Current News

National Life Insurance Company (National Life) headquartered in Montpelier, Vermont, today announced that it has completed a $200 million surplus note offering.
“We are very pleased with the completion of this surplus note offering,” said Mehran Assadi, president and chief executive officer of National Life Group, the parent company of National Life Insurance Company.
“The capital raised in this offering will help us finance our current strong sales growth and broaden our options for future growth,” said Assadi.
“I believe the success of this sale speaks highly about our financial strength and the confidence of the market in our company,” he said.
The National Life note will mature in 2039.
About National Life Group - www.nationallife.com ~ www.facebook.com/nationallife

USDA Rural Development has selected 35 Vermont businesses to receive $2,364,617 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) energy efficiency and energy improvement grants and loan guarantees. Twenty-two businesses were announced today, by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and are the final selections for the REAP funds this fiscal year.
USDA Rural Development recognizes the importance of renewable energy and energy efficiency. said Rhonda Shippee, Acting State Director. We look forward to continued success in funding similar projects-- helping finance projects that are good for the economy and good for the bottom line of the participating Vermont businesses.
Recipients will use their awards for a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy purposes. These awards will additional small wind, solar electric generation and lighting improvement projects to USDA Rural Developments energy program portfolio.

At the end of August, 2009, over 80,000 Vermonters were participating in 3SquaresVT (formerly Food Stamps). That is more than 1 in 8 Vermonters. Collectively, this brought in about 10 million Federal dollars to Vermont’s grocery stores and farmers’ markets in the month of August. Angela Smith-Dieng, Senior 3SquaresVT/Food Stamp Nutrition Program & Policy Specialist at the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger says, “A year ago, in August 2008 there were 57,672 Vermonters receiving 3SquaresVT benefits. Participation has increased by 40 percent in the past year. We believe this is due to the downturn in the economy and the fact that more Vermonters are struggling to put food on the table as well as the expansion of eligibility that began in January. More Vermonters than ever now qualify and there is no limit on the number of Vermonters who can participate.”

Efficiency Vermont is providing 15,000 60-, 75- and 100-watt equivalent compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to the Vermont Foodbank, the state’s largest hunger-relief organization. The bulbs will be distributed to needy Vermonters through the Foodbank’s network of 270 sites located in all 14 counties of the state.
The CFL distribution program kicks off during Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort in September to motivate local action to end hunger. In Vermont, the number of families seeking assistance from the Vermont Foodbank has risen 35-40 percent in the last 10 months.
“We’re thrilled to support the Vermont Foodbank in its efforts to fight hunger in Vermont,” said Michael Russom, efficient products manager at Efficiency Vermont. “For every CFL that’s used, needy Vermonters will save money on their energy bills, which gives them more money to buy the food they need.”

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack recently announced that USDA has selected three Vermont organizations to receive $2.0 million in loans to spur economic development. Recipients have been selected for Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) loans that capitalize long term community-based revolving loan funds. These funds, in combination with bank loans, and business equity are often the final component of a business’ financing needs. The program purpose is to create or retain jobs by starting or expanding businesses.

High Mowing Organic Seeds, a mail-order organic seed company based in Wolcott, Vermont, announced today that it has won its nearly 20 month lawsuit against the USDA for the premature deregulation of Monsanto’s genetically engineered sugar beets. Additional plaintiffs include the Center for Food Safety, Organic Seed Alliance and the Sierra Club and were represented in addition, by Earth Justice attorneys. The groups filed the lawsuit in January 2008.

Energy efficiency remains America's cheapest, cleanest, and fastest energy source for five years running. That's the conclusion of a new study that shows that the utility cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy efficiency has held steady or even slightly declined at about 2.5 cents over the last half decade, even as the costs for new coal, nuclear, and other supply-side energy alternatives have risen.
Titled Saving Energy Cost-Effectively: A National Review of the Cost of Energy Saved Through Utility-Sector Energy Efficiency Programs, the new analysis from the nonprofit and independent American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) updates the organization's widely cited benchmark research of 2004 showing that the average cost of delivering energy efficiency programs in the U.S. was then 3 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Southern Vermont College will dedicate on Saturday its newest addition to campus, the 41,000 square foot Hunter Hall, which includes living space for more than 110 additional students as well as a high tech Simulation Laboratory and a Science Laboratory for student learning, office and conference space, computer lab and Wellness Center. The SVC community has invited the public to join students, trustees, faculty and staff, public officials, major donors, and contractors for a special dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony, at 11 am in the Greenberg Atrium of Hunter Hall. The event will be followed by a reception and tours.
“Southern Vermont College is very proud of this beautiful new addition,” said President Karen Gross, who remarked that it is the first major building the school has built in 17 years. “This is a multi-purpose structure that personifies all the possibilities a career launching education at SVC offers.”

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.