Current News

Vermont Business Magazine After a strong wind storm blew through Vermont Sunday morning, Green Mountain Power crews have restored power to 6,540 customers. Crews will keep working until all remaining 1,600 customers have power. GMP lineworkers will keep working until everyone has power, with the goal of restoring power to most customers by midnight. GMP tracks weather events like this one and prepares extensively ahead to ensure safety and to minimize outage time for customers. 

“Fast restoration like this is due to a dedicated and highly trained team and advance planning, ” said Kristin Carlson, GMP’s Chief Communications Executive. “We had our crews in place and lined up extra workers in advance of the storm in an effort to respond quickly as soon as outages began. This has allowed us to restore power quickly and also ensure that the public and our crews remain safe. We are so happy the storm did not cause more significant damage.” 

Vermont Business Magazine A historic spike in weekly employment claims was cut in half last week, but remained at a relatively high level. Claims were also higher than for the same time last year for the first week of the new year. Generally claims in 2015 were lower than in 2014. For the week of January 2, 2016, there were 1,152 claims, a fall of 998 from the previous week's total and 174 more than they were a year ago. By industry, claims were down for most categories except for Construction, which was typically high for this time of year. As has been the trend, Services led all categories with 31 percent of all claims, which was down considerably from the previous week. 

Altogether 7,698 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 862 from a week ago, and 926 fewer than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources has released the newly approved Tactical Basin Plan for the Batten Kill, Walloomsac, and Hoosic Rivers and their tributaries, referred to as Basin 01. The Basin Plan actions will protect, maintain, and improve surface waters by managing the activities that result in surface water stressors, and address the attendant pollutants associated with them.  These actions strategically target specific surface waters in those sub-basins where their implementation would achieve the greatest benefit to water quality and aquatic habitat as well as being the most cost effective.  In general, the Batten Kill, Walloomsac, and Hoosic Rivers are targeted for protection and restoration strategies while various tributaries are targeted for additional water quality and aquatic habitat monitoring and assessment work. 

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power is preparing for a strong wind and rainstorm that is forecasted for Vermont beginning Sunday morning that could cause outages across the state. Forecasters predict wind gusts possibly strong as 50 – 70 mph. Wind that strong can easily knock down trees and branches onto power lines and snap power poles at the base. “Our crews are preparing now and are ready to respond quickly to any outages from this strong wind storm,” said Kristin Carlson, GMP’s Chief Communications Executive. “Early preparation is key to making sure we can get the lights on quickly and safely for customers.” In addition, the Company has contract crews ready to assist if there are significant and widespread outages. Safety is most important during winter windstorms and GMP reminds Vermonters to be careful on the roadways especially.

“Always stay clear of downed power lines and contact emergency responders immediately,” Carlson continued.  

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Public Service Board gave a significant victory today to Vermont Gas Systems in its effort to build a pipeline to Middlebury, and in turn issued a significant blow to the many individuals and organizations seeking to stop it. The PSB, in a decision dated January 8, decided not to revisit its original approval of the project. The PSB had considered reopening the case after construction costs increased twice in 2014. If it had reopened the docket, it could have reapproved it as is, approved it with new conditions, or canceled the $153.6 million project.

Vermont Gas has already built about a third of the line in Chittenden County. It has incurred the cost of that, as well as the cost of a lawsuit involving a former contractor on the project, and other legal costs regarding challenges and protests.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont tax revenues essentially broke even in December as the vital Personal Income Tax rebounded. It had languished through much of the first half of the fiscal year, but has now made up nearly all of its lost ground. General Fund (GF) revenues totaled $128.00 million for December versus the monthly target of $128.26 million, -$0.26 million or –0.20% short. The shortfall was due primarily to the Corporate Income Tax category. Personal Income Taxes of $70.65 million exceeded target by +$2.66 million or +3.91%, while Corporate Income Taxes of $14.94 million fell below target by -$4.91 million, or –24.75%. The December results left the cumulative year-to-date General Fund receipts slightly above target. The cumulative GF revenues total of $668.00 million remains slightly above the Y-T-D target by +$0.85 million, or +0.13%. Y-T-D December revenue receipts for FY 2016 exceeded the prior year (FY 2015) results by +$24.05 million, or +3.73%.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today recommended using $1 million from the Vermont Enterprise Fund to support the continued growth of GlobalFoundries. The Emergency Board approved the recommendation at a meeting this morning. GlobalFoundries will be investing $72 million dollars in capital expenditures as well as converting 100 temporary jobs to full time permanent jobs at higher wages and with better benefits. This commitment further solidifies GlobalFoundries’ presence in Vermont. The Enterprise Funds will be used to make investments in efficiencies at the Essex facility.

Vermont Business Magazine Bill Shouldice, CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear and Chair of the Vermont Chamber Foundation, announced the launch of the Vermont Futures Project at the Vermont Economic Summit held today. “The Vermont Futures Project is a data-driven initiative to secure Vermont’s long-term economic health and provide opportunity for Vermonters,” Shouldice said in his remarks to the 200 business leaders and policy makers attending the conference. “It builds upon the dedication and strategic thinking of a diverse range of stakeholders that have contemplated what Vermont can and should be.”

Vermont Business Magazine A new federal financing program will provide loans to Vermont individuals, small businesses and town governments to support a broad range of energy improvement projects. Senator Patrick Leahy, Governor Peter Shumlin and representatives of Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch were joined by United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Burlington Friday to announce the $46 million federal loan program to bolster investments in energy efficiency and renewable power projects across the Vermont, which will be administered by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Vermont program the largest of its kind in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Composites BHS, a Sherbrooke-based manufacturer, has selected St Johnsbury, Vermont for its expansion into the United States. This new investment will facilitate the creation of approximately 75 new jobs over the next several years. The company will locate in the St Johnsbury-Lyndonville Industrial Park in an existing building. Governor Peter Shumlin recommended using $200,000 award from the Vermont Enterprise Fund, which was established to help the state move quickly to seize opportunities and encourage the creation of jobs. That funding was approved unanimously Thursday by the Emergency Board. Composites BHS also received initial approval of a Vermont Employment Growth Incentive award totaling approximately $695,00 and support from the Vermont Training Program.

Vermont Business Magazine The Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, a division of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, has announced the relaunch of its website, goadirondack.com, the official tourism website for Clinton County. The bilingual site features a new look and navigation, as well as richer content highlighting outdoor recreation, history, agriculture, events, lodging, dining and other local offerings. Kristy Kennedy, VP of Marketing for the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and North Country Chamber of Commerce, said, “The upgrades to goadirondack.com are designed to deliver a richer user experience and help our visitors find information easily and quickly. The development of this website also focused on understanding how search engines (i.e Google) interact with websites. We want to ensure that goadirondack.com is consistently served as a leading source of information on our region.

Vermont Business Magazine Hal Curtis, age 64, of Rutland, Vermont, was convicted on January 5, 2016, in Vermont Superior Court, Windsor Criminal Division, on six misdemeanor counts of False Pretenses. The convictions stemmed from Curtis’ submission of false timesheets in order to obtain payment for services that were not provided to a recipient of benefits under the Developmental Services waiver program, a Vermont Medicaid program. Specifically, the State alleged that Curtis filed timesheets purporting to show that he had delivered community support services in the middle of the night and small hours of the morning while the recipient of benefits was sleeping.