Current News

Following on the sale of its Northern New England landline business last year, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) announced today that it has agreed to sell most of the rest of its rural telephone services to Frontier Communications (NYSE:FTR) in a $3.5 billion stock deal. The deal incolves customers from Oregon to North Carolina. Verizon wants to focus its landline business in California and the metro Northeast. Last year, Verizon and FairPoint Communications finalized a $2.3 billion deal that divested Verizon of its Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine landline (wireline) business.
The move will further accelerate the company's focus on wireless, broadband and global IP, Verizon announced in a written statement. Verizon said it plans to divest its local wireline operations serving residential and small-business customers in predominantly rural areas in 14 states and that these operations will be acquired by Frontier Communications.

The state has given the Town of Milton a green light for its Tax Increment Financing District, a move that will allow the town to keep some of the property taxes generated by new development to fund infrastructure instead of sending them all to the state.
Recently the Vermont Economic Progress Council gave final approval to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District Plan after many hours of deliberation that included a meeting in Milton, public comment, and a tour of the town and the proposed TIF District.
This authorization will help the town of Milton undertake and pay for the necessary infrastructure improvements that will foster responsible economic and community development, said Karen Marshall, Chairwoman of VEPC.

Long-time WCAX-TV news director and anchor Marselis Div Parson is retiring, it was announced today, and former WCAX reporter Anson Tebbetts will rejoin the South Burlington television station and take over Parsons off-air duties. Tebbetts currently is deputy secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. Tebbetts will take over as news director, but will not be the regular news anchor.
Parsons, meanwhile, will remain as the 6 pm anchor through the summer. He has been with WCAX for 42 years. Parsons was named news director in 1984. Since 1967, he has been a reporter, anchor, program producer and now news director.

The Vermont Ski Museum is pleased to announce the 2009 Inductees into the Vermont Ski Museum Hall of Fame: Bill Beck, Erlon "Bucky" Broomhall, Suzy Chaffee, and Bobo Sheehan. The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to honor athletes, special contributors, and pioneers of Vermont skiing who promoted and/or contributed to the sport of skiing in Vermont; to document the histories of Inductees in the Museum's collection; and to recognize their accomplishments through the Induction ceremony and the Hall of Fame exhibit. This year's Induction ceremony will be on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at the Old Town Hall Theater in Middlebury, Vermont.

The Council on the Future of Vermont yesterday released its final report: Imagining Vermont: Values and Vision for the Future. The report was part of a two-year project undertaken by the Vermont Council on Rural Development. The report was presented at the "Summit on the Future of Vermont" held at the University of Vermont. The project was intended to find out what Vermonters wanted for their future. More than 3,900 people offered their input. The results of the survey are not surprising: affordable housing and health care of a high quality, a clean environment, green energy produced locally, community action, good schools and access to higher education, a range of career opportunities, bolstering the creative economy, and better public transportation. The report presents the data and draws conclusions, but does not offer solutions. A series of workshops starting this month will help develop an action plan.

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ UNB) has announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. The Company reported net Income of $1.27 million or $.28 per share compared to $1.41 million or $0.31 per share for the comparable period in 2008. The decrease in year over year net income is primarily due to increases in FDIC deposit insurance premiums of $123,000, pension plan expense of $145,000 reflecting a decline in the market value of pension plan assets under mark to market accounting and the receipt during the first quarter of 2008 of a $184,000 rehabilitation federal tax credit for one of the Company s low income housing partnership investments. These changes were partially offset by increased noninterest income during the first quarter of 2009, mainly due to the refinancing and sales of residential mortgages.

On May 8, one Lyndon State College professor and two undergraduate students landed in Norman, OK, where they are part of what is being called the largest and most ambitious tornado study in history. The study is sponsored by the National Science Foundation with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Lyndon Professor Nolan Atkins and students (above at the Norman National Weather Center) Rachel Ducharme of Charlestown, R.I., and Tony McGee of Penacook, N.H., are responsible for photogrammetric measurements. This information will reveal the path of the tornado in question and what is in the debris trail. The study s goal is to increase the warn-time for tornadoes from about 13 minutes to several hours, so people in the storm s path have time to get out of the way.
Source: Lyndon State College

TD Banknorth recently surprised the Lawrence Barnes Elementary School in Burlington with a $5,000 donation through the TD Charitable Foundation, the bank's charitable giving arm. The funds were donated in celebration of National Library Week, April 12-18, and will help the school's library purchase new books and technology resources, and support existing library programs.
Phil Daniels, President of TD Banknorth in Vermont, delivered the good news to Principal Paula Bowen, teachers and their classes, and brought along a book to read to students about the importance of saving money.
TD Banknorth also made local $5,000 donations each to the Rutland Intermediate School in Rutland; the Bennington Elementary School in Bennington; and the Barton Graded School in Barton.

A Summit on the Future of Vermont is scheduled for May 11 (yesterday) at the University of Vermont. The summit is the final step in a nearly two year long effort by the Vermont Council on Rural Development to take the temperature of today s Vermont and plan for tomorrow s Vermont. VCRD created the Council on the Future of Vermont to accomplish this task. I was one of the members and truly enjoyed the opportunity to listen to Vermonters talk about Vermont. The Council heard from some 4,000 Vermonters in one form or another.
The experience reminded me of a comment by Supreme Court Justice Wendell Phillips Stafford when he spoke before the Commission on Country Life in 1931: It is always a perilous thing to let a Vermonter get started on the subject of Vermont.
If we learned one thing in our 18-month journey it was that Vermonters love Vermont and have some very strong feelings about their state.

Northfield Savings Bank (NSB) continued its strong financial performance in 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 as evidenced by asset growth, strong capitalization and consistent earnings.
Total assets at year end were $588 million, an increase of $25.5 million or 4.5% from 2007. Capital increased to $71.7 million on net income of $2.9 million. The Bank s capital remains more than twice the regulatory requirement to be considered well capitalized.
During the first quarter of 2009 a new milestone was reached as assets exceeded $600 million. Earnings for the quarter were $801,000.
NSB s performance remained strong in 2008 despite the banking turmoil and economic recession impacting the United States, and this trend continues in 2009, stated Thomas Pelletier, President and CEO. We believe the Bank s continued success is reflective of Vermonters commitment and confidence in local community banks.

Vermont s business community is comprised of a myriad of companies, both large and small that provide economic stability to the state. This community offers quality jobs, products and services to consumers in Vermont, the United States and world-wide and holds a strong grasp on employee well-being representative of the Vermont quality of life.
In an effort to recognize and honor Vermont s best companies, Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce created the Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award in 1990. Named for the former Governor of Vermont, this annual award honors a Vermont business that shows an outstanding history of sustained growth while displaying an acute awareness of what makes Vermont unique.

The Legislature finally adjourned late Saturday night after passing a $4.5 billion budget. Governor Douglas had urged lawmakers to reduce appropriations to ease the tax burden during this recession. Legislative leaders countered that the recession itself was leading to greater demand on state services because of unemployment and that state spending, much like the federal stimulus plan intends, could help support the economic activity.
The House passed the Fiscal Year 2010 budget on a 91-52 roll call vote. The Senate had passed it last Thursday on an 18-10 vote. If Douglas vetoes the bill, the Legislature would have to come back into session, probably in June ahead of the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.