Current News

State Leaders convened in St Albans City Hall today to outline the new plan for addressing agricultural runoff in the Lake Champlain basin. New resources, deeper partnerships across state government, and new accountability tools (including enforcement and penalties by the attorney general's office) have been established to improve water quality across Vermont. The state is under pressure from the US EPA to move aggressively ahead with cleaning up the lake. If not, the federal government could come in and act on its own and bill Vermont for cleanup costs.

According to RE/MAX of New England, loosening lending practices, low inventory and steady interest rates are anticipated to heat-up the New England housing market in the first half of the year. Increased consumer confidence, a rebounding local economy and continued low-interest rates have converged to create a steady, consistent housing market throughout much of New England in 2014. Inventory shortages in desirable areas drove prices up, but throughout much of the region, overall home sales decreased over 2013 numbers. In Vermont, total sales were down and single-family homes paid slightly less, with the average median price dropping 3.8 percent to $205,000 in 2014, down from $213,000 a year ago.

Encore Redevelopment, of Burlington, Vermont, has announced the recent installation and commissioning of the PSEG Essex Solar Energy Center in Essex Junction, Vermont. At 3.6MWp, this array is the largest solar project in Vermont and is estimated to produce approximately 4,500,000 kWh of electricity annually, sufficient to power roughly 700 Vermont homes.

The solar array will also provide a lease payment which will help to diversify the income stream of the Whitcomb Farm and help the Farm, which has been in continuous operation since 1867, remain in active agricultural use.

Energtek Inc (OTC BB: EGTK), a hi-tech natural gas solutions and Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) company, has announced that it has finalized the land purchase in Vermont for the filling station. "We have completed paying for the 25 acre Swanton, Vermont site, which is in an ideal location for a filling station: i) right on a transport pipeline; ii) elevated area on the pipeline (to minimize curtailments and pressure drops); iii) right next to an inter-state on-ramp; iv) with identified customers who cannot be served by anyone else and who are eagerly awaiting our deliveries; v) right next to electricity sub-station for adequate secure power supply," said Chairman of Energtek North Country Inc., Mr. Lev Zaidenberg.

Norwich University officials have announced an agreement with (ISC)² , the largest not-for-profit membership body of certified information and software security professionals with nearly 100,000 members worldwide, to become a new member of the (ISC)2 Global Academic Program (GAP). Through the agreement, (ISC)2 will provide Norwich students and professionals with the opportunity to gain the knowledge, skills, and industry certification they need to enter the high-demand, high-paying cybersecurity workforce. This collaborative initiative is an important part of the GAP’s aim to establish a joint framework for industry-academic cooperation to bridge the workforce gap between the increasing demand for qualified cybersecurity professionals and the amount of skilled professionals entering the industry.

Governor Peter Shumlin joined with Department of Health officials, substance abuse prevention providers, and community groups on Wednesday to announce that binge drinking, marijuana use, and prescription pain reliever misuse dropped among young adult Vermonters between 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, according to the latest report of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). While the governor said he welcomed the good news, he cautioned that much work remains and outlined steps the state is taking to continue progress in the battle against drug and opiate addiction in Vermont.

“This is really encouraging news,” Shumlin said. “It’s a testament to the hard work of those who are on the front lines every day battling drug abuse in Vermont. Their hard work and dedication is making a difference. While this is good news, we can’t for one minute let up. There are still big challenges we need to overcome.”

Comcast held a special reception and ribbon-cutting event Tuesday to announce the grand opening of its interactive Xfinity Store in South Burlington, Vermont. The 3,000 square foot space has been designed entirely around the needs of customers, providing them with an opportunity to explore, learn about and interact directly with the latest Xfinity products and services.

Community leaders came out to help celebrate the opening and tour the new store. Mary Burns, CEO of the Burlington YMCA, was also in attendance to accept a surprise $2,500 donation made by Comcast to the organization.

Vermont Business Magazine After several spikes during the holiday season, new weekly unemployment claims in Vermont are back to about where they were in the fall and less than half where they were just after Christmas. For the week of January 17, 2015, there were 794 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is a decrease of 227 from the previous week's total, and 16 more than they were a year ago. In 2014, claims were consistently below 2013 levels on a week-to-week basis.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets is now accepting proposals from Vermont businesses and organizations for vending and exhibiting space in the Vermont Building at the Eastern States Exposition (“Big E”) in West Springfield, Massachusetts. In 2015, the fair will be held from September 18th - October 4th. Nearly 1 million patrons passed through the Vermont Building during the 2014 fair, spending over $1.7 million on Vermont products.

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Business Magazine are accepting nominations until March 6^th for the Deane C Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award that honors an outstanding Vermont business. The deadline for nominating a business is March 6, 2015. Nominees and applicants are encouraged to complete the 2014 Deane C Davis Award online nomination form: http://events.vermontbiz.com/deane-c-davis-nominations/

Dealer.com was the 2014 winner, presented at the Vermont Business Expo in May. VBM photo.

Lang McLaughry Real Estate, the largest real estate firm in Vermont, with 15 offices, has merged with Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, which has three offices in New Hampshire. Together, they have acquired Vermont Country Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, which has five offices in southern Vermont. The combined entities will operate as Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, with a total of 23 offices and over 220 sales associates across Vermont and New Hampshire.

Staige Davis

by Governor Peter Shumlin The agenda I laid out earlier this month seeks to make life a little easier and more affordable for Vermont families by attacking the two biggest drags on incomes and wages: health care costs and rising property taxes. Addressing those issues alone, however, isn’t enough. If we’re to really make progress for Vermont families, we need to combine increased affordability with expanded job growth and economic opportunity.