Current News

Vermont Lt. Governor Brian Dubie was on hand in Kourou, French Guiana, yesterday where Terrestar Networks launched the world s largest commercial satellite from Arianespace s Guiana Space Center at midday. A pilot project to test the revolutionary, 4G technology on board the $300 million communications satellite has been planned since 2007 to take place in Vermont s Northeast Kingdom.
To view the launch of TerreStar-1,click here for LAUNCH. Or see longer news video below.
Dubie said in a written statement: As chair of the Governor s Homeland Security Advisory Council, I know how important wireless mobile communications capability is especially in times of disaster, when land-based networks might experience widespread failure. TerreStar s 4G technology is absolutely dazzling. But we are in the business of helping people, and what s important is that this technology will help us keep Vermonters safe and serve them in times of need.

Commissioner Paulette Thabault of the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration(BISHCA) released today the 2009 Health Resource Allocation Plan (“the HRAP”), a comprehensive document that supports Vermont’s most important health policy goals. Among those goals are: enhancing chronic care management, promoting wellness, achieving cost effective care, and the integration of mental health and substance abuse services with other health services. The HRAP incorporates a diverse group of professional and consumer perspectives on Vermont’s health care system.

A Bennington, Vermont, defense contractor is part of a billion-dollar US Military contract to build more armored vehicles for use in Afghanistan. The Plasan North America plant is expected to hire 200 workers to fulfill the contract, while the deal could also generate another 100 new jobs with subcontractors in the region.

In the last six months MyWebGrocer s customer reach has grown 40%, to 3.8 million monthly grocery shoppers. This expanded consumer demand has seen a matching growth in CPG programs running on the network. To meet this demand, MyWebGrocer s advertising team has promoted Helen Earling to lead an expanding Midwest team.
Helen Earling joined the MyWebGrocer team in October 2007 with a decade of industry knowledge and experience. Her continued success and leadership has lead to her recent promotion to Senior Vice President of Western Ad Sales. Earling has been instrumental in helping MyWebGrocer s key Midwest advertisers, Kellogg's and General Mills.
Helen has been a driving force in MyWebGrocer s continued success and I m excited about her building out an expanded team in Minnesota to better serve our Western customers. Alec Newcomb, Vice President, MyWebGrocer.

Chroma Technology Corp, an employee-owned company, announced today the launch of a new, wholly-owned subsidiary. 89 North, located in Burlington, VT, will leverage resources from the area including the University of Vermont and the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies to develop innovative products for the life science imaging market. Their initial focus will be on high-power light sources for fluorescence imaging, and they will immediately take over sales and support for the Photofluor II, Chroma s metal halide-based light source.

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a $10 million contract extension by U.S. Army TACOM-ARDEC for the production of MK19 grenade machine guns. Deliveries are expected to begin in April 2010and will be completed in July 2012. This award brings the total contract value to date to over $67 million.
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 high lethality and broad versatility gives the U.S. Armed Forces an essential weapon for use in both offensive and defensive operations."

Sen. Bernie Sanders called today for a new Financial Product Safety Commission to protect consumers from abusive lenders and also announced a $130,000 federal grant to improve financial literacy for young people in Vermont.
Sanders (I-Vt.) was joined at the press conference by Joseph G. Bergeron, president of the Association of Vermont Credit Unions, which will work with local business leaders, educators and volunteers, to teach middle and high school students the importance of financial literacy.
“If there is anything that the current financial crisis has taught us it is that we have a responsibility to provide young Vermonters with the tools and the education they need to make sound financial decisions later in life,” Sanders said. “It is critical that we teach kids how to balance a checkbook, save money, qualify for a mortgage, and understand that if they take out a loan there is no such thing as free and easy money.”

Motor vehicle drivers in the 13 states that have adopted California's Clean Car Standards approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would save hundreds of dollars annually at the gas pump while reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gases, according to a report issued today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The states -- Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland,Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington-- represent approximately one quarter of the U.S. vehicle fleet and vehicle miles traveled.
"Cleaner cars are a trifecta that will save families money at the gas pump, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and cut global warming pollution from tailpipes," said James Fine, economist and policy scientist at Environmental Defense Fund.

Governor Jim Douglas was recently named one of the nation s top ten Greenest Governors by Greenopia, an online directory of eco-friendly retailers, services, and organizations. The Governor was recognized on the site for undertaking several programs to make Vermont greener. These include the Clean and Clear Water Action Plan, Biofuel initiatives, and programs aimed at making the state government greener. Vermont also has tax incentives in place to help consumers and businesses go green. Greenopia goes on to report that, Vermont has always been on the forefront of environmental legislation and its Governor, Jim Douglas is no exception.
It s an honor receive this recognition, said Governor Douglas. As the greenest state in the country, Vermont is leading the nation when it comes to setting environmental standards. I believe it is important that we do all we can to keep the Green Mountains green.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch Tuesday announced that three Vermont nonprofit organizations together will receive $6 million – a hefty share of the national funding total – to spur community development and ease consumer credit as further steps on the path to economic recovery.
The funds, released through the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program, were included in this year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act under provisions promoted by Leahy. The Vermont Community Loan Fund of Montpelier, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont of West Rutland and Opportunities Credit Union of Burlington each are receiving $2 million federal grants to fund a small business loan program, expand mortgage products to first-time homebuyers and offer consumers additional credit resources.

New England Medical Systems of Essex Junction with the support of Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs of Williston, VT has recently been awarded a Federal Supply Schedule Contract through the Department of Veterans Affairs National Acquisition Center to sell medical equipment to Federal, state and local government agencies.
The awarded contract is a multi-year contract for 5 years, with the option to extend for an additional 5 years. This contract will provide New England Medical Systems a strong competitive advantage to sell mobility systems and medical equipment to Federal, state and local agencies. This contract will provide New England Medical Systems with access to facilities that in the past have been hard for small businesses reach.

The Community College of Vermont has been chosen to join Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, a national initiative to help community college students. As a new member of Achieving the Dream, CCV has made a two-year commitment to closing performance gaps among students in targeted populations.
Achieving the Dream is a long-term national initiative dedicated to improving student success rates. CCV is one of 20 community colleges in seven states to join the initiative. With the addition of CCV and other colleges, Achieving the Dream now includes 102 institutions 98 colleges and four universities across 22 states.
We are thrilled that CCV has been selected to participate in such a critical ground-level effort to help students succeed, said CCV President Joyce Judy. We realize that providing access to college is not enough: we need to help students be successful in college.