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Vermont Business Magazine Several individuals and organizations weighed in on Governor Peter Shumlin's sixth and final State of the State Address Thursday afternoon. Among them was Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, who is a leading Republican running to fill the seat Shumlin is leaving one-year from now. Scott was also Tweeting during the speech. He issued the following statement.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The governor may have buried the lede in his sixth and final State of the State Address. After talking about the successes of the last five years (job growth, expansion of health insurance coverage, recovery from Tropical Storm Irene), Governor Peter Shumlin dedicated the last part of his speech to the humanity of Vermonters and the human side of government. He spoke about slain social worker Lara Sobel and the need to give better and more support to social services, he spoke about the opiate addiction problem and its ramifications on this and every state, and he spoke of the need for Vermonters to reach out to Syrian refugees as Vermonters historically have done to help people in need.

Vermont Business Magazine Like most Americans, Vermonters should enjoy continued savings at the pump. Two years ago, gasoline prices in the state were pushing $4 per gallon, but in the summer of 2014 they began a deep dive which has driven them all the way down to nearly $2 per gallon. As of Thursday morning, gas prices in Vermont stood at an average of $2.09, with a low of $1.94 in southern and central Vermont. A national rating service says gas prices are going to remain low through the rest of 2016. Overall, US motorists will spend $17 billion less compared to 2015 as the national yearly sags for a fourth straight year to $2.28 a gallon, according to GasBuddy’s 2016 Fuel Price Outlook. Meanwhile, diesel, which had been running significantly higher than gasoline, will fall even greater to a national average of $2.16.

Aside from a national average that’s forecast to be lower than 2015, highlights include:

Vermont Business Magazine An innovative project developed at the University of Vermont has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for research aimed at making the electric grid better able to accommodate power generated from renewable energy sources. The grant, one of only 12 awarded nationally, is part of ARPA-E’s newest program, called Network Optimized Distributed Energy Systems, or NODES.

Vermont Business Magazine The boarded-up building and neglected property alongside the Whetstone Brook at 11 Arch Street in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, got a new lease on life on December 11, when the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) acquired it from Green Mountain Power. BMAC Director Danny Lichtenfeld said the museum intends to rehabilitate the property and expand the museum's operations in downtown Brattleboro. BMAC's plans for the new facility have yet to be finalized but may include artist housing or studios, gallery or event space, classrooms, and a terrace overlooking the brook. "Bringing the Arch Street property back into productive use, from its current state of abandonment and neglect, will be no small task, but the museum's trustees, staff, and I look forward to the challenge," said Lichtenfeld. "Brattleboro deserves something great in that location, and that's what we intend to bring about."

Vermont Business Magazine ECFiber and its operations contractor ValleyNet have announced a shift in leadership. Carole Monroe, the current General Manager will be taking on the CEO role from outgoing CEO Stan Williams, who will remain as Chief Financial Officer. Williams noted, “I will continue to help keep ECFiber financially self-sustaining, but have also refocused my efforts towards accessing the required investment capital to complete our buildout.” In other developments, the organization announced that it had reached the 1200 customer milestone.

Monroe said, “Thank you to all of our loyal subscribers for spreading the word to their neighbors and maintaining our internal growth.”

Vermont Business Magazine In response to growing demand from Vermont homeowners seeking to invest in energy-efficient upgrades that can help them save money on their heating and electricity bills, Governor Peter Shumlin has announced continued funding of a program that has an outstanding track record for helping homeowners meet their energy efficiency needs. As a result of ongoing discussions with the Governor’s office about how best to support the needs of Vermont communities, Bank of America Merrill Lynch will provide $1.5 million in capital to NeighborWorks of Western Vermont (NWWVT), a nonprofit homeownership organization and community development financial institution (CDFI) that specializes in financing energy efficiency improvements.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin and local officials will join Eli Gould, President of Ironwood & Precraft, for a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday December 21, 2015 at 11:30 to celebrate the completion of the first phase of a prototyping and testing facility for the green building industry. Public and members of the press are invited to attend. The Advanced Practice, Testing, and Integration Shop, or "APTI-Shop" for
short, is the first loan funded from the Windham County Economic Development Program, established upon the closure of Entergy VY. The Windham Region CEDS, completed in 2013, identified green building as a top prospect to replace Entergy jobs with new manufacturing careers in high performance prefab and value added timber and engineering. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) is now accepting proposals from Vermont businesses and organizations for vending and exhibiting space in the Vermont Building at the 2016 Eastern States Exposition (“The Big E”) in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The 2016 fair dates are September 16^th – October 2^nd. Approximately 1 million patrons passed through the Vermont Building during the 2015 Big E, spending nearly $1.7 million on Vermont products. 

Vermont Business Magazine Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. The annual awards recognize resource conservation, environmental protection, pollution prevention, and sustainability efforts taken by Vermonters. Individuals, organizations, educational institutions, public agencies and businesses are all eligible for consideration. The application period for nominating a candidate will close on February 1, 2016. 

For more information about the Awards or the nomination process, or to view a list of previous winners and project examples, visit the Awards web page athttp://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/ead/gap/Index.htm or contact Maura Mancini by phone at 802-522-0218 or email at [email protected] .

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin has released a video previewing the themes of his upcoming State of the State Address, which he will deliver Thursday at 2 pm. In the video, Gov. Shumlin also details one policy proposal he will make tomorrow to help Vermonters stuck in low-paying jobs get back on the academic track and the road to a brighter future. See video below.

The video also can be viewed on the Governor’s State of the State website at www.2016stateofthestate.com/preview.

Vermont Business Magazine Heritage Aviation, based at Burlington International Airport, announced today the transition of the company’s ownership to its employees via the formation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). An ESOP allows employees to earn stock and share in company profits. Company owner Robert Stiller had long expressed a vision that, one day, Heritage Aviation would be employee-owned as a way to reward employees for their years of service and to ensure that the business would stay in the area.