Current News

Ed Shamy buys The County Courier in Enosburg Falls
Northern Vermont Lending Partners (NVLP), a revolving micro-loan program of the Economic Development Council of Northern Vermont, designed to assist small businesses, provided a loan to Ed Shamy and his wife, Kimberly Asch to help them purchase The County Courier in Enosburg Falls.
The news hit uncomfortably close to home for veteran journalist Ed Shamy when he was laid off from his job at Vermont's largest daily newspaper in August. Shamy and his family were eager to stay in Vermont, where they have made their home for 10 years, but the job outlook was weakening quickly.
When a weekly newspaper in Franklin County came up for sale, Shamy jumped at the opportunity but soon ran into another financial reality: the credit pipelines were in a deep freeze and a commercial bank turned down his request for a loan to buy the 130-year-old newspaper.

Energy Saving Pioneer Resumes Operations
Brattleboro, Vermont - November 10, 2008 - Window Quilt, the company that developed movable window insulation 30 years ago, is now shipping high performance insulated shades from their new Brattleboro factory. The company, whose products dramatically reduce energy losses through windows, was founded in Brattleboro. A local entrepreneur recently acquired the business, which had been moved to Seattle, Washington several years ago by its last corporate ownership, and returned it to Brattleboro under the direction of experienced management.

Home Energy Improvement Loan Rate Drops One Percentage Point
MONTPELIERIt just got a little more affordable for Vermont homeowners to prepare their homes for winter weather. The interest rate for the Warm and Weatherized Loan Program has dropped one percentage point since the program was first announced in September. The five-year fixed interest rate on program loans is now 2.75 percent.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- First Student workers in Vermont overwhelmingly voted to join the Teamsters Union in an election this week.
In Brattleboro, Vermont First Student drivers voted 25-4 to join Teamsters Local 597. The 30-person unit sought to improve their medical benefits and wanted a stronger voice in the workplace.
"We have a voice now," said Noni Fournier, a Brattleboro bus driver. "We hope for respect, to be treated fairly."
The workers reached out to the union just 28 days prior to the election. Extremely motivated, they quickly signed a majority of authorization cards just one day after meeting with union officials. The Teamsters petitioned for an election on their behalf the same day. Negotiations for a first contract have already begun for the unit.

National Life plugs into the sun
Financial Services Company Turns On Largest Solar Project in Vermont
Montpelier, Vermont (November 19, 2008) _ Electricity from the largest solar electric installation in Vermont - an array of 418 solar panels - is now helping to power National Life Group's Montpelier headquarters.
As the sun peeked out from the clouds, National Life CEO Thomas H. MacLeay and Gov. Jim Douglas joined together today in a rooftop ceremony to commission the new system and to praise the public-private financial partnership that made the project possible.
A $200,000 state grant helped finance the $500,000 73 kW photovoltaic (PV) system.
"This project is exactly what we envisioned when we created the Clean Energy Development Fund," said the Governor. "We are supporting a diversified portfolio of clean energy technologies and leveraging private investments."

Sugarbush Resort Plans to Open for the 2008-09 Winter Season this Weekend
Warren, VT (November 18, 2008)- It's time to get the gear out; winter is here. Sugarbush Resort will open for the 2008-09 winter season this Saturday, November 22nd when the Super Bravo and Heaven's Gate chairs begin spinning at 9 A.M.
"Our snowmaking crews have put down a great base from the top (of Lincoln Peak) to the bottom of the Heavens Gate lift," said Resort president Win Smith. "Mother Nature has lent us a helping hand over the last 10 days dumping about a foot up top and temperatures this week are allowing us to make every effort to have top-to-bottom skiing and riding come Saturday. We just ask that guests check the website for the latest info before coming up to the hill Saturday morning."

Tayt Brooks Named Deputy Commissioner of Housing & Community Affairs
MONTPELIER, Vt. A longtime advocate for the home construction industry has been named the new Deputy Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
Tayt Brooks takes over the second slot at the department following the departure of interim commissioner Molly Dugan, who left earlier this fall to take a position with Cathedral Square Corporation.
"I'm very pleased to have Tayt join our team at this time," said Commerce and Community Development Secretary Kevin Dorn, whose agency includes DHCA. "His knowledge of housing issues and familiarity with many of the stakeholders in this arena will be invaluable as we work to address Vermonts housing challenges."

UVM Dean Domenico
Grasso Featured in EPA Report of Science Advisory
Committee
Accomplishments
A soon-to-be
published report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Science
Advice for EPA - Current and Future Challenges, recognizes the service and
accomplishments of EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) members, including former
SAB Chair and University of Vermont Dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences,
Domenico Grasso.
Dr. Grasso, an environmental
engineer, served as Vice Chair of the overall EPA Science Advisory Board and
Chair of the EPA Science Advisory Board Committee on Valuing the Protection of
Ecological Systems and Services from 1998 through 2007. He is
also Chair Emeritus of the SAB Committee on Environmental
Engineering. Grasso is featured in the report along with EPA

CVPS announces public stock offering
RUTLAND, Vermont Central Vermont Public Service Corporation (NYSE:CV) announced November 17, 2008, a public offering of 1,125,000 newly issued shares of its common stock. Central Vermont expects to grant the underwriters of the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to 112,500 additional shares of Central Vermont common stock solely to cover over-allotments, if any. Central Vermont intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of debt, capital expenditures, investments in Vermont Transco LLC and working capital requirements.

What: Job Fair
Where: Hampton Inn Maple Room
180 Route 5, White River Junction, Vt.
When: Thursday, November 20, 2008v
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Who: FairPoint Communications, Inc.

General Dynamics Awarded F-35 Lightning II Gun System Contracts by Lockheed Martin
November 17, 2008 2:00 PM ET
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics GD, has been awarded two contracts by Lockheed Martin for the production of GAU-22/A gun systems for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft. The contracts have a combined value of nearly $9 million.

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, life's curves seem more stressful and beyond individual control. While we can't do much about macro-economic forces, we can control self-care and rejuvenation and finding physical and emotional balance essential to coping with stress and improving health. No wonder, then, that more and more people are turning to the wellness movement and the spa industry is booming.

According to a survey released in 2007 by the International Spa Association (ISPA) and Price Waterhouse Cooper, the spa industry is growing at 16% a year, with approximately 14,600 spas in the United States serving more than 111 million people. While many people don't have time or the money to seek out day spas in their area or travel to a distant destination spa, they will now have the next best thing: a virtual spa experience on the worldwide web.