Current News

Vermont Business Magazine At a special meeting held today, the shareholders of NUVO Bank & Trust Company of Springfield, MA, overwhelmingly voted to approve the merger agreement between NUVO and Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), the parent company of South Burlington, Vermont-based Merchants Bank, and the related bank merger agreement between NUVO and Merchants Bank pursuant to which Merchants Bank will acquire NUVO for or approximately $21.8 million in stock and cash. The deal was first announced last April..

The shareholders of NUVO approved the merger agreement by the affirmative vote of the holders of 84.5 percent of the outstanding shares of NUVO. Of the shares voted, approximately 97.6 percent of the shares were voted in favor of approval of the transaction.

Vermont Business Magazine is proud to announce the winners of its Rising Stars recognition award. The list is comprised of 40 winners under the age of 40. Award recipients were selected by a panel of judges for their commitment to business growth, professional excellence and involvement in their communities. Vermont Business Magazine will honor Vermont's most accomplished young leaders at the Rising Stars dinner on November 5th. The dinner will be held at the Hampton Inn Burlington Hotel in Colchester. The honorees will also be featured in the November issue of Vermont Business Magazine.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce and NPI have completed the second annual survey gauging trends driving Vermont-based manufacturers at the Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Conference & Trade Show last week. The results projected that 66% of the businesses will perform well above average in the coming year. This is up from 51% the previous year and led to 35% responding that they plan to make large investments in technology and equipment in the next year with 78% saying they receive above average returns from these technology investments.

Vermont Chamber Vice President of Business Development Chris Carrigan said, “We are pleased that the Vermont manufacturing sector is making the capital investments needed to keep on the cutting edge of world-class manufacturing and contribute to economic growth in our state.”

Vermont Business Magazine The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Tuesday that seven Vermont non-profits received a total of $204,000 in grants through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) Program to support the start-up or expansion of rural Vermont businesses. “Emerging and developing businesses are the backbone of Vermont’s economy and our rural communities,” said USDA Rural Development Vermont State Director Ted Brady, “These seven Rural Business Development Grants will invest in our state’s local food systems, our tourism economy and create new opportunities for rural entrepreneurs.”

The 2015 Vermont USDA Rural Development Rural Business Development Grant recipients include:

· Barre 2000 and Beyond Inc.: $35,000 to hire a manager to guide operations for a business incubator space in the Wheelock Office Building in downtown Barre.

Vermont Business Magazine Deb Markowitz, Secretary of Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources, announced the result of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiatives' (RGGI) 29th auction of CO2 allowances. Vermont uses the proceeds from RGGI auctions to support Vermont's energy efficiency programs. Markowitz said, "I am pleased to report that the latest RGGI auction is the most successful to date, with $1,156,675 coming to Vermont from the sale of 192,139 allowances."

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc is attempting to fend off one of its investors in a shareholders proxy fight that could result in Chairman and CEO John Casella being removed from the board of directors. JCP Investment Management, LLC, a small investment firm based in Houston, TX, holds just over a 5 percent stake in the Vermont-based firm. It claims it wants to replace the three board members up for re-election with three independent members of its choosing "because we are dedicated to maximizing shareholder value and improving corporate governance at Casella and we are confident that enhancing the Board is a critical first step towards these goals."

Casella released its statement Monday morning and by Tuesday afternoon shares were down slightly to about $5.80 (52-week range: $3.41 - $6.75) and down about 20 cents since their close Friday. JCP announced its intent to challenge the board nominees last April.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Newly released court documents show that Department of Vermont Health Access Commissioner Steven Costantino was aware that money in a loan-guarantee program he crafted as a lawmaker in Rhode Island was being set aside for the now bankrupt video game designer 38 Studios. In 2010, as chair of the Rhode Island House Finance Committee, Costantino helped craft and guide the passage of a $125 million loan guarantee program. The economic development program was increased from $50 million as a result of Costantino’s involvement.

by Timothy MCQuiston Vermont Business Magazine With much riding on it, Keurig Green Mountain, Inc today announced the launch of the Keurig KOLD system, the first beverage system that allows consumers to freshly make cold sparkling and still beverages at home at the push of a button, including beloved favorites from The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Keurig KOLD - the first personal cold beverage system that offers a wide variety of consumers' favorite beverages like Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Dr Pepper and Canada Dry, plus new discoveries, fresh-made at home, at the push of a button. Unlike rival SodaStream, the Keurig KOLD system does not employ a separate CO2 container to create the seltzer in the carbonated beverages.

Vermont Business Magazine An enhanced inflammatory response could be the key link between high saturated fat intake – a recognized risk factor for obesity-related disorders – and the development of diseases like type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. A new study led by a University of Vermont researcher in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry demonstrates that ingesting fats similar to those in a Mediterranean-type diet, featuring low saturated fat and high monounsaturated fat, appears to decrease the inflammatory response, both in comparison to a high saturated fat diet, as well as in relation to a low-fat diet.

Vermont Business Magazine The Stern Center for Language and Learning has recently become the first teacher training program in Vermont to be accredited by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). The accreditation is a result of the decision by the IDA to accredit all certified Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) programs based on the alignment of AOGPE’s training with IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.

The International Dyslexia Association is an international organization dedicated to addressing the complex issues of structured literacy learning for all learners, especially those with dyslexia. The IDA endorses effective teaching approaches and related clinical educational intervention strategies, supports and disseminates interdisciplinary research, and facilitates examination into the causes of reading difficulties and early identification of dyslexia.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin announced Monday that 5,800.4 pounds of prescription drugs were collected this past Saturday during the drug take back initiative in Vermont, representing the largest haul in the history of similar efforts in the state. Vermont’s drug take back day was part of a nationwide effort led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in partnership with local and state law enforcement to ensure the safe disposal of unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs.

by John McClaughry Hamilton Davis is a veteran Vermont reporter who has participated in health policy debates since his days as the advisor to Governor Madeleine Kunin thirty years ago. He is now is a health policy analyst and recently published in VTDigger a lucid description of Vermont’s likely health care future. Davis’s account is candid about some of the mistakes made during the Shumlin years. He acknowledges the embarrassing failure of the health insurance exchange, Vermont Health Connect, and especially “the devastating collapse” of Governor Shumlin’s four-year effort to install single payer health care.

That collapse, to Davis, “dealt a powerful blow to health care reform.” However, as a long-time advocate for government-run health care, he remains hopeful about the further prospects for “reform”.