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Vermont Secretary of State Deb Markowitz will present the 2009 Vermont Centennial Nonprofit Awards at the statehouse on Wednesday, September 23, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The award acknowledges Vermont’s oldest nonprofits for enriching the economic heritage and enhancing community life during the last century and beyond. This year 29 nonprofits will be honored. Special guest speaker is Governor Jim Douglas.
For more information about the 2009 Vermont Centennial Nonprofit Awards, visit the Secretary of State’s webpage at http://www.sec.state.vt.us/centennial_nonprofit.html
What: 2009 Vermont Centennial Nonprofit Awards
When: Wednesday, September 23, 3:30 p.m. – reception, 4:00 p.m. - ceremony
Where: Vermont Statehouse cafeteria

On Thursday, September 24, the marquee external signage on TD Banknorth's Burlington Regional Office at 111 Main Street will be removed to unveil the company's new signs bearing its new name, TD Bank, America s Most Convenient Bank. The change to the Burlington sign will begin a new chapter in the history of TD Banknorth and a renewed focus on convenient banking and award-winning customer service.
The sign change is just one of a total of 6,600 signs in 426 stores across New England and upstate New York that will change over the course of one weekend. TD Bank customers will have access to more than 1,000 locations from Maine to Florida and 2,700 free ATMs. The change to TD Bank will also offer customers longer hours and live customer service by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The Douglas Administration and the Vermont State Employees Union failed to reach agreement on a cost-savings plan last night. As a result, the state will begin the process of laying off 200 to 300 unionized workers. Some number of unfilled positions will also be eliminated in an effort by the administration to save $7.4 million in the current fiscal year (2010). It had appeared the two sides were close to a resolution over the weekend following the state's decision not to ask for actual pay cuts. Instead, both sides were using a combination of furlough days, unpaid holidays and the elimination of a wellness plan. However, the state, led by Administration Secretary Lunderville, insisted that the union had to pledge to find payroll savings for fiscal 2011 and 2012. The union did not want to tie its hands before a new, two-year contract was negotiated for those subsequent years.

US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), and US Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt) on Tuesday announced over $19 million in recovery funding for energy efficiency, weatherization and renewable energy programs in Vermont. The Department of Energy this week released the second half of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for two Vermont programs geared toward reducing the state’s energy use and creating jobs. Vermont’s State Energy Program received the remaining $11 million of $22 million allocated to Vermont. The state’s Weatherization Assistance Program received the final $8.4 million of the $16.8 million Vermont was due.

Statewide science assessment results for Spring 2009 were released by the Vermont Department of Education today. Fifty-two percent of Vermont fourth graders tested were proficient or higher in science, up four points from last year. In grade eight, 25 percent were proficient or higher, down one point. In grade 11, 27 percent were proficient or higher, up 2 points. The results are from the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) science exams, given to Vermont public school students for the second time in grades 4, 8 and 11 in May 2009.
“There is an obvious need for improvement in how our students are learning science,” said Commissioner Armando Vilaseca. “The wide range of results by individual school, from zero percent to 96 percent proficient, shows me that students are capable of achieving the standard, but they are not all receiving the standards-based science curriculum that we expect due to the varied delivery of curriculum in our school districts.”

CSC (NYSE: CSC) today announced the successful implementation of the first phase of Fletcher Allen Health Care's comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) system, PRISM (Patient Record and Information Systems Management), after a 15-month planning and implementation period. PRISM is now operational in the hospital's inpatient areas as well as the Emergency Department, Walk-In Care Center, and inpatient pharmacy. Fletcher Allen is now positioned to meet the regulatory requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Under ARRA, hospitals will receive monetary incentives if they demonstrate "meaningful use" of EHRs by 2011.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090422/CSCLOGO)

The Vermont Economic Development Authority has approved $3 million in financing to support Vermont business and agricultural development projects totaling $9.5 million, including to the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation and The Essex.
Investments in Vermont s agricultural economy represent a third of our lending this month, said Jo Bradley, VEDA s Chief Executive Officer. Additional investments in the travel and tourism sector of Vermont s economy were approved, and the Authority will assist in the financing of several small business, drinking water system, and energy conservation projects.
The Authority approved:

Individuals and families in Arizona, South Carolina and the Delta states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas lag behind the rest of the country in key aspects related to their financial stability, including measures of net worth, homeownership and housing affordability, business ownership, health insurance coverage and academic achievement. These states received an overall grade of "F" on the 2009-2010Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, which rates states not only on poverty and job figures, but also on a broad set of categories and measures related to sustained prosperity. The Scorecard was released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), a national economic nonprofit.

Plasan, of Bennington, Vermont, a global leader in survivability and combat-proven armor solutions for vehicles, airborne platforms and personal protection, today announced it has won yet another contract for the delivery of 352 armor kits for the US Army's MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) as sub-contractor to Oshkosh Defense. Today's increase follows earlier announcements of 3,000 unit increase in the $1.05 billion contract awarded by US Department of Defense to a team led by Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corporation to produce M-ATVs for deployment in Afghanistan.

Dealer.com, the global leader of online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, today announced it received two Automobile Standard of Excellence 2009 WebAwards from the Web Marketing Association. Dealer.com auto dealership clients Ed Voyles Acura and Flatirons Subaru were entered into the prestigious international competition that honors outstanding achievement in website development. More than 2,000 sites from 47 countries were entered in 96 industry categories during this year's competition. Entries were judged on design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use. This is the second consecutive year that Dealer.com has received the WebAwards Automobile Standard of Excellence.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said Saturday that the dairy crisis may make it easier to detect competition barriers that undermine prices paid to dairy farmers. Leahy, who chairs the U.S. Senate s Judiciary Committee, brought a field hearing to St. Albans to examine competition and consolidation in the Northeast dairy market. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Leahy in the questioning.
Leahy s long running concern about the concentration of economic power in U.S. agriculture in bigger and fewer corporations has intersected this year with the new Obama Administration s interest in reenergizing antitrust tools to protect consumers, farmers and smaller businesses. As witnesses, Leahy invited the newly installed chief of the Justice Department s Antitrust Division, the Department of Agriculture s Chief Economist, and Vermont dairy farmers with varying views and operations.

Nokian Tyres, Inc. has announced that its subsidiary, University Wholesalers, has purchased Maine Wholesale Tire, a Portland, Maine based tire distributor. The new entity will operate under the University Wholesalers name.
The operation gives us a much stronger presence in Maine and will enable us to improve levels of service to our dealers there and also in southern New Hampshire and eastern Massachusetts, said Jari Lepisto, General Manger Nokian Tyres, Inc.
One of the former owners of Maine Wholesale Tire will remain as management staff to ensure a smooth transition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About Nokian Tyres, Inc.