Current News

Vermont Business Magazine At a time when Entergy is reducing employment at the nearby Vermont Yankee plant as it winds down operations, the Brattleboro area is seeing significant investment at an important local manufacturer. Governor Peter Shumlin, US Senator Patrick Leahy, US Congressman Peter Welch, and local officials joined Norm Schneeberger, President and CEO of GS Precision, to break ground on a $17 million expansion that will bring 100 new jobs to Brattleboro in the next few years. The event capped nearly eight months of work by GS Precision, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA), and the Town of Brattleboro to ensure that the company expanded its business in Brattleboro and not elsewhere.

by Mike Faher/The Commons Entergy is accelerating its plans to move Vermont Yankee’s spent nuclear fuel into more stable storage, with administrators saying they’ve developed a “safe and efficient” proposal for getting the job done on time. If a state permitting process goes as expected, crews will start transferring the Vernon plant’s spent fuel to dry cask storage in 2017 – two years earlier than initially planned. Entergy announced the change on December 16, but had first disclosed consideration of a schedule shift in an October regulatory filing.

The decision doesn’t raise the fuel project’s $145 million price tag, and it doesn’t mean the job will be complete any sooner than the original 2020 deadline. But it does mean Entergy administrators are giving themselves and a contractor more time to get through the painstakingly slow, closely monitored move of radioactive material.

by CB Hall vtdigger.org Middlebury residents are pressuring the Shumlin administration to back off plans to improve a rail line through the Addison County town. The Agency of Transportation plans to replace two deteriorating bridges in downtown Middlebury, and local residents have raised questions about improvements and the overall safety of the rail line. In a strongly worded letter, 65 business owners and residents told Gov. Peter Shumlin they are “aghast” at VTrans’ plans for $40 million to $50 million rail enhancements.

The nearly adjoining bridges, on Main Street and Merchants’ Row, “have been neglected for too long,” the letter states, “and present a serious threat to the safety of downtown motor and foot traffic.”

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Bill Sorrell has announced that the final distribution of a $1.25 million settlement with Bank of America earlier this year will be distributed to Vermont Legal Aid and the Vermont Judiciary. The settlement resolved claims that Bank of America did not live up to the terms of agreements it made regarding treatment of homeowners during foreclosure proceedings and created a $250,000 fund to compensate affected Vermonters. As part of that settlement, BOA agreed that any money remaining in the fund after the Vermonters were compensated could be distributed to Vermont Legal Aid and the Vermont Judiciary to assist with foreclosure matters.

Vermont Business Magazine On December 18, 2015, Autumn Harp, Inc marked 500 days without a Lost-Time Injury (LTI) at its Essex Junction facility. With a total exposure of more than 450,000 employee hours worked in 2015, this is a significant milestone for the entire Autumn Harp team. During this LTI-free period, Autumn Harp has added three new pieces of production equipment, 51 new employees, and been engaged in a substantial number of new product launches. A contributing factor to this achievement is Autumn Harp’s adoption of its Operational Excellence program, which has its foundation in safety and focuses on employee engagement and participation in making systematic decisions.

Vermont Business Magazine Seven members of the Lyndon State College community were named the Annual Alumni Award winners this fall at homecoming weekend. Joe Benning ‘79, Miranda (Dwyer) Fox ‘11, Stu Farina, Cheri Goldrick, Bob McCabe, Sidney Patridge ‘59, and Adam Vigue ‘03 were this year’s award recipients. Joe Benning received the Distinguished Alumni Award, an honor presented to an alumnus who has achieved excellence in his or her profession and who has served his or her state and community. Benning is probably most well-known as a Vermont State Senator for the Caledonia/Orange district, a post he has held since 2010. Aside from his political career, Benning has also been practicing law in Vermont after graduating from Vermont Law School in 1983. His community service work includes work with the Lyndonville Rotary and Passumpsic River Clean-Up Initiative.

Vermont Business Magazine A new analysis of the fossil record shows that a deep pattern in nature remained the same for 300 million years. Then, 6,000 years ago, the pattern was disrupted -- at about the same time that agriculture spread across North America. "When early humans started farming and became dominant in the terrestrial landscape, we see this dramatic restructuring of plant and animal communities," said University of Vermont biologist Nicholas Gotelli, an expert on statistics and the senior author on the new study. In the hunt for the beginning of the much-debated "Anthropocene" -- a supposed new geologic era defined by human influence of the planet — the new research suggests a need to look back farther in time than the arrival of human-caused climate change, atomic weapons, urbanization or the industrial revolution.

Vermont Business Magazine Farmers and agricultural leaders from Vermont and New Hampshire gathered today at Norwich Farms to launch the Connecticut River Farmers’ Watershed Alliance (CRFWA), a new farmer led regional initiative that will work to sustain the environmental health of the Connecticut River watershed. The organization will work with local government agencies, extension organizations, researchers and public interest groups to help farmers implement beneficial environmental solutions and understand changing environmental regulations, including the upcoming Required Agricultural Practices aimed at protecting water quality in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is urging people to wait for colder weather and snow before putting up their bird feeders in order to avoid attracting bears. The department is hearing from people who want to know if they should put out their bird feeders. Normally, December 1 is the recommended start date for feeding birds in Vermont, but this year’s lack of snow is keeping some bears from going into their winter dens.

“An abundance of beechnuts and apples coupled with our lack of snow cover this year have resulted in male bears staying active, rather than denning for the winter,” said Forrest Hammond, Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s bear biologist.

Vermont Business Magazine Warm conditions and even rain have caused Q Burke Resort to reset its ski calendar to a January 8 opening. "As we look ahead, the 7-day forecast may include some much needed colder temperatures and perhaps even a sprinkle of natural snow, but this week has been tough and we will need to go back and resurface Warren's Way training hill, Upper Willoughby, and Bear's Den once again," Q Burke said in a statement. "During our operations meeting yesterday, we discussed a timeline and game plan so we are ready to go when Mother Nature says so. With the projected time table and the amount of running time it will take to resurface sections of trail, we are projecting a new target open date for skiing and riding Friday, January 8th. Jay Peak will continue to honor Q Burke season passes at their resort until we are open.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont home prices, which have struggled to gain ground even as the recovery continues, fell back again last month, even as the number of transactions increased again. Overall, the New England residential market remained steady through November 2015 with a 7.9 percent increase in sales over November 2014. Across the region, all six states saw an increase in sales while pending sales were up 15.1 percent and average days on market decreased by seven days. Month-over-month, the New England market experienced a seasonal sales decrease of 21.7 percent and an 18 percent decrease in pending sales. Prices remained stable with a 0.8 percent increase over November 2014 and a slight 1.9 percent decrease over October 2015.

Vermont Business Magazine This fall, through the 2015-2016 Vermont Mentoring Grants initiative, Mobius awarded 27 grants, totaling $327,715, to support adult-to-youth mentoring programs throughout the state. This funding will support 106 new and existing program sites, and nearly 1,900 adult-to-youth mentor pairs in communities across Vermont. “This year's grants will help local mentoring programs continue to provide invaluable support to youth in their communities,” said Chad Butt, executive director of Mobius. “Together, we are continuing to make progress toward Mobius’ goal of being able to provide a mentor to every young person in Vermont who wants one.”