News

The Ninth Annual Vermont Employee Ownership Conference will take place on June 10, 2011, at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. The full-day conference will feature 19 workshops from introductory sessions for those exploring the idea of employee ownership to technical sessions designed for those in established employee-owned companies. Sessions include:

Renting an apartment in Vermont continues to grow more difficult for the average Vermonter, according to a report released today.

Vermont licensed 7 new captives in the first quarter of 2011 which is the strongest start since 2005, according to the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA). The 7 new captives consisted of 4 single-parent, 2 risk retention groups and a special purpose captive.

Three new businesses launched this month by recent graduates of the Women’s Small Business Program, (WSBP). WSBP is one of several programs run by Mercy Connections whose mission is to nurture self-sufficiency through education, mentoring and community. One is a cloth diaper service, another is a floral hair pin company, and the third is fitness retreat service.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) and ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announce the companies have reached an agreement to make Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa available in K-Cup portion packs for the Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing System. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

People's United Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBCT) today announced net income of $51.7 million, or $0.15 per share, for the first quarter of 2011, compared to $32 million, or $0.09 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2010, and $13.6 million, or $0.04 per share, for the first quarter of 2010.

Secretary of State Jim Condos has accepted an appointment to a national task force on Business Identity Theft. The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) has announced the formation of a NASS Business Identity Theft Task Force to help states combat the growing threat of business identity theft.

Representative Peter Welch on Wednesday was joined by boaters and sportsmen at a Malletts Bay marina to highlight his efforts to rein in federal subsidies to the ethanol industry that cost taxpayers nearly $6 billion a year, drive up food prices and cause damage to small engines used in boats, motorcycles and lawnmowers.

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ ‘ UNB) today announced Net Income for the first quarter 2011 of $1.03 million or $0.23 per share compared to $1.22 million or $0.27 per share for 2010. Results for 2011 reflect a year to year increase in net interest income of $36 thousand or 0.8% and in noninterest income of $195 thousand or 16.0%.

This Green Up Day, ask: what is the carbon footprint of your yard? This may seem like an odd question, considering owers, trees, and shrubs absorb excess carbon from our atmosphere and give oxygen. But it’s something that owners Charlie Proutt and Eileen Schilling have been asking since they took over Horsford Gardens and Nursery in 1986. What they have learned might surprise you.

State grants totaling $186,193 to help restore and repair historic properties have been awarded to more than a dozen Vermont communities and non-profit organizations.

WCAX-TV has won three journalism awards from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, the world's largest professional organization exclusively serving the electronic news profession. The awards were announced last week in Boston at an event hosted by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).