Current News

Search engines cannot do it alone. Search engines can prompt, list, narrow or focus on local results but are not industry experts. Freely Creative, Inc., an organization with a focus on "everything stickers," has launched the niche directory AllAboutStickers.comto support the "sticker" industry by streamlining the search process.
On Google, there are an overwhelming 220 million search results for the term "stickers" and another 196 million for "labels." Even when search terms are narrowed, the choices are overwhelming and don't include many sticker sub-categories such as: custom bumper stickers, paper labels, transfer decals, vinyl cut lettering, car wraps, free stickers, sticker collecting, etc. AllAboutStickers.com was developed as a one-stop directory narrowing the search for "stickers" or "decals" so people don't have to dig through results or understand all the industry-specific terminology.

The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) and Strolling of the Heifers announce the finalists for the 2011 Business Plan Competition. From the 39 submissions received by the April 11th deadline, the selection committee chose 20 finalists as follows below.

Finalists in the "General Business Existing Business" category are (in alphabetical order): (1) Dreamcatcher Entertainment by Bill Forchion; (2) Kaye Audio, Inc., by George Kaye; (3) Laura Zindel Design by Laura Zindel; (4) Saxtons River Distillery, LLC, by Christian Stromberg; and (5) Spirit Hill Farm Back Roads Granola by Virginia Vogel.

The Vermont Family Business Initiative (VFBI) and KeyBank have announced a partnership this week to assist Vermont family and privately owned businesses with transition, succession, and financial planning issues. KeyBank joins The Coaching Center of Vermont, Gallagher, Flynn and Company, and hmc2 agency as current partners of the VFBI. The VFBI works with business owners and their successors to identify challenging transitional issues and develop strategies for successful business transition and strategic growth.
Dann Van Der Vliet, Director of the VFBI, reflected on the new partnership, ‘Having KeyBank helps to round out our array of professional partners. They play a key role in sharing their expertise at our forums and helping us to plan towards the future.’ Family business owners routinely state that their banking relationship is one of the most trusted relationships they have, along with their spouses and financial advisors.

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today the seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for March 2011 was 5.4 percent. This reflects a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point to the statewide rate from the previously reported February level of 5.6 percent. Compared to a year ago (March 2010), the statewide unemployment rate has trended down by 1.2 percent.

Don Rendall of Green Mountain Power Corporation and the President of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Chittenden County announced today that Martha Maksym of Grand Isle has been named the new Executive Director to succeed Gretchen Morse who announced her retirement effective June 30th. A wide range of applicants was considered by a search committee of the Board during a process that took several months.

Associated Industries of Vermont Vice President William Driscoll issued the following statement Tuesday regarding Entergy Vermont Yankee's US District Court suit against the state of Vermont. Entergy is seeking to operate the Vernon nuclear plant until 2032, 20 years beyond its license expiration in March 2012. It recently received such approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is challenging in court the state's insistence that Entergy receive approval from the Vermont Legislature. AIV is the state's largest manufacturers' association.
http://vermontbiz.com/news/april/entergy-vermont-yankee-sues-state-vermont
Associated Industries of Vermont Vice President William Driscoll, April 18, 2011:
"We have always had two fundamental goals and interests in the fate of Vermont Yankee, directly tied to our economy and the welfare of working Vermonters and their families.

The Green Mountain Club today announced the choice of Will Wiquist as the organization’s new executive director. Wiquist is the first new director in more than a decade for the 101-year old, 10,000 member club which maintains Vermont’s Long Trail network and seeks to promote the role of the mountains in people’s lives.
Wiquist previously served for more than three and a half years as press secretary for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Among other public relations responsibilities, he managed the senator’s highly active social media presence including leading the way in building the largest Facebook page in the U.S. Senate.

Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) will release the 2011 edition of ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont’ at a press event at 12 noon on Thursday, April 21, in the Statehouse Cedar Creek Room in Montpelier.
The 2011 update is the 10th edition of the annual report first published in 2002.
It shows, despite a long-term recession, that rental prices have continued to escalate making the gap between Vermonters’ wages and their cost of housing larger. Furthermore, the future of Vermont’s affordable housing is in jeopardy as federal subsidies are set to expire, and pressure grows to reduce national debt by cutting the federal budget.
WHAT
Release event: ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont’
WHEN
12:00 noon, Thursday, April 21, 2011
WHERE
Cedar Creek Room, Statehouse, State Street, Montpelier
WHO
Sen. Vincent Illuzzi

Citing personal reasons, Lyndon State College President Carol A. Moore announced her resignation
from the college, effective July 1.
‘President Moore has served Lyndon State College and the community with distinction. Over the course of the thirteen years she has been at Lyndon, she has worked through some significant challenges and sustained the mission of delivering a high quality, accessible and affordable education to its students,’ commented Vermont State College Chancellor Tim Donovan.
Moore came to Lyndon State College in 1998 from Mercy College in New York City, where she served
as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. During her time at Lyndon, Moore focused on

Statistics show that although construction in Vermont during the month of February looked to be slowing, overall contracts for future construction are above last years values. This includes residential, non-residential and nonbuilding construction.
February and year-to-date data for Vermont:

Similar statistics for the state of New Hampshire also show a significant increase in future construction contracts for the year 2011.
February and year-to-date data for New Hampshire:

Source: McGraw-Hill Construction

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Major General Michael Dubie, the Vermont National Guard commander, broke ground today on an $8.5 million solar installation that will be one of the biggest in Vermont.
Sanders is chairman of the Senate green jobs subcommittee. He has worked with the Vermont National Guard to make its base one of the greenest in the country.
‘It is appropriate that we are here today to break ground on what will be one of the largest solar energy projects in Vermont because Vermont is one of the most environmentally conscious states in our nation. We lead the country in energy efficiency and, through projects like this, are making progress in increasing our use of sustainable energy,’ Sanders said.

The chief executives of Vermont’s leading businesses appear poised to hold steady for the spring and summer months of 2011, when compared against the previous survey period. The survey was completed between April 1 and April 15 and released today by Vermont Business Roundtable Chair Steve Voigt, CEO, King Arthur Flour and President Lisa Ventriss.