Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The next generation is embracing electric vehicles! Students in the Money Energy Power class at Champlain Valley Union High School came up with the idea as a class project to put in an electric vehicle charging station at CVU. The students worked with Green Mountain Power to install the station that is now in service. “We were thrilled when the CVU students approached us about the benefits of installing an EV charging station,” said Kristin Carlson at Green Mountain Power. “This will be available to students, faculty and the public and will be an important part building a comprehensive EV charging network across Vermont. As Vermont’s Energy Company of the future, it is so exciting to partner with the next generation on projects like this, as we transition to a low carbon, low cost, reliable future where energy is generated and used closer to where it is needed.”

Vermont Business Magazine VSECU, a statewide credit union based in Montpelier, today released new data detailing 2015 holiday spending trends amongst Vermonters, finding that Vermont consumers were more likely to finance holiday spending with cash than with credit. VSECU’s analysis showed that 2015 holiday spending via cash and debit increased compared to 2014, while credit card spending decreased by 8.8 percent. Analyzing more than 5.6 million anonymized account transactions in 2015, VSECU also found that both number of purchases and average monthly spending increased in the months of November and December, compared to all other months. However, the majority of those spending increases were financed with consumers’ cash on hand, rather than amassing greater debt on credit cards. Average monthly debit spending increased nearly 10 percent in November and December, while average credit card spending rose only 5.9 percent for those same months.

Six-episode series to be released January 19, 2016, on youtube.com/VermontPublicTV and on vermontpbs.org/innovate

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s culture of creativity, do-it-yourself attitude and innovation is renowned – and the world of high-tech and web-based entrepreneurship is no exception. In the new Vermont PBS web series “InnoVaTe,” hosted by Victoria Taylor and produced by Velocity Media, that innovative culture so uniquely associated with Vermont will be explored and celebrated. The six-part series will be available in its entirety on January 19, 2016 at vermontpbs.org and at youtube.com/VermontPublicTV.

Vermont Business Magazine Stephen F Christy, President and CEO of Mascoma Savings Bank, has announced his plans to retire on January 1, 2017 after almost 27 years at the helm of the local institution he first joined as a teller in 1973. Headquartered in Lebanon, New Hampshire, Mascoma Savings Bank is a $1.4 billion mutually owned bank established in 1899 with 27 branch locations in western New Hampshire and eastern Vermont, and two loan production offices in Vermont. Christy has held the top post at Mascoma Savings Bank since February of 1990. He also serves on the executive committee and the board of directors, which will embark on a search for his successor with the assistance of Kaplan Partners of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center recently received $5,000 from Key Bank for Career Connections, a supported employment program for Chittenden County adults (ages 18 years and older) who live with a severe mental health challenge and have a desire to pursue employment. “As a company that is committed to helping our communities thrive, we’re excited to be partnering with the Howard Center in working toward a stronger and more inclusive workforce by investing in projects such as Career Connections,” says Don Baker, Market President of KeyBank in Vermont. Career Connections focuses on client strengths while helping each client obtain competitive employment in jobs that they choose. The program provides support as needed, including employment assessment and pre- and post-employment support. Additional help is offered through other Howard Center clinical and case management programs as needed.

Vermont Business Magazine Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) announced last Thursday its support for the enactment of federal legislation to establish a single mandatory labeling standard for foods derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith and Congressman Peter Welch offered their reaction to the news that one of the country’s largest food manufacturers will disclose the presence of genetically modified ingredients in its products. 

Vermont Business Magazine Citizens Commercial Banking’s fifth-annual Middle Market M&A Outlook released Tuesday shows more than half of mid-sized US companies are looking for transformative deals to help them jump-start revenues in the stabilized, but slow-growing US economy. The Citizens study takes a look every year at the appetite for mergers and acquisitions among middle market companies – companies with annual revenue between $5 million and $2 billion – that are key creators of jobs and drivers of economic activity in the United States. Citizens Commercial Banking serves thousands of middle market clients in a wide range of industries across the country.Citizens Bank has branches in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine With the state now boasting that solar generates more local peak energy than any other source, Governor Peter Shumlin and the Department of Public Service today released the state's updated Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP). The plan, first adopted by the Shumlin Administration in 2011 after over a decade without an update, provides an overall direction and sets goals for the state's energy future. The plan re-affirms the overall goal of achieving 90 percent of Vermont’s total energy needs from renewable sources by 2050, adds interim goals (including reaffirming the statutory goal of 25% by 2025), and provides greater detail on Vermont’s pathways towards achieving these goals.

Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of State Jim Condos announced today that, following yesterday’s 5 pm deadline, 14 candidates have qualified to be placed on the ballot in Vermont’s Presidential Primary. Ten candidates have qualified for the Republican ballot and four candidates for the Democratic ballot. Vermont law requires any candidate seeking to have his or her name printed on the ballot of a major party presidential primary to file petitions signed by no fewer than 1,000 registered Vermont voters, along with a $2,000 filing fee. Vermont’s primary will be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Wednesday, February 24.

The Republicans qualifying for placement on the ballot in Vermont were:

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The "Health Impact Assessment" was released today by the Vermont Department of Health on the regulation of marijuana in Vermont. The report identifies the impacts of marijuana on the physical and mental health of users. It also calls for what would be stricter control of marijuana than there is for alcohol and in some ways for cigarettes. It also intones many of the sentiments of Governor Shumlin and Speaker of the House Shap Smith. Shumlin and Smith support strict regulation of legalized marijuana and oppose attempts to make it a tax revenue windfall.

Vermont Business Magazine Special thanks to the more than 250 members of the central Vermont community who gathered in October at National Life in Montpelier for the 16th Annual Seasons of Life Fashion Show. Guests included donors, staff and members of the board and community, as well as generous sponsors. With your support, CVHHH raised approximately $40,000 (net) to support our programs and services to those individuals who are underinsured or have no health insurance.  “I am proud of the individuals on the fashion show committee and the effort the team made to pull off another successful year,” says Kim Farnum, CVHHH’s Community Relations & Development manager. “With a new committee and rebranding to further incorporate the depth of services that we provide, we were able to raise $40,000, the same amount that was raised during this event’s largest year.”