Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Senate this afternoon voted 20-10 to suspend Senator Norman H McAllister (R-Franklin). McAllister has denied the felony sexual assualt charges against him. The suspension would terminate if he is found not guilty or the charges are dismissed. A trial could start as early as February but will likely not start before March. This is believed to be the first time the Legislature has taken such action. Franklin County and the Senate as a whole will be down one senator. The vote was not partisan. According to vtdigger.org, McAllister himself voted against the suspension. According to the Burlington Free Press, he immediately left the Chamber.

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, a Republican running for governor this year, issued the following statement about the Vermont Senate’s vote Wednesday to suspend McAllister:

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Construction of a power line running for nearly 100 miles under Lake Champlain could begin this year. TDI New England announced today that the New England Clean Power Link has received a Certificate of Public Good from the Vermont Public Service Board. Vermont’s Certificate of Public Good is the comprehensive state siting and environmental regulatory approval that is needed to construct and to operate the project in the state, and details the conditions under which the project can be built and operated. TDI-New England is proposing to construct a 1000 MW transmission line under Lake Champlain and underground from Benson to Ludlow. With this approval, the permitting process remains on track. The current project timeline calls for commencing construction in 2016 and beginning commercial operation in 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine With winter returning to the Eastern half of the US, ski and snowboard areas nationwide are turning their sights to January’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month (LSSM) and especially the industry’s attempt to set a record for the Largest Ski and the Largest Snowboard Lessons. The Guinness Book of World Records attempt - the “unofficial” kick off for LSSM - takes place Friday, January 8, 2016 at 160 plus locations nationwide. All lessons will happen at 10 am in each local time zone. Trained instructors will teach ski and snowboard lessons in separate classes. The lessons are for beginners. Some locations in Utah, Colorado and California are focusing their efforts on school children but most events are for anyone who is a beginner. One lucky individual will win either a pair of skis or a snowboard from RAMP just for participating.

The governor talks about big wind, big health care, opiates, education, technology, successes, Hillary & Bernie and vows to never run for anything again. He gives his final State of the State Address on Thursday.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of the South End Arts and Business Association in Burlington has announced the transition of Arts Alive Vermont under the umbrella of SEABA starting in 2016. For 30 years Art's Alive has worked to fulfill its mission statement by dedicating itself to increasing the awareness of and appreciation of Vermont's Visual Artists. For three decades the organization has produced hundreds of group and individual exhibitions, including the Annual Festival of Fine Art in June featuring Art in the Windows on Church Street in Burlington, a Juried Exhibition in Main Street Landing's Union Station and Chalk Drawing Competition in the City Hall Park. As the community evolved so did Art's Alive.

Vermont Business Magazine Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) today announced the introduction of his bipartisan legislation encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to make their treatment preferences known to families and providers should they be unable to make their own decisions due to a debilitating or terminal illness.  The announcement took place at the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Adult Primary Care facility in South Burlington.

Welch was joined at the announcement by Cathy Frank, former chair of Vermont Ethics Network, Dr. Bob Macauley, Director of Clinical Ethics at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine, and Asaad Trina, a third year UVM medical student. The legislation has been endorsed by a broad coalition, including the American College of Physicians, the National Right to Life Committee, the American Nurses Association, and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care.

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast said today that it is seeking candidates to fill more than 30 new "customer-facing" jobs in Vermont over the coming months, in addition to the 20 already recently added across the state. These new positions, which include customer care representatives and supervisors based in the company’s South Burlington call center, are part of Comcast’s multi-year effort to transform the customer experience and to create a culture focused on exceeding customers’ expectations, at all levels of the company. “Comcast is continuing to invest in processes, tools and, most importantly, employees to ensure that our customers have the best possible experience," said Michael Parker, Senior Vice President for Comcast in Vermont. "We’re excited for these new hires to join our existing 200 Vermont employees in our efforts to deliver great service, and we’re thrilled to be growing our workforce in the Green Mountain State.”

by Brian Dubie It was my honor to serve as Vermont's Lieutenant Governor for eight years. While I was in office, I was invited to tour the site of a proposed industrial wind turbine complex in Ira, Vermont. My tour guide was a commercial pilot. He explained his concerns about the project’s impact on Southern Vermont Regional Airport in nearby Rutland. Being a commercial airline pilot myself, I understood and shared my colleague’s concerns. We were not alone—the airport manager expressed grave concerns about the project and the “operational safety and the economic impact it has on the airport.” As a result of what I learned I joined with them to oppose the project.

Impacts on aviation were not the only problem with the Ira project. It was too close to neighboring homes, and it was opposed by most of the towns that it would have affected. The project was never built.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin has launched a website dedicated to the State of the State Address that he will deliver on January 7, 2016. The website can be found atwww.2016stateofthestate.com. The site currently features information on the Governor’s five previous addresses to the legislature and statistics about the significant progress Vermont has made since Governor Shumlin came to office in January 2011.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin announced today that he has tapped Executive Director of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, David Cahill, to serve as State’s Attorney in Windsor County. Cahill will replace current Windsor County State’s Attorney Michael Kainen, who Governor Shumlin has appointed to be a trial court judge. Prior to his current post, Cahill was a deputy state’s attorney and chief deputy attorney in Windsor County from 2006 to 2014. Cahill also teaches courses in the Criminal Law Clinic at Vermont Law School. Cahill has prosecuted numerous serious felonies ranging from embezzlement to homicide. He has also served as a dedicated prosecutor for the Windsor Special Investigations Unit, which handles sex crimes and serious child abuse cases. Cahill graduated from Dartmouth College, Highest Honors, in 2001, and received his JD from the University of Minnesota, Cum Laude, in 2005.

Vermont Business Magazine Exterus Technology for Business, located in Shelburne, has announced it is merging their Xerox copier, printer and IT business with Usherwood Office Technology, located in Williston. Terms were not disclosed. Effective January 1, the merged entity will be known as Usherwood Office Technology. Under the merger, all Exterus employees will be retained and relocated to Usherwood’s new offices and showroom at 1193 South Brownell Road. Usherwood is an independent family owned authorized solutions provider for Canon, Xerox, Microsoft and Samsung. In addition, Usherwood offers services for managed IT, managed print and mailing solutions.