Vermont Business Magazine News

On a mid-summer day, the sun rises pretty early over Green Mountain College's Cerridwen Farm. That's good - because there's a lot of work to be done. During GMC's summer Farm Life Ecology Intensive May 18-August 14, students plow the fields, milk the cows, and plant the crops while taking classes and conducting research on topics like organic agriculture and farm systems.

Vermont Pure Holdings, Ltd. (Amex: VPS) announced its financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2009 and that it will file these results on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

The Public Oversight Panel’s report created by Act 189 of the Vermont General Assembly was released today.  The panel was charged with providing information about the comprehensive vertical audit and reliability assessment of the Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to the legislature as it determines whether the plant should be authorized to operate beyond the expiration of its current license.  The Public Oversight Panel’s report is critical to the legislature’s decision regarding whether or not to approve the continued operation of Vermont Yankee.

Dealer.com (www.dealer.com), the leading provider of online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, today announced the full-scale launch of the Enterprise Solutions Division, a specialized group devoted exclusively to meeting the needs of OEM and large dealer group clients. The development of the division began over a year and a half ago and has since grown into a unique team that provides OEMs and large dealer groups unmatched flexibility, scalability, speed to launch, network reliability and proven success.

Governor Jim Douglas has presented a $360,000 grant to the Town of Williston and Champlain Housing Trust to provide 1%-3% loans tohhomeowners with lower incomes for essential home repairs. The Champlain Housing Loan Fund was created in 1997 and recently expanded into Chittenden County, with the Town of Williston’s support as the grant applicant. The announcement will take place at the Williston Town Hall on No. Williston Road.

Engineering Ventures, Inc., based in Burlington, Vermont is pleased to announce the expansion of their operations into Saratoga Springs, New York. The new office, Engineering Ventures, P.C., located at 18 Division Street, will augment the services provided by the firm from their Burlington, Vermont and Lebanon, New Hampshire locations. The expansion is seen as a way to provide the same innovation and dedication to sustainable design, to New York clients from a closer location.

NRG Systems, of Hinesburg, a leading manufacturer of wind measurement equipment, and Leosphere, leading specialist in lidar (laser radar) for atmospheric observations, today announced the formation of a global partnership to expand the use of remote sensing with lidar in the wind energy industry. The first product of the partnership is the WINDCUBE™ lidar wind measurement system, a remote sensor used in site assessment and wind farm performance monitoring.

The Office of Vermont State Auditor Tom Salmon, CPA, has upheld last year’s estimate of $57 million in State spending to help about 1,000 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), at the request of the House Committee on Human Services. The number of students with ASD increased 16.5 percent last year.

  Governor Jim Douglas to announce $360,010 Community Development Block Grant to the Town of Williston and $49,795 grant to the Town of Colchester to assist in the development of affordable housing. Tuesday, March 17, 2009 – 4 pm. Williston Town Hall meeting room.

Central Vermont Public Service reported consolidated annual earnings of $16.4 million, or $1.52 per diluted share of common stock for 2008, compared to $15.8 million, or $1.49 per diluted share of common stock for 2007. CV reported fourth-quarter 2008 consolidated losses of less than $0.1 million, or 1 cent per diluted share of common stock, compared to earnings of $5.3 million, or 50 cents per diluted share of common stock, for the same period last year.

Community College of Vermont President Tim Donovan will be the next Chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges, VSC Board Chairman Gary Moore announced today. "We are excited about Tim's selection and believe that he brings exceptional abilities to lead our state college system in delivering affordable, high quality, student-centered and accessible education, fully integrating professional, liberal, and career study,” Moore said.

The Citizens Bank Foundation announced today a $15,000 grant to Vermont’s Community Action Agencies as part of its Energy$ense program.

MSA (NYSE: MSA) announced today that it has been awarded a two-year $45 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract from the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP) to supply U.S. military forces with Advanced Combat Helmets. Delivery of the helmets will begin in the third quarter of 2009, pending first article testing and certification.

The Vermont quarter is getting a facelift – or at least to its backside.  Governor Jim Douglas has nominated Vermont’s 150 miles of the Appalachian Trail to replace the scene of Camel’s Hump and sap buckets as part of the U.S. Mint’s new America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Program. Each governor gets to suggest a national park or site in his or her respective state.

ipCapital Group, Inc. (http://www.ipcg.com/), of Williston, one of the nation's leading intellectual property (IP) strategy consulting and licensing firms, is proud to announce that they have entered into a strategic alliance with Semiconductor Insights, Inc. (http://www.semiconductor.com/), a professional services firm serving the technical intelligence and intellectual property needs of the electronics marketplace.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program has been extended through September 30, 2009 due to yesterday’s signing of the “Fiscal 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill,” H.R. 1105.

