Current News

For a few years now, folks throughout Vermont have been holding various Woodchuck Day celebrations on February 2nd – the most notable being the WDEV Woodchuck Day Competition and live broadcast at Rusty Parker Memorial Park in Waterbury. Phil and the folks in Pennsylvania haven’t been the biggest fans, but hey – in Vermont we do what we want! Because in Vermont, a woodchuck is a hearty Vermonter, a Vermont made hard cider, and an animal sometimes referred to as the groundhog. So, folks at WDEV, Woodchuck Draft Cider, Ski Vermont, and a collection of Vermont ski resorts and Vermont restaurants have joined together to help make Woodchuck Day the official holiday celebrated in Vermont on February 2nd! We’re hoping additional Vermont media will come on board and help us spread the word to all Vermonters – February 2nd is Woodchuck Day in Vermont!

KeyCorp CEO Henry L. Meyer III today announced that Key will give $5,000 to Haiti earthquake relief efforts in each of Key s 22 Key Community Bank districts from Maine to Alaska and in selected cities where Key National Bank has a presence. The gift will total $135,000. The donations will be made through a local chapter of the American Red Cross in each location.
In presenting a check for Haiti relief to the Vermont and New Hampshire Valley Region of the American Red Cross, Scott Carpenter, president, Vermont District, KeyBank, said: This donation comes with the thoughts and prayers of our entire Key community. We grieve with the people of Haiti and are proud to support them as they begin to rebuild their country.

A start-up solar panel manufacturer; a homegrown internet marketing firm; and an industrial pump manufacturer have been authorized to earn more than $12.5 million worth of state job creation incentives. A fourth firm's application was denied. Governor Douglas and legislative leaders recently increased the amount of money available for incentives, thus allowing incentive levels to reach all three companies.
The companies, if they grow in or locate in Vermont, could create 815 new jobs over the next five years, according to officials with the Vermont Economic Progress Council, which authorized the incentives on Thursday.
“These are Initial Approvals, but they are in important step forward in securing these jobs for Vermont,” said Karen L. Marshall, Chairwoman of the Vermont Economic Progress Council. “If created, these 815 jobs would represent more than 6% of the positions that were lost during the recession. This kind of growth is unprecedented. ”

The Orange and Windsor Counties Community Advisory Board of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont announces the release of its Worksite Wellness Grants for 2010. The grants, available to businesses in Orange and Windsor Counties, will range from $250 -$750 per site, according to program scope and need. The grant applications are due on February 26, 2010.
The organizations will be selected based on the strength or their grant applications – with a focus on the potential improvement of employee health, as well as the level of innovation, creativity, intended impact and evaluation plan. All of the organizations will report their programoutcomes to the OWCCAB.

The Senate Thursday night unanimously passed legislation introduced this week by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to assist trademark owners in maintaining the protection of their brands. Last year, Vermont s Rock Art Brewery, a small micro-brewery in Morrisville, Vermont, was the subject of such a threat. The Trademark Law Technical and Conforming Amendments Act makes necessary adjustments to the nation s trademark laws, improving efficiency in the trademark system. Many small Vermont businesses that hold trademarks will benefit from improving the efficiency of the system.
The Vermonster wins in battle with Monster

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc, a manufacturer and retailer of high-end furniture, has reported a fall in sales and a loss in operating results for the three and six months ended December 31, 2009. Some of the loss is attributable to restructuring, including the closing of the manufacturing operations in its Beecher Falls, Vermont, plant, which resulted in the loss of 260 employees last summer. The Orleans plant was not affected.

ARC Mechanical Contractors of Bradford, Vermont, announced today the acquisition of Montshire Mechanical Services Inc in Lebanon, NH. For 20 years Montshire Mechanical has provided refrigeration and air-conditioning service to the Upper Valley. After years of dedicated hard work, owners Skip Spaulding and Joe Lukash are ready to slow down and enjoy the fruits of their labor. They are confident that ARC will continue their commitment to quality refrigeration and air conditioning service.
ARC Mechanical Contractors, located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and Bradford, Vermont, has provided quality heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC-R) service and sales to the Upper Valley for over 60 years. Not only can ARC service the equipment previously handled by Montshire Mechanical, ARC can service and install plumbing, mechanical piping, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, ductwork, and control systems.

The Board of Directors of Washington Electric Cooperative (WEC) has called on the Vermont Legislature to vote against authorizing continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant after its current operating license expires in 2012. They further urged legislative leaders to vote on the matter early in this legislative session.
In a resolution adopted unanimously at its January 27th meeting (attached), the WEC board cited several reasons for its position, expressing concerns about Vermont Yankee owner Entergy s poor track record in operating the plant, its proposed spin-off of plant ownership to a debt-laden entity Enexus, the growing on-site stockpile of high level radioactive waste, insufficient funding for decommissioning potentially worsened by recent leaks of radioactive materials, as well as WEC s potential liabilities for paying part of these costs.

Sabina Haskell, a veteran Vermont communicator, will join FairPoint s Corporate Communications department February 8, 2010, as PR Manager for Vermont. The position has been vacant since November 2009, when Beth Fastiggi was promoted to VP of governmental relations for Vermont. Haskell has an extensive communications background having served as an editor at several Vermont newspapers, a communications director for a state government agency and is currently the deputy secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Earlier in her career she was an account executive for Hill & Knowlton, Inc., a full service public relations firm.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a past president of the Vermont Press Association. Sabina will be based in Burlington.

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, today announced net income of $12.48 million or diluted earnings per share of $2.04 for the year ended December 31, 2009. This compares with net income of $11.92 million or diluted earnings per share of $1.96 for the previous year. Merchants earned $3.80 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.62 for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, compared to net income of $3.06 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.51 for the same quarter of the previous year. Merchants previously announced the declaration of a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable February 18, 2010, to shareholders of record as of February 4, 2010.

Vermont State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding announced today that Vermont successfully sold $52 million in general obligation bonds, in a competitive auction that marked the State’s first-ever sale of “Build America Bonds.” Yesterday’s auction resulted in both the largest number of bids received and the lowest interest cost the State has incurred on a bond sale in decades.
Build America Bonds, often referred to simply as “BABs,” were made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Unlike traditional municipal bonds, BABs are subject to federal income tax, but are still exempt from Vermont State income tax. By using BABs, the State pays a higher interest rate, but receives a 35 percent subsidy on that rate from the federal government. When this subsidy is factored in, BABs often have a lower interest rate than traditional tax-exempt bonds.

US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) today hailed a major announcement that Vermont will receive $50 million for major rail improvements along Amtrak’s Vermonter line. The funding will help pay for construction of track, roadbed and bridge improvements along 190 miles of railroad used by Amtrak Vermonter service between St. Albans, Vt., and Springfield, Mass., according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The upgrade will reduce trip times and improve reliability.
President Obama and Vice President Biden are to announce the grants Thursday in Orlando, Fla. They are part of $8 billion in high-speed-rail awards made nationwide under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More than $55 billion in applications were submitted for the $8 billion available under the recovery bill that Congress passed last year.