Current News

(Vermont Biz April 6, 2010) The number of Green Mountain Power customers using small-scale renewable energy sources to generate their own electricity has more than doubled since 2008, with the largest growth coming from customers who generate electricity with solar. Currently, close to 300 GMP customers have applied for and received state permission for net metering. Since net metering began in 1998, GMP customers' projects account for nearly 3 megawatts (or 3 million watts) of renewable power.
"Clearly many of our customers are taking advantage of technologies that have increased the amount of renewable energy on Vermont's power grid," said Mary Powell, Green Mountain Power president and chief executive officer. "We have a strong commitment to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels during times of peak demand. Net metering allows customers to produce renewable energy, which has long-term environmental benefits for all of us."

Dan Feeney, President of North Star Leasing in South Burlington, has announced the acquisition of Nordic Funding s book of business in late January. Nordic Funding s lease originator, John Desrochers, brings his 18 years of experience to the North Star Leasing team. North Star Leasing provides equipment financing across the country to small and medium sized customers from it s Burlington headquarters since its inception in 1979.
North Star Leasing adds Employees

Susan Stevens formerly of Double Tree Hotels joined the North Star Leasing team as a Documentation Specialist. Prior to joining Double Tree, Stevens worked for Merchants Bank and FiServ in the operations department. Stevens lives in South Burlington with her husband Stuart and two sons, Taylor and Gregory.

(Vermont Biz April 6, 2010) – Comcast, a leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced it has made the leap from broadband to wideband with the launch of next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 in 29 communities across Vermont. With wideband, Comcast has introduced a new echelon of Internet speeds, redefining the customer experience online and creating a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead.
Comcast now offers among the fastest speeds available today with wideband, including the Extreme 50 tier with download speeds of up to 50 Mbps. Wideband has also enabled Comcast to double speeds for the majority of its existing residential high-speed Internet customers.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) of Waterbury, Vermont, has announced that Pebbles Acquisition Sub, Inc, 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). In accordance with the terms of the merger agreement among GMCR, Purchaser and Diedrich Coffee, the tender offer has been extended 20 business days (the maximum number of days permitted under the merger agreement) to expire at midnight, New York City time, on Monday, May 3, 2010, unless further extended. The tender offer previously was scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, on Monday, April 5, 2010. All other terms and conditions of the tender offer remain unchanged.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced the first installment of funding to the Vermont State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to help Medicare beneficiaries in Vermont get more information about their health care choices. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 grants are continuation funds available to 54 existing SHIP organizations in the United States and its territories. The funding is available to SHIPs for the grant year starting April 1, 2010 and ending March 31, 2011.
The Vermont State Health Insurance Assistance Program will receive $269,120, part of the nearly $41.6 million being distributed to SHIPs today as part of the total $45 million that is available to SHIPs in 2010 for direct grants and support contracts. Performance awards will be distributed to SHIPs in September.

Representative Peter Welch on Monday announced a $450,000 federal grant for Vermont Law School to conduct Smart Grid research and analysis aimed at updating the US power grid. The grant, which was secured by Welch, will help VLS Institute for Energy and the Environment become a national leader in Smart Grid implementation standards. It will further the Institute s efforts to address the reliability, cost and environmental impact of the nation s energy policy.
Vermont Law School has long led the nation in addressing challenging questions related to energy and the environment, Welch said. This grant will bolster VLS leadership in the field and empower students to tackle the next generation of energy challenges. Most importantly, it will lay the regulatory and legal groundwork for Vermont s coming deployment of Smart Grid technology.

Average retail gasoline prices in Vermont moved just 0.8 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.86/gallon today. This compares with the national average that has increased 4.6 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.85/g, according to gasoline price website VermontGasPrices.com.
Including the change in gas prices in Vermont during the past week, prices today are 86.1 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 7.7 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 11.8 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 83.4 cents per gallon higher than this day a year ago.
About VermontGasPrices.com
GasBuddy.com operates over 200 live gasoline price-tracking websites, including VermontGasPrices.com. GasBuddy.com was named one of Time magazine's 50 best websites and to PC World's 100 most useful websites of 2008.

Source: VermontGasPrices.com Vermont, VT, April 5, 2010-

U-Haul International, Inc has released the results of the annual U-Haul National Migration Trend Report, with Kentucky and Vermont as the top states in their categories, reflecting the nation's top growth states for families who moved during 2009. The report, titled "2009 Top 10 US Growth States," indicates that for states with more than 20,000 families moving, Kentucky had the highest percentage of growth, with 5.76 percent more families moving into the state than out. For states with 5,000 - 20,000 families moving, Vermont had the highest percentage, with a growth rate of 16.67 percent in 2009, moving Maine to second place after two years of ranking first.

A new company that would make stainless steel chimney liners has been authorized to earn nearly $68,000 worth of state job creation incentives if it opens its plant in Chittenden County. New England Supply Inc could create 17 new jobs over the next five years if it sets up shop in Williston, according to officials with the Vermont Economic Progress Council, which authorized the incentives at its recent meeting.
“This is further proof that Vermont can compete for manufacturing jobs, if we are willing to,” said Karen L. Marshall, Chairwoman of the Vermont Economic Progress Council. “New England Supply would provide good jobs for Vermonters, and significant growth potential.”
The company’s founder, Pierre Simard, spent 13 years as the president of a similar chimney supply manufacturing company in another state and said the incentives would be a factor in his decision about where to locate the new factory.

Vermont Yankee's parent company, Entergy Corporation of New Orleans (NYSE: ETR), announced this morning that it will no longer pursue a plan to spin off the Vernon nuclear power plant and five others in its fleet into a new company called Enexus. The plan took a serious blow on March 25 when New York state effectively denied Entergy's application to do so. Entergy said it will take a $0.40 to $0.45 writeoff to cover costs to date. The decision by the New York Public Service Commission was based on a high debt load for the new company of about $3 billion. New York officials were also concerned by the tritium leak at the Vermont plant and by the management action in Vermont associated with its relicensing. The Indian Point plants in Westchester County, NY, produce over 2 gigawatts of power, while the Vermont Yankee plant produces about 620 megawatts.
Local response was understated.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in March, and the unemployment
rate held at 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs over the month.
Employment in federal government also rose, reflecting the hiring of temporary
workers for Census 2010. Employment continued to decline in financial activi-
ties and in information.
Household Survey Data
In March, the number of unemployed persons was little changed at 15.0 million,
and the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0 per-
cent), adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (26.1 percent), whites (8.8 per-
cent), blacks (16.5 percent), and Hispanics (12.6 percent) showed little or no
change in March. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.5 percent, not seasonally

In a statement issued yesterday, Vermont Yankee said that recent news reports have focused less on the tritium resolution and more on the other isotopes found in the soil at the plant. Despite the recent media coverage, Vermont Yankee said the presence of Cesium-137 and other radionuclides found in the soil at the plant is not new news. During the first week of March, the company shared soil sample results with the Vermont Department of Health indicating the existence of cesium in the soil.