Current News

Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie today issued the following statement concerning a call for the State Senate to hold an accelerated vote on Vermont Yankee relicensing before town meeting day:
“As I have stated before, safety must be our number one priority regarding Vermont Yankee. Period.

Focus Acquisition Partners is pleased to announce that CEPS, Inc. of West Lebanon, NH has completed its acquisition of Johnson Precision, Inc. (JPI). CEPS is a global provider of highly engineered plastic injection-molded components and sub-assemblies. JPI, based in Amherst, NH, is one of New England’s leading full service and vertically integrated custom mold manufacturing, machining and injection-molding companies.
Focus Acquisition Partners consulted with CEPS on the transaction, which closed on January 22, 2010. Terms were not disclosed.
The combination of CEPS and JPI will offer new and existing customers ongoing gold-star service and quality, together with expanded custom and value-added injection molding solutions. Jim Umland, CEPS’ CEO, will lead the combined companies, which provide highly engineered manufacturing services to a wide range of industries. About the transaction, Umland said:

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) has been selected as a recipient of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation s Catalyst for Change awards, which recognize existing examples of personalized, student-centered learning experiences across New England. Twelve schools and education organizations have received a one-time grant of $50,000.
This grant is the single most important step to building a statewide foundation for the VermontFutures program, says VYCC President, Thomas Hark. It is a program which significantly reduces the dropout rate, doubles the credit completion rates, and helps those enrolled to make great strides when taking personal responsibility for their own education.

Comcast and Vermont Public Television (VPT) today announced a new partnership that will make PBS programming available to local residents at their convenience through the company’s signature On Demand service. Comcast Digital Cable customers throughout Vermont and New Hampshire’s Upper Valley can now view national PBS shows and episodes of popular PBS series in both standard and high definition at no additional cost anytime they want, with the ability to pause, fast-forward and rewind.
“We’re delighted to add another option for today’s viewers who are looking for programs anytime, anywhere, anyhow,” said John King, President of Vermont Public Television. “While our traditional broadcast service is still the way most people see us, we’re now on multiple platforms, including the Internet, and, through our partnership with Comcast, we can also provide our viewers with convenient access to our content On Demand.”

The 27th Annual Vermont Travel Industry Conference will be held on April 7 & 8, 2010 at the Stoweflake Resort in Stowe, Vermont. The event will feature compelling keynote speakers, pertinent workshops on industry topics and trends, and a trade show featuring over 30 exhibitors who sell products or services to the tourism industry.
On Wednesday April 7th at 9:00 am, keynote speaker James Chung of Reach Advisors will educate the tourism industry on the Four Macro Trends and the Implications on Travel. Chung will discuss the major trends that will reshape the consumer market as it relates to the tourism industry including: generational shifts, gender differences, health and wellness behaviors, outdoor recreation trends, and household purchasing power.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin today announced that the Senate will vote before the town meeting break on whether or not relicensing the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station to operate beyond its scheduled closing date is in the best interest of Vermonters. “It is the responsibility of the General Assembly to vote on the continued operation of Vermont Yankee,” Shumlin said in a prepared statement.

Simon Property Group, Inc. today announced that it has made a written offer to acquire General Growth Properties, Inc, owner of the Burlington Town Center mall, in a fully financed transaction valued at more than $10 billion, including approximately $9 billion in cash. This is an unsolicited or "hostile" bid that would get General Growth out of bankruptcy. It filed for protection from creditors last year after a furious expansion plan fueled by cheap credit lead to billions in debt. Simon, itself, is in a buying mode, having in December acquired another competitor, Prime Outlets' 60 outlet shopping centers for $700 million in cash and securities. General Growth owes $7 billion to unsecured creditors and $3 billion to stock holders.

Successfully concluding a review of dozens of power supply proposals received after a broad request to the regional power market, Vermont s three-largest electric utilities today announced power purchase agreements with several suppliers that will diversify the utilities power supply portfolios.

These contracts provide a solid mix of clean, renewable energy and baseload power in keeping with Vermonters preferences, Central Vermont Public Service, Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Cooperative said in a joint announcement. We believe these contracts offer an excellent blend of price stability and reasonable costs, environmental benefits, reliability, fuel diversity, and will largely meet Vermonters expectations.

Vermont Yankee engineers and technicians working diligently to identify the source of tritium in the plant’s groundwater continue to make progress, according to a statement from Entergy Vermont Yankee released Saturday.

Several prominent area business organizations have joined forces to create a new alliance, the Business Alliance for a Clean Lake (BACL), first announced in January 2010. The BACL will bring their member organizations to the Statehouse on Friday, February 19th, to meet with legislators and introduce them to the issues the BACL supports. They will be in the Statehouse cafeteria from 7:45 to 9:30. A brochure describing their program will be available.
Founding members of the BACL are: Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation Franklin County Regional Chamber of Commerce Friends of Northern Lake Champlain Lake Champlain Islands Chamber of Commerce Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce

Average retail gasoline prices in Vermont moved just 1.4 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.75/g today. This compares with the national average that has fallen 2.9 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.62/g, according to gasoline price website VermontGasPrices.com.
Including the change in gas prices in Vermont during the past week, prices today are 77.0 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 8.6 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 11.9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 67.6 cents per gallon higher than this day a year ago.

Seventh Generation has been galvanizing the green revolution for decades, and over the company’s 21 years has become one of the most trusted brands of authentic, safe and environmentally responsible products for the living home. Now they are launching a campaign of words to back up decades of action, with the company’s first national integrated advertising campaign.