Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In light of the new federal law establishing a “National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard,” the Grocery Manufacturers Association and other plaintiffs have agreed to voluntarily dismiss their lawsuit challenging Vermont’s Act 120, the state's GMO labeling law. As part of the stipulated dismissal, the attorney general secured plaintiffs’ agreement to pay the State $17,569.55 towards the costs incurred in defending Act 120. On Thursday, the Vermont federal district court approved the parties’ stipulation and dismissed the case. Last month, Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their Second Circuit appeal that had been pending in this matter.

Vermont Business Magazine The Community College of Vermont (CCV) has accepted 119 high school seniors into its Early College program for the 2016-2017 academic year, a nearly twofold  increase over last year. Enrollment in the program has grown steadily since its inception in 2014. This year, 11 CCV academic centers will host students representing 39 Vermont high schools and the state’s home-schooled population. “The Early College program offers students an exceptional advantage as they prepare for their future,” said CCV President Joyce Judy. “We are committed to expanding access to college for all Vermonters , and the strong enrollment in Early College this fall is a promising indication of progress toward that end. We are proud to provide Vermont’s high school seniors with a cost-effective, accelerated path to earning a college degree.”

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced Wednesday that after more than a decade of dramatic increases in payments to the city’s retirement system, even as its funded ratio fell, the system’s stakeholders have jointly implemented a set of reforms that have already resulted in significant savings for taxpayers and ratepayers and put the system on more stable footing. These improvements include stabilizing payments and a small cut in property taxes. Retirement payments had risen from $1 million to $9 million a year from 2003 to 2015. Weinberger was joined in the announcement by City Councilors, members of the City’s Retirement Committee, Burlington Employee Retirement System (BERS) Board, union representatives, and community members.

by Keith Flynn, Commissioner, VT Department of Public Safety On August 24 of this year, FEMA Region 1 notified the State of Vermont’s Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security that it was awarding a $96,750 grant to the Town of Enosburg for the federal share of a culvert upgrade on the Tyler Branch. One of six Vermont projects approved in August alone, this was the latest, but will not be the last project to benefit from federal assistance tied to Tropical Storm Irene.

The federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) continues to make Vermont communities stronger – five years after Irene.   HMGP provides assistance to communities like Enosburg to fix areas of repetitive damage and make trouble spots safer.  Making those areas more flood resistant through elevation of a building or road, larger culverts, or stronger riverbanks also helps save towns, the state, and the federal government money in repair costs over the long run.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's wholesale beer industry is worth over $300 million annually. Meanwhile on the brewery side, the Vermont craft beer industry alone contributes over $271 million to the Vermont economy. The Vermont Brewers Association on its Website now boasts 48 members, which supports over 1,500 jobs and brings in over a million tourists. While there is some overlap in all these numbers, it's clear that the growing beer industry has become an important revenue generator in Vermont and a vital employer. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Addison County Chamber of Commerce welcomes its newest member, Parlour, and congratulates owners Lisa Phelps and Megan Mandigo on the opening of their new full service salon and mini-spa. Located at 8 Elm Street in Middlebury, Parlour is open five days a week with regularly scheduled hours and by appointment. The telephone number is 802-989-4993 and can be found on the web at ParlourVT.com. Parlour is a full service salon and mini spa offering a full array of hair services, nail treatments, waxing and facials. They carry several exclusive lines of hair and skin care products such as R&Co, Living Proof and Tata Harper—which is a nationally-recognized business based in Shoreham, Vt. Tata Harper herself designed Parlour’s facial room, the only one in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine NFP, a leading insurance broker and consultant that provides employee benefits, property & casualty (P&C), retirement, and individual insurance and wealth management solutions, has acquired Mackey Insurance, Inc. (Mackey). The transaction closed on June 1, 2016. Mackey is based in Middlebury, VT and provides personal and commercial P&C insurance services to over 2,000 clients in the community. Mackey associates Kathy Mackey and Tina Dragon will remain with the firm, each assuming the role of Account Manager with NFP Property & Casualty, reporting to Daniel Rodliff, Vice President with NFP Property & Casualty, and Daniel Lussier, Managing Director of NFP Property & Casualty. Mackey’s office will remain in its current location in Middlebury.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Democratic Candidate Sue Minter, announced that her campaign raised $101,000 for the September 1 filing period, which spanned 16 days from August 13 to August 29. Minter has raised $1,150,000 for the cycle and reported with over $85,000 cash on hand.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senate candidate Scott Milne today issued the following statement calling on Sen. Patrick Leahy to donate the more than $20,000 he has received from Mylan’s political action committee and CEO, including $7,000 he received in conjunction with the sunset cruise fundraiser Leahy hosted on Lake Champlain last year, to the Food Allergy Research & Education charity.

Vermont Business Magazine Some thought this day would never come, but the Lodge at Burke Mountain is now open daily. The Gap Pub will be open Sunday through Thursday's, 11am-8pm and Friday/Saturday's from 11am-9pm.  Vertical drop retail store will be open this weekend with huge discounts including 50 percent off all last season ski/ride apparel and 20 percent off all lifestyle clothing and accessories.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Taxes is pleased to announce that Liberty Tax Service and Lamson Tech/1040NOW have made good faith contributions to the State of Vermont to remedy an extraordinary issue caused by unusually high error rates in some returns completed using their commercial tax preparation software. CCH Small Firm Services has also agreed to make a similar contribution. Earlier on July 5, the department announced that Intuit and H&R Block had made similar good faith contributions for errors in their own software. The five software vendors have contributed about $2.5 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Underscoring Vermont’s success in leveraging federal resources and partnerships to improve access to affordable housing in Vermont’s rural communities, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Thursday hosted a public roundtable discussion with community leaders and US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Julián Castro. After the roundtable discussion, Leahy and Castro took part in the opening of the Bright Street Co-op, new rental housing developed by the Champlain Housing Trust and Housing Vermont with funding from VHCB. The Co-op is a 40-unit affordable housing cooperative in Burlington’s Old North End.