Current News

Four-term Vermont Governor James Douglas said today at a morning press conference that he will not seek re-election in 2010. He added that he does not intend to run for another political office. The unexpected news caught the state by surprise. The governor did not take questions, but said he would not be an "absentee landlord" for the duration of his term. The man known for his gentlemanly ways was famous for his political success as a Republican in what became a Democratic state and for his fabulous gift for remembering people's names.

The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) will receive $1.4 million in funding to spur development of affordable housing in Vermont, it was announced by to US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and US Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) on Wednesday .
The VHFA plans to use the grant, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), to provide sufficient equity funding to develop Blake Commons, a 16-unit, multi-family, affordable housing project in Swanton. Blake Commons is being developed in partnership with Housing Vermont and Champlain Housing Trust and will provide homes to families earning 50-60 percent of the area median income.

Vermont Technical College this week was named among the top 10 best public baccalaureate colleges in the North by U.S.News & World Report. In its 2010 “Best Colleges” issue, Vermont Tech placed seventh among the best public baccalaureate colleges in the North and 22nd among all northern colleges, up two notches from its number 24 ranking in 2009, and eight notches from its number 30 ranking in 2008.
U.S.News & World Report’s annual college rankings are widely anticipated, circulated and respected throughout the United States. There are 319 baccalaureate colleges ranked within four regions of the United States: North, South, Midwest, and West. Vermont Tech is one of just two Vermont colleges to make this year’s “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” list.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims fell by more than 100 claims last week, or 20 percent as seasonal labor needs have steadied. Claims in 2015 generally were lower than in 2014, but since the holiday season they have been generally running slightly ahead of the prior year. The winter tourism hiring season was delayed by warm, wet weather until earlier this month. For the week of February 13, 2016, there were 531 claims, down 134 from the previous week's total and 17 more than they were a year ago. By industry, claims were mostly unchanged for most categories, but decreased by more than half for Manufacturing. 

Altogether 7,285 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 144 from a week ago, and 683 fewer than a year ago.

The Vermont Hospitality Council, the tourism division of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to announce the winners of the five highly anticipated Vermont Hospitality Awards.
This year’s recipients are:

Stantec is the second-fastest growing design firm in the country, according to The Zweig Letter s 2009 Hot Firm List, which identifies the 200 fastest-growing architecture, engineering, and environmental firms in the United States. The annual list recognizes Stantec, which has two offices in Vermont, as outperforming the economy and competitors.
The 2009 Hot Firm List is based on a comparison of gross revenue for both fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2008, as verified by financial statements or income tax returns reviewed by third parties. During this period Stantec s gross revenue increased 233 percent, from $194 million to $646.7 million.

US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday that USDA will establish a Dairy Advisory Committee and is requesting nominations to the committee. This committee will review key issues impacting the dairy industry and generate additional ideas about how USDA can help struggling producers.
I have been working jointly with my counterparts in New England and the Northeast including New York and Pennsylvania to encourage USDA to put a dairy advisory committee in place over the past few months, said Vermont agriculture secretary Roger Allbee. We are extremely pleased that he has taken this step.

Less than seven weeks after Eagle Publications and the Twin State Valley Media Network of Claremont, NH announced they were bankrupt - instantly closing the doors of the Eagle Times daily and the weekly Message for the Week, The Connecticut Valley Spectator and The Weekly Flea - most of the staff of The Message are now involved with a new paper, The Messenger.
The Messenger s 32-page first issue hit the streets on Tuesday, August 25.

Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, has been recognized as one of America's "Top Up-and-Coming Schools in U.S. News & World Report's newly released 2010 edition of "America's Best Colleges.
"Champlain has experienced tremendous transformation and innovation over the last decade, and these rankings recognize and reinforce our many successes," says David F. Finney, president of Champlain College. "The rankings also reflect the hard work of our faculty and staff as well as recognition by our peers for the cutting-edge approaches that have made us a national leader in professionally-focused education enhanced by a comprehensive and interdisciplinary core liberal arts curriculum."

The Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Advanced Digital Communications, Inc. for six alleged willful violations following an investigation of the company’s vehicles, equipment and safety procedures. VOSHA was notified of alleged safety hazards and sent a letter to the company with instructions to respond to the allegations and provide the corrective action taken to abate the safety hazards. Advanced Digital Communications’ response stated that the company corrected all alleged safety hazards. Further information from employees indicated that the hazards were not corrected and employees continued to be exposed to serious hazards during the workday. Based on this information VOSHA conducted an inspection of their Vermont Worksite.

Vermont students posted a strong showing on the 2009 College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams and Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT), as well as the 2009 ACT exam, the Department of Education announced today. The results of the SAT showed that scores dropped, most notably in math, but were still well above national averages. The ACT scores rose by two points and Vermont now ranks fourth in the nation for that test.
The AP program offers high school students college-level courses in a variety of subject areas. In all, 3,495 Vermont students participated in the AP program (up 4.2 percent from 2008) and took 5,752 AP exams (up 5.2 percent from last year). According to College Board, Vermont leads the nation in the five year-increase in AP scores.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) has ranked 11th on Fortune s annual list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. The Waterbury-based company was the highest-ranked consumer package goods company on the list, which includes profitable, publicly-held companies with at least $50 million in annual revenue. For the first time, the list includes global companies that trade on a U.S. exchange and file quarterly reports. Companies are judged on revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and three-year annualized total return to investors. Last month, GMCR reported outstanding top and bottom line growth for its third quarter results, with 61% increase in net sales and 123% increase in net income over the same quarter last year.