News

Route 108 through Smugglers' Notch, which has been closed since late last week, will not reopen until spring. For those who may not know, the Agency of Transportation annually closes this road for the winter. Mother Nature will determine when in the spring it will reopen.
Source: VTrans.

Vermont Agency of Transportation Secretary David Dill on Thursday, November 12 joined transportation administrators from the six New England states in to advance the goal of regional cooperation and coordination to achieve the mutual goal of enhancing “mobility options” for the people of the Northeast.

Governor Jim Douglas today announced $500,000 in funding will be available for the 2010 Recreation Trails Program.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) announced today that the Company has acquired Timothy’s Coffees of the World, Inc from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. for a cash purchase price of approximately $157 million, in US dollars, subject to adjustment.

In preparation for the program’s 10th anniversary next year, Hampton Hotels’ Save-A-Landmark program is asking Vermont residents to visit www.hamptonlandmarks.com to help select which “All-American Landmark” in their state will be refurbished in 2010.

MyWebGrocer and ShopRite supermarkets have teamed up to launch a pioneering new Apple iPhone and iTouch Application called ShopRite Weekly Specials. The new App, which is free and available now through Apple’s iTunes App Store, is the first App that is dedicated to weekly grocery specials on an iPhone.

There were 1,299 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 161 from the week before, as filings followed a trend begun in September. Altogether 10,234 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 123 from a week ago and 2,367 more than a year earlier.

The two state economists told the Vermont Emergency Board today that state tax revenues were coming in pretty much as expected. While that is relatively good news, Jeff Carr, representing the governor’s office, and Tom Kavet, representing the Legislature, indicated that the budget’s previsouly lowered expectations were more responsible for the results than any expansion in the economy.

Away.com (www.away.com), a leading website for travel planning, has released its annual Ski & Snowboard Guide, which highlights 250 domestic and international ski and snowboard resorts for the 2009-2010 ski season. The new guide also allows travelers to choose a resort based on lifestyle and interest.

Consultants to the New York State Department of Transportation have concluded that the Champlain Bridge would cost too much money and could be a less safe option and would take longer than razing the vital link between Vermont and New York and building a new one. The cost would likely be in excess of $67 million and take about two years to build.

Rhonda Shippee, Acting State Director for USDA Rural Development in Vermont is pleased to announce the investment of over $130.9 million in rural Vermont during Fiscal Year 2009.

In an afternoon press conference today in the Thaddeus Fairbanks Science Wing at Lyndon State College, Senator Bernie Sanders announced a US Dept. of Energy grant to the college in the amount of $32,500. The grant will be used to support the building and installation of a 5 kilowatt solar array on the Lyndon campus.