Current News

State officials are hinting that the revised revenue expectations for the current fiscal year (FY 2010) will be downgraded when the Vermont Emergency Board meets Thursday with the economists representing the Douglas Administration and the Legislature. Already Speaker of the House Smith is asking legislators to look at efficiencies to save upwards of $30 million this fiscal year, while Administration Secretary Lunderville is looking at saving $15 million to $30 million by holding back payments to departments an average of 2 percent (the range he said would be 0-3 percent). Legislators have suggested that the administration cannot do that because it would become a de facto budget cut, which would require legislative approval first. Legislators were also skeptical that more efficiencies could be found given the difficult task of cutting the budget in the first place.

Onion River Co-op Board of Directors announced the ratification of a one-year labor contract between the Co-op and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Union representing the Co-op’s hourly employees.
Through thoughtful and diligent negotiations, the Co-op was able to maintain fully paid single medical coverage for all full-time employees which affect the majority of City Market employees. For part-time employees, 65% of the single medical premium is paid. The Co-op medical benefits exceed those offered by competitors and other area employers according to the 2008 Hickok & Boardman benefits survey. The Co-op also plans to provide a three percent wage increase to employees and profit sharing based on quarterly sales growth.

The Woodstock (Vermont) Farmers Market has been selected Retailer of the Year by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, a major trade association of the food industry. The honorees include 4 other markets nationwide and range from a major specialty supermarket chain in St. Louis to a family owned six-store specialty food chain in Eastern Virginia. The Woodstock Farmers Market has been serving fresh meats, seafood, produce and specialty groceries, along with take-away breakfast lunch and dinner at its single store location for over 17 years.

Today the Vermont Department of Public Service filed a Show Cause Petition with the Public Service Board, requesting an investigation to determine if FairPoint Communications is capable of continuing its telecommunications in the state. At stake is the company s Certificate of Public Good , or CPG which is their license to conduct business as a regulated utility in the state. The request for a Show Cause investigation is intended to determine if the company is capable of recovering from its current situation and continuing to conduct business in the state.

Prices for construction materials inched up 1.0 percent in June 2009, according to the July 14 producer price index (PPI) report by the U.S. Labor Department. Still, prices are down 6.1 percent from June 2008.

Testifying before a House Agriculture subcommittee Tuesday morning, Rep. Peter Welch sounded the alarm that Vermont s dairy industry is on the brink of collapse. Welch called on the subcommittee to take immediate action to save Vermont s family farms while working on a long-term solution to the persistent problem of severe price volatility.
Welch was invited to testify before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry about the growing dairy crisis in Vermont. Welch spoke about the hardship facing Vermonters in the industry including family farmers Bob and Beth Kennett of Rochester and feed dealer Art Whitman of North Bennington.

Union Bank s Duwella Stewart was honored by the Vermont Bankers Association for her 50 years of service in local banking with Union Bank. During her tenure at the Bank, she has served as Personal Banker, Teller, Special Project Supervisor (Union Bank Calendars), Bookkeeper, Proof Operator and more. She has also been involved in the Bank s local fund raising initiatives, including the Lamoille Area Cancer Network, the March of Dimes and many others.
Duwella s knowledge and experience in our community and within Union Bank is remarkable, states Ken Gibbons, Union Bank President. We are pleased that the Vermont Bankers Association has recognized Duwella s ongoing contribution to community and local banking.
Ms. Stewart resides in Morrisville.

Mack Molding Co. is today announcing the formation of its medical products group, which the company is branding MackMedical. Located at Mack’s headquarters in Arlington, Vt., MackMedical is a focused group of staff --product development, program management, quality, regulatory, document control, purchasing, sales and production -- that is skilled in medical manufacturing. They manage all medical accounts, from upfront engineering through final manufacturing and distribution.
“We have been aggressively developing the medical manufacturing sector of our business for the past nine years by refining quality and supply management systems, hiring specialized staff, and adding new technology,” says Jeff Somple, president of Mack Molding’s Northern Division.

For the second year in a row, GE Volunteers have donated $2,000 to the Starbase Vermont youth program to help teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to elementary school students in Vermont. Starbase offers students in grades 4 through 6 an exciting activity-based curriculum conducted over 5 days (25 hours) with a goal to inspire students in STEM fields. The Starbase program typically occurs over a 5-week period and it is free of charge.
"GE has been tremendously supportive," said Doug Gilman, State Director of Starbase Vermont. "In addition to the funds donated by GE Volunteers, over the last two years the Rutland GE Employees Community Concerns Fund has donated $2,000 to our cause. With support from our community partners, we are able to serve about 1,500 Vermont students every year."

The Vermont Agency of Transportation has announced the submission of two preliminary applications for federal stimulus money to fund $125.6 million in rail-bed upgrades. If approved, the upgrade projects would enable faster and expanded passenger train service across the state.
The first application seeks $50.9 million to improve the rail line running from Swanton to Massachusetts through Essex and White River Junction, with the objective of increasing passenger train speeds to 59 mph, or even 79 mph through certain sections.
The second application seeks $36 million to repair tracks between Burlington and Rutland and $38.7 million to upgrade the tracks south to Bennington and west to Hoosick, NY - also with the goal of allowing trains to travel at 59 mph.

Rep. Peter Welch unveiled legislation Monday morning aimed at freeing up credit to small businesses by expanding a successful Small Business Administration loan program. At Burlington s Chittenden Bank, Welch and members of Vermont s business and banking communities outlined details of Welch s bill, which is intended to bolster the popular SBA Express Loan Program. By increasing the SBA Express program s current cap of $350,000 to $2 million, the legislation would significantly increase access to credit for Vermont s small businesses. Welch will introduce his bill in the House this week.
Small business owners throughout Vermont have struggled since the start of the current economic crisis with securing and retaining lines of credit. At a small business roundtable in Bennington last month, business owners told Welch that the tight credit environment was the single greatest difficulty they faced in expanding their businesses.

Governor Jim Douglas today announced that The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) will award more than $10 million in Federal Economic Stimulus funds to improve roadways, sidewalks, bridges and other transportation infrastructure owned by 30 Vermont municipalities and non profits. The money will be distributed in three ways: 10 communities will receive paving grants ranging from $300,000 to $750,000, eight communities or non profits will receive transportation enhancement grants ranging from $52,000 to $240,000, while the Vermont Agency of Transportation will expend up to $5 million in Stimulus funds to repair 12 structurally deficient town highway bridges.