing Services, Inc. (NYSE: LPS), a leading provider of mortgage performance data and analytics, showed mixed results with the nation's home loan market. Modest improvements in the number of loans curing to current and reductions in total new delinquencies are still overshadowed by a large pool (7.39 million) of non-current and REO loans. The report is based on data as of March 2010 month-end. Vermont ranked among states with the fewest troubled loans.

Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) reported first quarter 2015 earnings per share of $1.65 on an as-reported basis and $1.68 on an operational basis, compared to first quarter 2014 as-reported EPS of $2.24 and operational EPS of $2.29.
“It was a productive first quarter, and in terms of performance, results and growth, we continue to be in line with our expectations,” said Entergy Chairman and CEO Leo Denault. “The Utility experienced its seventh straight quarter of industrial sales growth. We continued filling in the details of our resource plan, including the announcement of a new transmission project in Arkansas. We also took important steps to strengthen regulatory frameworks, in part by supporting the passage of new legislation in Arkansas and Mississippi and preparing for a pivotal rate case filing in Arkansas.”

In a letter sent to media today, Jason Gibbs, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, announced he is stepping down from that position May 14. There has been speculation in Montpelier that he will seek elective office this fall, perhaps as a Republican candidate for secretary of state. That office is currently held by Deb Markowitz who is running instead for governor.
Gibbs initially joined the Douglas Administration as the governor's first press secretary, before moving on to the Parks Department post. He previously worked at Fletcher Allen Health Care in public affairs.
The letter announcing his resignation follows:
Dear Colleague:
As the legislative session draws to a close, I write to notify you that I will be stepping down as commissioner effective May 14th to pursue other options.

Wainwright Bank & Trust Company (Nasdaq: WAIN) has provided $10 million in financing to Commonwealth Dairy, LLC for the construction of a state-of-the-art yogurt production processing facility in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Commonwealth Dairy is a joint venture between Ehrmann USA, a subsidiary of family-run Ehrmann AG, an international yogurt company based in Germany with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, and Commonwealth Yogurt. The new facility will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) compliant as determined by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Anticipated to be operational in early 2011, Commonwealth Dairy will utilize the latest technology and automated production processes. All-natural, rBST-free and organic milk will be used in manufacturing. A projected 24 new jobs will be created within the first three years of operation and a portion of net profits will be returned directly to local dairy farmers.

(By James Dwinell. Vermont Business Magazine) Will Hunter of Cavendish wrote to the Rutland Herald last month, At least we have not touched a penny of our rainy day funds. Perhaps our leaders can print up copies of the bank statements showing the millions that we are hoarding in the bank. I would like to have a copy to look at to make me feel better as I watch my beloved state fall apart.
This month Tom Davis of Barre and son of Governor Deane Davis wrote to the Burlington Free Press, Is there anyone on the planet that honestly believes that by rearranging the chairs on the Titanic, aka the Vermont budget, that they can save $38 million? It is raining; we have a rainy day fund, use it!