Archive - Feb 2009

The VBM/e-forecasting.com VT Leading Economic Indicator, Vermont's early bird of economic activity, went down in November 2008 to a reading of 112.0 where 2000 is set equal to 100. The private forecasting service said the composite Vermont index of state leading indicators, which is produced jointly with Vermont Business Magazine, fell 0.5 percent in November following a decline of 0.7 percent in October.

Lt Gov Dubie named Aspen-Rodel Fellow Lt Governor Brian Dubie was among a group of 24 elected public officials who convened for the first time as 2008’s recipients of The Aspen Institute’s Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership. According to the Institute, participants are “selected on their reputation for intellect, thoughtfulness, and a bipartisan approach to governing.” The class is evenly divided between Republican and Democratic office-holders who serve in state and local government, and this year represent 22 states. The Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership program, established in 2005, works to enhance American democracy by convening the nation's most promising young political leaders in a casual, bipartisan setting to explore the underlying values and principles of western democracy, the relationship between individuals and their community, and the responsibilities of public leadership. The Class of 2008 will meet two more times over the course of their 24-month Fellowship. More information on Rodel Fellows and the program can be found at aspeninstitute.org/rodel.

SymQuest appoints new account executive SymQuest Group, Inc, has announced the appointment of Todd Chandler to account executive for the Rutland and Glens Falls, NY territories. Chandler has more than 20 years of experience as a former employee of Canon USA. Symquest is an affordable and accessible network infrastructure and document solutions technology services company focusing on highly-customized and accessible customer service, innovative document solution programs, and the crafting of high-availability infrastructure solutions.

A quiet revolution is occurring in the lighting industry. Until Thomas Edison’s invented the incandescent lamp in 1887, man had only the campfire, candle, oil lamp or other forms of fire generated illumination to relieve the darkness of night. General Electric developed the fluorescent tube in 1938 in time for introduction at the New York Worlds Fair. By 1951 fluorescent tube sales exceeded those of the incandescent lamp. Today, sales of light emitting diodes (LED) are rapidly overtaking the older technologies.

Emmett Dunbar, 37, and his wife, Lini Mazumdar , are the owners and founders of Anjali Farms, an organic farm in Londonderry, as well as Lotus Moon Medicinals, which creates handmade herbal and medicinal body products from the farm, such as teas, bug repellents, salves, balms, creams, bath salts and aromatherapy sprays.

Doubletree Burlington recipient of northern sales team of the year award, national award The Doubletree Hotel in South Burlington, managed by Denver-based Richfield Hospitality, has received the Vermont Conventions Bureau’s Northern Sales Team of the Year award. Members of the sales team include Sarah Hammitt, Jen Bober, Merrilee Phelps and Pat Middlebrook. Each year the Vermont Convention Bureau honors two of its members that have proven outstanding partners to the Bureau’s sales team, drawing meetings, conferences and events to Vermont.

IBM layoffs hit Vermont While the exact number of layoffs at IBM’s Essex plant was not known at press time, the total number was expected to be under 500. If it were more than 499, IBM would have been required by federal law to notify state officials before the action, which it did not. According to Vermont Department of Labor Commissioner Pat Moulton Powden, she was not informed ahead of time of the layoffs. She confirmed that IBM had laid off less then 500 of its roughly 5,200 employees January 27.

Even if it successfully completes a complex “cutover” of computer systems by mid-February, FairPoint Communications will still be facing formidable challenges in operating its landline telephone network in Vermont. “They understand they bought a legacy system,” says Bill Shuttleworth, director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority. “They understand they have to innovate and offer superior services.” They'd better, because FairPoint is losing landline customers at an unsustainable rate.

The iPhone's arrival in Vermont does qualify as a big deal, tech analysts say, but they see it as only the glitziest example of the broader options now available in a small market that had previously attracted little competition among the titans of telecom. "It's a real positive thing for Vermonters to finally be able to own and operate one of the most innovative devices on the planet," says David Bradbury, president of the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies. "The iPhone will help change the image of Vermont as a tech backwater."

Back in the Wild West days of the Internet, before the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, new e-businesses were flying off the IPO shelves. They were supplying your pet with toys, booking your vacations and helping you trade stocks. The general feeling was, "If it moves and makes money in a bricks-and-mortar setting, let's throw it on the Internet and see if it sticks." Of course, only a few stuck (Amazon and Google spring to mind). The rest slid into oblivion while quite a few people lost their shirts.