News

Celebrate spring and new exhibitions at Shelburne Museum’s Spring Fest, Sunday, May 12 – Mother’s Day. The opening day festival features indoor and outdoor activities for visitors of all ages.

by Anne Galloway May 2, 2013 vtdigger.org The Vermont Senate has approved a bill that will raise $9.49 million in new taxes. The miscellaneous tax bill, H.528, passed 24-5, in a largely party line vote after four and a half hours of debate. Centrist Democrats and Republicans carried the day; four Republicans and one Democrat/Progressive voted against the bill.

This year’s competition for the highly anticipated Deane C Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award was impressive.  All of the Vermont businesses who applied for this prestigious award were worthy but only three could be named as finalists. The finalists this year are Green Mountain Power of Colchester, GW Plastics of Bethel, and Instrumart of South Burlington.  All three businesses exemplify the standards by which the Deane C Davis Outstanding Business Award nominees are judged.

NSK Steering Systems America has added jobs at its Bennington, Vermont, Dyersburg, Tennessee, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, facilities.

Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced next steps for bike path enhancements and expansion, including: the commencement of construction on the Waterfront Access North project; the design and permitting of the entire 7.5-mile bike path by the City’s newly-selected design team; and the creation of the founding board of the new Parks Foundation, whose role is to raise private funds for the bike path to supplement public expenditures. 

Producers of four Vermont Public Television programs were notified April 30 that they received EMMY Award nominations in the 36th annual competition. The Boston/New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences sponsors the awards, which honor programs made in 2012.  Four nominations is a record for VPT, which has received multiple nominations and awards in past years.  The awards will be given in Boston on June 1. 

by Andrew Stein April 30, 2013 vtdigger.org Last week, the Green Mountain Care Board released two reports: one that details a 2011 dip in the growth of health care spending and another that concerns what is known in the medical community as “the cost shift.” The latter is what happens when commercial insurance payers and the uninsured are charged higher health care prices due to underpayments from Medicare and Medicaid, which is the assumed case in Vermont.

Green Mountain Co-Pack, the Vermont boutique-style specialty food and beverage manufacturer, has built a new, state-of-the-art production facility in Williston and is joining forces with Thirsty Ventures, Inc, to increase output and reduce manufacturing turnaround of specialty food producers.

by Anne Galloway May 1, 2013 vtdigger.org The Vermont Senate gave preliminarily approval of a sweeping tax proposal on a voice vote on Tuesday.

by Anne Galloway May 1, 2013 vtdigger.org The Senate has approved a measure that would allow newspaper publishers to continue to treat news carriers as independent contractors.

Ledyard Financial Group, Inc. (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank, today reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2013. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, was $759,080, or $0.75 per share compared to $791,807 or $0.78 per share for the same period in 2012, a decrease of $32,727 or 4.13%. The difference is due mostly to gains on the sale of securities and OREO that were reflected in the prior year’s results.

We’re not going to win over 300 mustards from 18 countries are entered into the competition!” That’s what Michael Adams, owner of Green Mountain Mustard in Richmond, VT, thought as he entered two mustards in the World Wide Mustard Competition in March. Lo and behold, Green Mountain Mustard won a silver in the Garlic category at the 2013 World Wide Mustard Competition held at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, WI.

Newport City Renaissance has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Orvis Company, Inc of Manchester, Vermont, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Scientific Anglers and Ross Reels businesses from 3M (NYSE:MMM).

Think ski resort employees hibernate in the summer? Think again. Besides basking in the beauty of the Green Mountains and celebrating the sun with music, beer, mountain biking, and swimming, resorts are also hard at work improving the slopes, building new lodges, running summer camps and hosting weddings. Here is a run down of what’s new at Vermont ski resorts this summer and what they are working on for next season. Jay Peak Resort

The AllTrials Campaign has announced that Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice has signed on to be the first US academic center in this important campaign and will take the lead in urging all medical schools and patient advocacy groups in the US to add their voices at AllTrials.net.[1]

On April 29, 2013 the Montpelier Rotary Club recognized community organizations in central Vermont who make a huge difference in our community, many with very limited budgets. President Lindel James distributed funds that the Club raised throughout the year from events including a golf tournament and Christmas party.  Grants were provided to:

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), parent of Berkshire Bank, reported first quarter core earnings per share totaling $0.54 in 2013, which was a 20% increase over 2012 first quarter core EPS of $0.45.  First quarter core earnings reached a record $13.5 million, which was a 43% increase over prior year first quarter results.  Berkshire has entered its fourth year of consecutive quarterly core earnings growth due to ongoing business expansion and i

Community Capital of Vermont was recently selected to be a U.S. Small Business Administration microloan intermediary and has received a commitment for a $300,000 SBA loan to invest in small businesses in Vermont.  Community Capital of Vermont is only the second microloan intermediary to serve the entire state of Vermont, which provides direct loans up to $50,000 to small businesses.

Vermont Public Service Department Commissioner Christopher Recchia has announced that the Governor’s Energy Generation Siting Policy Commission has issued a final report to the Governor and Legislature. The Commission’s recommendations, developed with broad public and stakeholder input, focus on bolstering the local and regional energy planning processes and ensuring that local and regional plans receive greater consideration before the Public Service Board (PSB). 

OneCare Vermont has announced the membership of its Clinical Advisory Board (CAB), an entity charged with creating a coordinated, consistent approach to improving the quality and monitoring the cost of care delivered to approximately one-third of Vermont’s Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries attributed to the OneCare Vermont Accountable Care Organization (ACO). 

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH), Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock of Lebanon, NH, are working with health care management consultants Helms and Company, Inc, to identify and assess opportunities for more efficient clinical coordination and cost effective health care services, to maximize access and quality of care for their shared community.

by Alicia Freese April 28, 2013 vtdigger.org An omnibus drug bill — designed to tackle prescription drug and methamphetamine abuse — is making headway in the Senate.

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences President James J Gozzo announced today that he will be stepping down as president of the College effective June 30, 2014. The college is based in Albany, NY, and operates a campus in Colchester.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday at the Colchester Business and Technology Park for a state-of-the-art new laboratory for the Vermont Department of Health.  The 47,844-square-foot building, which will replace the Health Department’s 32,695 square foot current laboratory, located on Colchester Ave. in Burlington, will be completed in the summer of 2014. 

by Nat Rudarakanchana April 29, 2013 vtdigger.org The state’s latest lobbyist reports allows the public to track how much money lines the edges of many major legislative debates. The reports reveal how much money special interests spent in the past three months.

by Anne Galloway April 30, 2013 vtdigger.org If the devil is in the details, the devil that is the annual budget for state government is a thousand details, large and small.

Phillip Brown at St. Johnsbury Health and Rehabilitation Center recently made the Vermont Foodbank quite happy.

MyWebGrocer, a leading provider of digital grocery solutions based n Winooski, is expanding its US presence, launching new online grocery tools for more than 870 newly acquired Acme, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market stores.   All of the banners will implement MWG’s innovative digital marketing solutions that provide access to planning tools, digital circulars, online advertising, social media, digital marketing and mobile apps.

by Nat Rudarakanchana April 26, 2013 vtdigger.org Constitutional law scholar Cheryl Hanna urged the House Government Operations committee on Friday to be cautious about instituting new campaign finance reforms.