Current News

Week Ending April 25, 2009. There were 1,501 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, a decrease of 97 from the week before. Altogether 18,430 new and continuing claims were filed, 561 less than a week ago and 7,397 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 2,122 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 52 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,299 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program which is an increase of 39 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc.

The Vermont Farm Viability Program announced today $40,000 in grant awards to meat processing facilities in Troy, Randolph, Barre and Enosburg. The grants are the first round of a new funding opportunity for agriculture-related businesses, established to develop and invest in agricultural infrastructure and to improve the viability of agriculture-related businesses. Two subsequent rounds of grant funding will be announced later this year and in 2010. Eleven processors with combined requests of $183,600 applied for $40,000 of available funding. The grant funds are supplied by a private foundation.

The National Ski Areas Association announced on Tuesday that Sugarbush Resort has won the Association s top honor for guest service. The Best Overall Guest Service Program award is given to the resort with the best guest service program in the country. Resorts are categorized by visitation numbers. The prize is in recognition of Sugarbush s SugarTube initiative, an interactive video sharing function that it unveiled on sugarbush.com this past season.
Said Andy Hawk, the marketing director of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and a judge for this year s competition, The SugarTube program not only allows for guests to share their experiences with friends and family, but it also provides a natural extension of on-mountain programs such as ski and snowboard lessons. SugarTube also gives parents the chance to see first-hand the experience their kids had on the hill. SugarTube is guest centered all the way!

Two new start-ups, as well as a UVM technology license agreement, were announced Tuesday at the Center for Emerging Technologies' 4th annual Invention to Venture (I2V) Conference at UVM s Davis Center.
Governor Douglas was joined by Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie to announce the new Technology License between UVM and Swanton's Leader Evaporator to manufacture and distribute a unique Maple Spout Adapter. The Maple Spout Adapter was developed by Timothy Perkins, Director of UVM s Proctor Maple Research Center.

The New England Culinary Institute s Board of Directors announced today that it has approved recommendations proposed by the school s administration to unify campuses to its Montpelier location, while at the same time expand both the scope of NECI s educational offerings and the options for delivery of those programs to students.
Moving the school s residential students into a single campus location (the school currently has operations in both Montpelier and at The Essex, formerly the Inn at Essex in Essex ) will allow NECI to achieve both the financial benefits of unification as well as related educational, creative and operational synergies, school officials said.

In light of the current threat of swine influenza in Mexico and certain US states, the Vermont Chamber Hospitality Council is urging Vermont s tourism industry to remain alert to the symptoms of the flu, while realizing that health officials are taking all necessary steps to help treat those individuals and contain the disease before it spreads. Of the 64 cases identified nationwide, there have been no deaths reported from this influenza strain in Vermont or the US.
Of course, Vermont s businesses should ensure a high level of sanitation at all times, and implement strategies and precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of employees and guests.

US Rep. Peter Welch announced Tuesday he will seek an amendment to the Credit Cardholder s Bill of Rights that would cap credit card interest rates at 18 percent. Welch announced the amendment at a Capitol Hill press conference Tuesday morning alongside two cosponsors, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Rep. John Tierney (D-MA). The Credit Cardholder s Bill of Rights is expected to be voted on in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The Welch-Hinchey amendment would impose an 18 percent interest rate cap on credit cards issued by for-profit financial institutions similar to the 15 percent cap that currently exists at every federal credit union in the country. The amendment has a mechanism comparable to one used by the National Credit Union Administration for credit unions that allows the Federal Reserve to authorize higher interest rates if it determines that the rate cap would threaten the safety and soundness of card-issuing institutions.

University of Vermont College of Medicine Dean Frederick C. Morin, M.D., has announced that following a national search, William B. Jeffries, Ph.D., has accepted the position of Senior Associate Dean for Education. Dr. Jeffries will assume this role on August 1, 2009, and will relocate to Vermont from Omaha, Nebraska, where he is the Associate Dean for Medical Education and Director of Academic Computing at Creighton University School of Medicine.

The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) has approved $8 million in financing to support economic development projects totaling $20 million throughout the state.
In this round of financing approvals, VEDA is pleased to help a number of Vermont businesses in their growth plans through direct lending, or by insuring working capital loans provided by local commercial lenders, said the Authority s Chief Executive Officer Jo Bradley. Also, several agricultural, educational, small business and energy conservation projects are receiving VEDA financing.
Approved for financing are:

David Hale, a St. Johnsbury native, is one of the world’s leading economic consultants, with clients in the US, UK, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, and China, where he is chair of China OnLine. This is the sixth time that the Ethan Allen Institute has had the pleasure of presenting David Hale to the Vermont business and finance community and the general public, in what we hope will be the beginning of a series of such programs at the Sheraton Burlington.
As part of the Sheraton Program on the Economy, Hale's presentation is entitled: "Crawling out of Recession? America's Next Two Years"
It will be held Thursday, May 28, 2009 at the Diamond Ballroom - Sheraton Burlington. There will be a social (half) hour at 5 pm, and the program will commence at 5:30. Along with the Ethan Allen Institute, this program is co-sponsored with the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Economic Newsletter, and Vermont Business Magazine.

Rep. Peter Welch announced a $166,000 federal grant for the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center Monday at a Burlington press conference with Mayor Bob Kiss.
The grant secured by Welch will support Burlington s transformation of the Gosse Court Armory into a multi-use community center with a gym, a community room, a teen center and other public space. The $1.2 million project also received funding from the City of Burlington, private donors and developer Robert Miller.
Managed by the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department, the Center coordinates programs and recreational opportunities for people of all ages. Since its opening in January, the Miller Center has attracted roughly 6,600 visits by residents each month.

The EPA is moving forward with modifications to part of the underwater cap at the Pine Street Canal Superfund Site in Burlington, Vermont. The portion of the cap that was installed several years ago will be repaired and improved. In 2006, EPA performed a Five Year Review of work previously performed at the Burlington site and found that some portions of the cap were leaking oil and coal tar. The EPA and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation will oversee the cap modification work.
The 2003 2004 cleanup of the Pine Street Canal has largely been effective in preventing contamination from migrating into the canal, but oily sheens and globules of coal tar have been observed periodically in a 450 foot-long portion of the canal since 2005. Absorbent booms have been placed across the canal as an interim measure to prevent the contamination from entering Lake Champlain.