Current News

Pan Am Railways (PAR) and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) have received governmental approvals for their proposed Pan Am Southern joint venture, clearing the way for more than $87 million in rail infrastructure investment designed to significantly enhance the service capabilities and commercial offerings that NS and PAR provide in upstate New York and New England. The US Surface Transportation Board's approval of the joint venture will become effective as of 12:01 a.m. (EDT), April 9, 2009. Pan Am Southern is expected to commence operation on or about May 1, 2009.

Liz Lovely, Inc. received national exposure when company co-founders Liz and Dan Holtz were featured on The Story, a nationally syndicated program on National Public Radio, on Thursday, March 5th. The show was one in an on-going series called What s Working? Who s Working? that focuses on people and companies that are thriving despite the downturn in the economy.
During the 30-minute interview, host Dick Gordon cited pundits who have said survival is the measure of success in 2009. Liz responded, People are saying that to us this year and we re thinking, that was our story last year. Liz and Dan elaborated to listeners on how they turned their embattled business around in 2008 despite a failed West Coast expansion and unserviceable debts for new equipment.

Oklahoma leads the nation in the percentage of households with cell phones only, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than a quarter of households (26.2 percent) in Oklahoma had only wireless and no landline phones in 2007. On the other end of the spectrum, only 5.1 percent of households in Vermont were wireless-only in 2007.
The report from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, "Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January-December 2007," is the latest report on wireless substitution in the United States.
"These findings are important to CDC because many of our largest surveys are done on calls to landline phone numbers. All of those adults with only cell phones are being missed in these surveys," said Stephen J. Blumberg, health scientist with CDC's National Center for Health Statistics and lead author of the study.

Week Ending March 07, 2009. There were 1,633 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 90 from the week before. Altogether 18,277 new and continuing claims were filed, 22 more than a week ago and 7,250 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 1,857 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 947 less than a week ago. In addition, there were 983 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program which is an increase of 85 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.

Vermont s largest electric company has won the industry s highest honor for storm recovery for the second time.
CVPS President Bob Young today was presented the Edison Electric Institute s 2008 Emergency Recovery Award for the company s response to an historic ice storm in December. The company s preemptive planning led to the restoration of service to more than 70 percent of affected customers after just one day, and complete restoration within a week. CVPS is the smallest company to ever receive the honor which it won for the second straight year.
This is a tribute to the selflessness of our employees, the quality of our planning and the urgency of our response, Young said. After we won the award for our response to the 2007 Nor icane, we never expected to face such devastation again, but December s ice storm brought tremendous challenges.

The Burlington Business Association (BBA) has announced this year s winners for their prestigious awards that honor significant contributions to Burlington. Each year the BBA s Board of Directors and its members nominate and select the winners.
The Hall Block at 210 College St. Burlington will receive the 2008 Architectural Excellence Award in honor of Hertzel N. Pasackow for its significant contribution to the physical and architectural quality of Burlington. The project consists of a historical renovation of the Hall Block, a five story, Class A, multi-tenant office and retail building located at 210 College St. in downtown Burlington.
SKIRACK will receive the 2008 Burlington Business Award for exemplary business practices, contributions to the community, promotion of a positive image for Burlington, and business success. The Burlington Business Award was established in 2002, originally as the Small Business Award.

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2009 was 6.8 percent, up nine-tenths of a point from the revised December rate and up 2.5 points from a year ago. The unadjusted rate was 7.6 percent.
The fourth quarter declines in Vermont s job market continued into January, said Patricia Moulton Powden, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor. Though we are relatively better off than the US economy as a whole we continue to see significant increases in unemployment.
Job Growth

Heritage Flight, a Burlington-based air charter operator, has established a Bedford, Massachusetts based pricing option to serve Boston and the surrounding area.
Heritage Flight has been in business since 1984. Boston area residents will enjoy access to a King Air C90B aircraft for their business and personal use, which creates an opportunity for them to be in charge of their own plans. Customers can create their own itinerary and fly anywhere in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic regions with no hassles and no connections. Focusing on the heart of business and personal travel, Heritage Flight provides the experience and excitement of creating time by eliminating travel barriers.
In addition to serving major airports the King Air C90B has a great short field capability which allows access to the many smaller airports that may be closer to the final destination and once again - save time.

Guide will connect taxpayers, businesses, non-profits and municipalities to funding opportunities and tax credits
WASHINGTON, DC Rep. Peter Welch released a guide to opportunities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for Vermont taxpayers, businesses, non-profits and municipalities Tuesday.
The User s Guide to Economic Recovery Resources breaks down the $787 billion stimulus package by category into funding opportunities and tax credits. The document also lists contact information for federal and state programs receiving funding through the stimulus. Vermont is expected to receive more than $700 million through the ARRA.

Governor Douglas will present the town of Middlebury with a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant which will help bring more healthcare to low-income residents. The event will be held Wednesday, March 11, at 8:15 am at the future site of the Addison County Dental Center at 32 Merchants Row in Middlebury.

National Life Group today announced its financial results for 2008, highlighted by overall sales growth of 53 percent.
Mehran Assadi, president and chief executive officer, said that in 2008 annuity sales increased 41 percent, life sales were up 16 percent, and sales of mutual funds through Sentinel Investments jumped 115 percent.
These are exceptional results, said Assadi. This is a remarkable endorsement of the value of our products, the success of our strategy and the power of the National Life story.
For 160 years we have talked about our heritage, our prudent investment strategy, the benefits of our mutual structure and our focus on our core business, said Assadi. In the past year we have seen a greater appreciation for the value of a company that sticks to its strengths and takes a long-term view.

Gifford Medical Center celebrated a ninth consecutive year of financial success and announced the winners of health grants and scholarships at the 103rd Annual Meeting of the Randolph hospital s corporators Friday evening at Chandler.
Gifford, with health centers throughout central Vermont, met its state-set operating margin of 2.2 percent in fiscal year 2008 and saw its revenues continue to climb as the medical center grew to include about a dozen new health care providers as well as expanded clinic space, hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Woodin said.