Current News

At a recent Addison County Chamber of Commerce mixer, Bread Loaf Corporation presented Darcy Tarte, Financial Services Manager for Chittenden’s newest branch in Middlebury, with a plaque acknowledging the project’s recent LEED Certification. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® was developed and is supported by the United States Green Building Council and is an international standard for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. LEED recognizes common and state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

Dutton Smith, Jr., Bread Loaf’s Project Manager
Maynard McLaughlin, Bread Loaf’s President
Darcy Tarte, Chittenden Bank’s Branch Financial Services Manager
Jim Pulver, Bread Loaf’s Vice President of Architecture

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) (“GMCR”) today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Diedrich Coffee, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDRX) (“Diedrich”) for $35 per share in cash pursuant to a cash tender offer, in a transaction with a total value of approximately $290 million.
Concurrent with entering into the merger agreement with GMCR, Diedrich terminated its previously announced merger agreement with Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) (“Peet’s”) (the “Prior Agreement”) following the expiration of the negotiation period granted to Peet’s under the terms of the Prior Agreement. In accordance with the terms of the Prior Agreement, on behalf of Diedrich, GMCR paid a termination fee of $8,517,000 to Peet’s in connection with such termination.

On an average school day, almost 15,000 low-income Vermont school children eat a free school breakfast, according to the School Breakfast Scorecard 2009, an annual report issued by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). This is a 15.5% increase over the previous school year – the largest percent increase in the nation – and moves Vermont from 9th to 3rd in the nation for participation. This is likely the result of both increased need and a bill passed in 2008 by the Vermont State Legislature that allows all low-income students to access free school breakfast.

Long-time Douglas staffer, Dennise Casey will leave the Governor’s office at the end of the year to take a senior position at the Republican Governors Association (RGA), Governor Douglas announced today.
“This is a bittersweet announcement,” said Governor Douglas. “Dennise has been an important part of my team since 2002 and she will be missed. However, I am thrilled that Dennise will continue her good work at the RGA as we gear up for an exciting 2010 election. Her intelligence and energy will be a real asset to the organization.”

Mount Snow kicked off the 09-10 winter season by opening with top to bottom trails on two of its mountain faces. At 9am this morning the Grand Summit Express, Canyon Express and Discovery Shuttle lifts offered terrain on the main face of the mountain for a group of guests eager to carve their first turns of the season. Meanwhile at Carinthia the Nitro Express spun into action as a horde of park riders raced to be the first to put board to steel in the Nitro terrain park. In total there was over 70 acres of skiing and riding on four trails with ten terrain park features.

Governor Jim Douglas today announced that the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation was awarded nearly a half-million dollars of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds from the U.S. Forest Service to control invasive insects and plants and provide conservation education programs in state parks and recreation areas within the Green Mountain National Forest.
The 16-month project will allow state officials to control the spread of invasive plants and insects on state and National Forest Service lands, by conducting pest surveys, limiting firewood movement and enhancing native species recovery for ash, butternut and chestnut.
“Vermont’s forests are valuable economically, ecologically and socially,” said Commissioner Jason Gibbs. “A major thrust of maintaining forest health in Vermont is detecting, eliminating or managing newly introduced pests.”

Moody’s Investor Service has assigned investment grade issuer and debt ratings for Central Vermont Public Service. CVPS calls this an important step as the company prepares for Vermont’s energy future. The company has been focused on improving its credit matrices and ratings, which have been rated at below investment grade by Standard and Poor’s for several years, so these ratings signal an improved view of the company on Wall Street. The action affects approximately $177 million in securities. Moody's assigned a Baa3 issuer rating and a Baa1 senior secured rating to CVPS' currently outstanding first mortgage bonds, which were previously unrated by Moody's. It also affirmed CVPS' Ba2 preferred stock rating and the company's current stable rating outlook.

Radiology Today, a leading trade publication for interventional radiologists, has published an article in its November 30, 2009, issue highlighting the inherent danger of using radiation-emitting devices for anatomical visualization and navigation. Ascension Technology of Burlington, Vermont, is cited as offering a magnetic imaging alternative.
The article "Alternative Guidance Systems Minimize X-Ray Exposure", by Pulitzer-prize winning writer, Steve Wagner, warns physicians that radiation can have long-term implications, such as blood-borne cancers and cataracts.
Wagner interviewed Dr. Isador Lieberman, chairman of the Medical, Interventional and Surgical Spine Center at the Cleveland Clinic, for the article. While citing the absolute need for real-time imaging, Lieberman laments the fact that multiple new x-rays are the current standard of care.

The extinction of plant and animal species can be likened to emptying a museum of its collection, or dumping a cabinet full of potential medicines into the trash, or replacing every local cuisine with hamburgers. But the decline of species and their habitats may not just make the world boring. New research now suggests it may also put you at greater risk for catching some nasty disease, according to a University of Vermont-led article appearing in the journal BioScience.
"Habitat destruction and biodiversity loss,"—driven by the replacement of local species by exotic ones, deforestation, global transportation, encroaching cities, and other environmental changes—"can increase the incidence and distribution of infectious diseases in humans," write University of Vermont biologist Joe Roman, EPA scientist Montira Pongsiri, and seven co-authors in BioScience.

NYSDOT Acting Commissioner Stanley Gee and Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) Secretary David Dill have announced that, in order to expedite progress on demolishing the current Lake Champlain Bridge and designing its replacement, the states will hold a series of meetings to present plans and options to the public throughout the day on Saturday, December 12, at LaChute Hall, 132 Montcalm Street, in Ticonderoga, New York. Vermont Public Radio has reported that the federal agency responsible for approving the demolition is expected to do so Monday. Officials want to demolish the bridge as soon as possible, perhaps by the middle of next week, before winter sets in to move the process ahead as quickly as possible.

Today in celebration of the upcoming International Volunteer Day, Hampton Hotels announced the “All-American Landmarks” that its hotel team members will help refurbish during the Save-A-Landmark program’s milestone 10th anniversary in 2010. In just 18 days during November, communities around the country cast nearly 20,000 votes for their favorite landmarks in four states which were Arkansas, Nebraska, Utah and Vermont.

Not only are we trading presents with family and colleagues over the next few weeks, but many people also make donations to non profit organizations this time of year. A new report reveals that each gift—whether it is of time, money or other resources—has a multiplier effect, touching lives in a small community and then rippling outward.
Giving in Vermont looks at the essential role charitable giving plays in our communities and the distinct challenges nonprofit organizations face when trying to raise money in a rural state. Among other things, the report points out that individuals contribute the vast majority of all monetary donations, far outpacing those from foundations, corporations and businesses. It also found that Vermonters are more generous with their time, but donate less money, when compared to national averages. The Vermont Community Foundation researched and produced these findings as part of its Understanding Vermont program.