News

Vermont's unemployment rate fell again in October to 6.5 percent from the September seasonally adjusted rate of 6.7 percent. The rate in both August and July was 6.8 percent. The rate during this recent downturn peaked at 7.4 percent in May. Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted job losses in Vermont from October 2008 were 10,700. The unemployment rate in October 2008 was 5.2 percent.

Five market leading US and Canadian restaurant chains -- Bruegger’s Bagels (based in Burlington), Fazoli’s Restaurants, Friendly’s Ice Cream, Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill and Timothy’s Coffees of the World Inc -- today announced that they have joined forces to target non-traditional concession opportunities around the country, including food courts at airports, universities and hospitals.

Vermont’s downtowns and village centers were in the spotlight last week for efforts to make them more vibrant and prosperous. The Green Mountain Awards were part of the Vermont Downtown Program’s annual Downtown Conference in Middlebury last week, which celebrated 11 years of revitalizing Vermont.

Vermont Technical College this week was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a “School of Priority Status”, which will allow its graduates direct-hire access to jobs and internships at airports and FAA facilities throughout the United States.

The US Census Bureau has begun its second round of Census applicant testing across the State of Vermont. The Census Bureau is looking for qualified applicants to fill hundreds of temporary positions beginning in the spring of 2010; the first step in the application process is the completion of an entrance exam.

Open Text(TM) Corporation ( OTEX, TSX: OTC), a global leader in Enterprise Content Management (ECM), has commemorated the successful conclusion of its annual user conference Content World by announcing the recipients of its customer and partner awards. The week-long conference, which concluded on Oct.

MyWebGrocer Media connected with more than 2.7 million unique users in September, making it the single largest online grocery destination, according to comScore’s data. The rapidly growing ad network has more than doubled in size in the past year.*The Largest Online Grocery AudienceThe Nielsen Company recently reported** that, in July of 2009, more than 13 million U.S.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT.) today announced that the Village of Barton will receive $2.8 million for water system improvements funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $2.08 million grant along with a $723,000 loan awarded to Barton was among 31 water projects announced by the U.S.

Vermont and seven other states will share nearly $4 million in economic stimulus funding announced today under a green jobs program that was authored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Gary Hirshberg, president and "CE-Yo" of Stonyfield Farm, the world's leading organic yogurt producer will speak in Burlington, VT, on Thursday, November 19 at two events, both on behalf of the Intervale Center.

Intrawest and Powdr Corp today announced they have entered into a definitive purchase agreement to sell Intrawest's interests in Copper Mountain to Powdr Corp. The transaction is anticipated to close in December 2009 and the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals including the issuance of a US Forest Service special-use permit to Powdr Corp.

United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention today released the 20th Anniversary Edition of America’s Health Rankings showing that Vermont ranks 1st when compared to the health of other states. This is the 3rd year in a row that Vermont has been at the top of the rankings.