Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In November 2015, Underhill residents formed the Mansfield Cooperative to investigate purchasing the Underhill Country Store from current owners Peter and Nancy Davis, who are planning to retire. The cooperative model has been a popular one with Underhill’s 3,000 residents and over $50,000 was pledged by potential Co-op Members between early November and mid-December. In January, the Onion River Co-op (which currently operates City Market in Burlington) and the Mansfield Cooperative formed a partnership to transform the Underhill Country Store into a Member-owned food cooperative.

Underhill Country Store, courtesy Onion River Co-op.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Rusty DeWees, actor and Vermont icon, continued his Winter Star Series at the Stowe Town Hall last weekend by bringing in former Governor Jim Douglas and banjo whiz George Woodard for an evening of merrymaking and history, which included a Vermont trivia contest. They also plugged their books and other stuff. So in that spirit we offer this review, of the review.

DeWees, who grew up in Stowe, of course is most famous for his one-man performance as “The Logger.” He’s also been on TV and in the movies, but it’s his over-the-top take on back woods Vermont for which he’s best known.

It was also a Republican-centric evening. In fact, it’s possible that every Republican in the state of Vermont was in attendance in the upstairs meeting room of the historic building. We suspect this for three reasons:

Vermont Business Magazine When it comes to wireless network quality in the Northeast region, Verizon Wireless ranks highest among wireless providers, according to the latest JD Power 2016 Wireless Network Quality Performance StudySM, Volume 1. The study queried more than 41,000 wireless subscribers across the US about their experiences with their last 10 calls, messages, emails and Web connections on their mobile devices. In the Northeast region, which covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, Verizon scored higher than every other wireless competitor with an overall PP100 score of 10, while the Northeast average was 12.

The study, conducted between July and December 2015, covers six regions of the US, including 48 states and the District of Columbia, and recognizes the highest-ranking companies in each region based on the results.

Vermont Business Magazine FairPoint Communications, Inc (Nasdaq:FRP), Vermont's largest telecommunications company, on Wednesday announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015. Revenue decreased $11.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2015 to $209.8 million impacted by an anticipated $4.8 million reduction in regulatory funding revenue as well as additional quarterly seasonality in revenue. Revenue was $209.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $217.1 million a year earlier. Net income was $42.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to a net loss of $43.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Vermont Business Magazine A new report, On-Farm Biodiesel Production in Vermont: Legal and Regulatory Overview, conducted by the Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) at Vermont Law School reviews all Vermont state and federal regulations related to on-farm biodiesel production. Commissioned by the Vermont Bioenergy Initiative at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, the report aims to inform farmers about the potential laws and regulations surrounding on-farm biodiesel production.

Vermont Business Magazine NextCapital, the leading enterprise digital advice provider, today announced its new office in Burlington, Vermont. The new Burlington office reflects NextCapital’s robust growth and intent to attract top software engineers and web developers in the Vermont region -- including Vermont's colleges and universities. The office will be led by Rob Foregger, co-founder of the firm, who is a Vermont entrepreneur and UVM alumnus.

“NextCapital develops software that is reinventing how people plan, save and invest for retirement -- this is a $14 trillion market impacting more than 100 million Americans.” said Mr. Foregger, co-founder of NextCapital. “We think the importance of our mission will attract top software talent to our Vermont office.”

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announced the recipients of second round funding from the Trade Show Assistance Grant Program, an initiative of the agency’s Domestic Export Program designed to assist Vermont food and forest businesses in making and maintaining connections with buyers, brokers and distributors via out-of-state trade shows.  A total of $14,000 was awarded to fourteen Vermont businesses to attend trade shows in New York, Las Vegas and San Francisco and to exhibit their Vermont-made products in front of thousands of regional and national buyers.

The 2016 (Round 2) Trade Show Assistance Grant Awardees Include:                                        

Company                                                             Trade Show & Location                                                 Grant Amount

Vermont Business Magazine The US Food and Drug Administration has awarded a $950,000, three-year grant to a consortium of 12 northeastern states and the District of Columbia to promote food safety on small and medium-sized produce farms and food processors in the region. The consortium, called the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS), and the award will be managed through the University of Vermont Extension. Chris Callahan, an agricultural engineer at UVM Extension, is project director.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont organizations will get more than $1.4 million in NeighborWorks America grants to revitalize communities and support access to affordable housing across the state. The award was announced jointly today by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont). NeighborWorks America is a public nonprofit established by Congress to invest in revitalizing communities and preserving affordable housing across the country.  In Vermont, five NeighborWorks affiliate organizations receive these annual funds to support homeownership counseling, the creation of much-needed new affordable housing, home repair and energy efficiency assistance grants.  Since its creation, NeighborWorks has been recognized for its partnership between community, public and private stakeholders that successfully leverage an average of $50 in other investments for every $1 appropriated. 

by Vicky Parra Tebbetts Community Capital of Vermont is not a typical small business lender. Their loan officers are not typical bankers; their borrowers are not typical business people. Quietly, this non-profit lender in Barre is backing unexpected entrepreneurs statewide who have been turned down by banks and conventional financers, usually on the basis of credit or collateral. Is it risk or opportunity? At CCVT, the glass is half full.

Vermont Business Magazine Moody’s Investors Service yesterday upgraded the City of Burlington’s credit rating two full steps to A3 with a stable outlook, returning the City of Burlington to an “A” rating. Of the six ratings steps that Burlington lost between July 2010 and June 2012 in the wake of Burlington Telecom’s financial struggles, three have now been restored in two upgrades over the last year (scroll down to view Burlington ratings table).

by Mike Faher/The Commons Vernon Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly supported a proposed gas-fired power plant, paving the way for developers to push forward with a 600-megawatt facility that could be built in the shadow of Vermont Yankee. There were 677 “yes” votes and 153 “no” votes in response to a simple, non-binding referendum question: “Do you support a natural gas–fired electric generating plant being located in Vernon?”

Winhall resident Don Campbell, who has been leading the plant-development charge, called the results “breathtaking,” given how many questions had been raised about the proposal.

“I’m very pleased with the outcome of the vote and the community support,” Campbell said. “I think that this sends a very strong signal to investors who are weighing Vermont versus other potential generating sites.”