Current News

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has been awarded a $13 million order by U.S. Army TACOM-ARDEC for the production of MK19 grenade machine guns. Deliveries are expected to begin in June 2010 and will be completed by late 2011. The order was made under a contract initially awarded in September 2008, and brings the total contract value to date to approximately $81 million. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
According to General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products gun systems program manager, Jeffrey Gramse, "The MK19 has been in service for over 20 years, providing lethal fire against a variety of targets. The weapon's accuracy and versatility provides the U.S. Armed Forces options for use in both offensive and defensive operations."

Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank based in Burlington, Vermont, has announced net income of $3.71 million and $8.68 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.61 and $1.42, for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009, respectively. This compares with net income of $3.31 million and $8.85 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.55 and $1.46, for the third quarter and first nine months of the previous year, respectively.
The return on average assets for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009 was 1.07% and 0.85%, respectively, compared to

Commuters and residents traveling between Addison County and New York now have several options for getting to and from their workplace or residence. All public transportation services are now free, minimizing the financial impact for many workers and employers. However, long travel times still exist for many. Below is a summary of the services currently in operation. More details and links to schedules are available at the website the Addison County Chamber of Commerce is maintaining: www.crownpointbridgeupdates.com
FERRY SERVICES

Fort Ticonderoga Ferry: Connecting Shoreham, VT and Ticonderoga, NY

Free service as of 10/27/09
Extended hours from 6 am to 8 pm

Lake Champlain Ferry: Connecting Charlotte, VT and Essex, NY

Redevelopment of Burlington’s Banknorth Block, which is planned to be complete with the plan for addition of a 125-room hotel, 36-unit apartment building, and 238 space parking garage in the mid-block, has received Housing Endorsement from the Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative.
“This project received a high score from our review committee,” said Smart Growth Vermont Executive Director Noelle MacKay, “due to its mixture of housing types, integration of a mixture of uses, proximity to key services, access to transportation options and infill development of a key city block.”

Senator Patrick Leahy and the Vermont Congressional Delegation – Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) -- announced Thursday that the Secretary of the Air Force has selected the Vermont National Guard in Burlington as one of 10 final candidates to base the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Air Force conducted a system-wide review of more than 200 locations before selecting Burlington and nine other bases as finalists for either the training or primary operations of the F-35.

The state has awarded more than $1.3 million to the City of Burlington to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes and convert a New North End building into affordable housing. In a ceremony at City Hall, Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie presented the $1,330,600 Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant, funded by the federal government in response to the mortgage foreclosure crisis that gripped the country last year, to city officials.
“This money will help create new housing as well as preserve much-needed affordable housing,” Dubie said. “And it will help the economy in the short-term by creating jobs for local contractors and others.”

Regulations published today by the US Small Business Administration will create a secondary market guarantee program to provide greater liquidity for lenders and expand access to capital for small businesses.
Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the new program would encourage sales into the secondary market of the “first mortgage” portion of small business financing made possible through the SBA’s 504 Certified Development Company (CDC) program. As a result of the economic recession and the disruption in the credit markets, there has been a significant decline in secondary market activity for 504 first mortgage loans.

A multimillion dollar factory in Barre Town that will produce components for electric and hybrid cars and a blighted public housing project in Rutland were among the winners of $3.6 million in grants awarded by the state of Vermont Wednesday. At a ceremony at the Forest Park housing complex, which is receiving $750,000 for rehabilitation, Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie announced Vermont Community Development Program grants to 10 Vermont communities.
“Projects like this will help Vermont emerge from the current national economic challenge with a stronger and more resilient economy, and with improved infrastructure and housing,” Dubie said.
The money will be granted to the City of Rutland, then loaned to Housing Vermont and the Rutland Housing Authority for the first phase of the revitalization of the Forest Park housing complex, a nearly $8 million project.

There were 1,224 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 1190 from the week before as filings continue their upward trend. The September Vermont unemployment rate is 6.7 percent, down one-tenth from August. However, economists believe that it will rise to over 7 percent by the end of this year. The current US rate is 9.7 percent. Altogether 9,981 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 410 from a week ago and 3,076 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 4,746 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 23 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,171 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 96 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/.

With a nip in the air, Central Vermont Public Service today kicked off the annual CVPS Shareheat fund drive to provide emergency fuel assistance to Vermonters in need.
“While fuel prices are down, unemployment figures give us great pause as we begin the heating season,” CVPS President Bob Young said. “It’s critical that Shareheat, a vital bridge for many families, continue to be available to those in need.”
Thanks to CVPS shareholders and other business supporters, CVPS Shareheat will match contributions from the public dollar for dollar up to $140,700 this winter.
CVPS shareholders will provide $100,000 to Shareheat, and through the Shareheat Business Partnership Program, other Vermont businesses added $40,700 to the matching pool. The funds will be used to match contributions from customers and donated to local community action agencies to help Vermonters in need.

Vermont Public Radio met its October membership drive goal on Monday morning, surpassing its goal of $600,000. As a result, Chittenden Bank, which agreed to make a donation to the CVPS Shareheat and Warmth programs for every pledge to VPR, will donate about $25,000 to help keep families in crisis warm this winter.
I want to thank all of our generous listeners who help make Vermont Public Radio one of the strongest and most successful in the country, said VPR President Robin Turnau. The success of this drive sends an incredibly positive message about the power of public radio and our listeners tremendous sense of community.

Central Vermont Public Service will receive over $31 million in federal stimulus funds to aid in the implementation of CVPS SmartPower, the company s smart grid customer service and reliability program. The U.S. Department of Energy announced the funding as part of a statewide grant today.
This grant will allow CVPS to conduct ground-breaking pilot programs that will benefit not only Vermont, but potentially the country, CVPS President Bob Young said. The success of this statewide grant is testament to the cooperation of Vermont s utilities, all three of our congressional offices, the governor, the Department of Public Service and the state stimulus office.