RealtyTrac(R) (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its February 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report(TM), which shows foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were reported on 290,631 U.S. properties during the month, an increase of nearly 6 percent from the previous month and an increase of nearly 30 percent from February 2008. The report also shows one in every 440 U.S.

A dental office that will provide access to dental care for low to moderate income individuals in Addison County, as well as the general population, will be getting a $200,000 boost from the state, Governor Jim Douglas announced Wednesday. In a ceremony at the future home of the Addison County Dental Center, Douglas presented a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant to the Town of Middlebury that will be used to help equip and furnish the offices on Merchants Row.

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, today announced that consumers switching to Comcast’s Digital Voice service have made Comcast the third-largest residential phone service provider in the country.  Consumers are continuing to select Comcast’s low cost and rich features for phone service throughout its 39-state service area. The news marks a major milestone for the company and reinforces its commitment to reinvent home phone service and offer consumers a way to cut household expenses during a difficult economic climate.

Vermont Secretary of Administration Neale Lunderville yesterday made a counter offer to the state’s unionized workforce to reduce pay across the board by 5 percent for workers in the executive branch making $30,000 or more per year. He said it would save $8.1 million. Governor Douglas had originally suggested that the state would need to layoff at least 600 total state workers. Lunderville's proposal also included increasing the share of the health plan premium from 20 percent to 30 percent. This would save the state almost $4 million.

Pan Am Railways (PAR) and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) have received governmental approvals for their proposed Pan Am Southern joint venture, clearing the way for more than $87 million in rail infrastructure investment designed to significantly enhance the service capabilities and commercial offerings that NS and PAR provide in upstate New York and New England. The US Surface Transportation Board's approval of the joint venture will become effective as of 12:01 a.m. (EDT), April 9, 2009. Pan Am Southern is expected to commence operation on or about May 1, 2009.

Liz Lovely, Inc. received national exposure when company co-founders Liz and Dan Holtz were featured on “The Story,” a nationally syndicated program on National Public Radio, on Thursday, March 5th. The show was one in an on-going series called “What’s Working? Who’s Working?” that focuses on people and companies that are thriving despite the downturn in the economy.

Oklahoma leads the nation in the percentage of households with cell phones only, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than a quarter of households (26.2 percent) in Oklahoma had only wireless and no landline phones in 2007. On the other end of the spectrum, only 5.1 percent of households in Vermont were wireless-only in 2007.

Week Ending March 07, 2009. There were 1,633 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 90 from the week before. Altogether 18,277 new and continuing claims were filed, 22 more than a week ago and 7,250 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 1,857 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 947 less than a week ago. In addition, there were 983 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program which is an increase of 85 from the week before.

Vermont’s largest electric company has won the industry’s highest honor for storm recovery – for the second time. CVPS President Bob Young today was presented the Edison Electric Institute’s 2008 Emergency Recovery Award for the company’s response to an historic ice storm in December.  The company’s preemptive planning led to the restoration of service to more than 70 percent of affected customers after just one day, and complete restoration within a week. CVPS is the smallest company to ever receive the honor – which it won for the second straight year.

The Burlington Business Association (BBA) has announced this year’s winners for their prestigious awards that honor significant contributions to Burlington. Each year the BBA’s Board of Directors and its members nominate and select the winners.

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2009 was 6.8 percent, up nine-tenths of a point from the revised December rate and up 2.5 points from a year ago. The unadjusted rate was 7.6 percent. “The fourth quarter declines in Vermont’s job market continued into January,” said Patricia Moulton Powden, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor. “Though we are relatively better off than the US economy as a whole we continue to see significant increases in unemployment.”

Heritage Flight, a Burlington-based air charter operator, has established a Bedford, Massachusetts based pricing option to serve Boston and the surrounding area.

Guide will connect taxpayers, businesses, non-profits and municipalities to funding opportunities and tax credits WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Peter Welch released a guide to opportunities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for Vermont taxpayers, businesses, non-profits and municipalities Tuesday.

Governor Douglas will present the town of Middlebury with a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant which will help bring more healthcare to low-income residents. The event will be held Wednesday, March 11, at 8:15 am at the future site of the Addison County Dental Center at 32 Merchants Row in Middlebury.