Current News

Vermont Business Magazine State Agency officials, representatives from the Vermont Foodbank, and local grocers joined together Tuesday at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf to recognize the contribution of food rescue to hunger relief. Since July 2015, when requirements for food diversion took effect for medium-sized institutions under Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law, the Vermont Foodbank has seen a 24% increase in food donations from retailers over last year. Food shelves are fuller, and less waste is going to the landfill.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation approved a new plan to improve water quality in Lake Champlain. The Northern Lake Champlain Direct Drainages Tactical Basin Plan Plan compiles over two years of work focused on the health of the basin and development of targeted actions to remediate and protect surface waters. High levels of sediment and pollutants, invasive aquatic species and potentially toxic algal blooms threaten many lakes, rivers, and streams in the Lake Champlain Basin. The new tactical basin plan, one of many water quality improvement plans throughout the state, addresses the smaller watersheds that drain directly to the northern half of Lake Champlain, but excludes the larger northern watersheds such as the Missisquoi, Lamoille, and Winooski Rivers.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has approved a new plan to improve water quality and acquatic habitat in the Stevens, Wells, Waits, and Ompompanoosuc river watersheds, as well as those of several direct tributaries to the middle Connecticut River. The Tactical Water Management Plan was presents the recommendations of ANR in collaboration with other State and Federal resource agencies, watershed partner organizations, regional planning commissions, municipalities, and individual citizens.

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Brattleboro Not surprisingly, most scrutiny of the Vermont Yankee site in Vernon revolves around radiological concerns. But, as indicated by a recent, months-long process of violation notices and responses, state officials also are deeply interested in what plant owner Entergy is doing with its non-radiological waste — so much so that the state has threatened a civil complaint and associated, unspecified penalties in connection with an inspection earlier this year.

Vermont Business Magazine Within weeks after Attorney General William H. Sorrell and the Department of Public Service won a victory in a ruling by a three-judge Licensing Board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on a request by Entergy to amend its license, Entergy seeks to abandon its request for a license amendment altogether. If the license amendment had been granted, Entergy would have stopped providing notification of withdrawals from the Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund. Entergy’s motion to withdraw, if approved, means that it must continue to provide notice to the State and others 30 days before it withdraws any money from the fund.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University's Castleton Polling Institute released its "Vermont Issues Poll" today. As is generally the case, jobs and the economy are seen as the most important problem facing the state of Vermont. The recent Castleton Poll found one-third of all respondents citing the economy as the most important issue facing the state. This is the issue most on Vermonter’s minds. The Poll also asked questions about a possible Ethics Commission, legalizing marijuana, and school district consolidation.

Figure 1 illustrates the range of responses to this open-ended question.

Figure 1. Vermonters views on the most important issue facing their state

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Volkswagen car owners headed by Charlotte resident Robert Turnau have sued Volkswagen companies in Germany and the United States over damages they suffered as a result of the company’s falsification of emissions testing equipment. The suit was filed today in Chittenden Superior Court by former federal prosecutor Tristram J Coffin of the firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC (See Complaint below).

Vermont Business Magazine Manor Resources, LLC (also known as “Turbo Title Loans”), an Illinois company that provides high-interest loans over the internet by requiring borrowers to assign their vehicle titles, will pay over $16,000 to five Vermont consumers and pay the State of Vermont $12,000 to settle claims that the company violated Vermont consumer protection and lending laws. “Vehicle title loans are a particularly harmful form of predatory lending,” said Attorney General William H. Sorrell. “These loans threaten an essential asset of consumers—their vehicles. We will continue to protect Vermonters from unlicensed lenders doing business over the internet.” More information on the Attorney General’s crackdown on illegal lending can be found here.

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bank announced today the anticipated consolidation of their Malletts Bay branch in Colchester, Vermont, as of January 15, 2016. Customers will continue to have access to their accounts across the bank’s branch network, including three nearby branches (North Avenue and College Street in Burlington as well as a branch in Winooski) in addition to an ATM located within Costco, in Colchester. The consolidation follows an evaluation of their retail branch infrastructure in the face of consumers’ ongoing migration to online and mobile banking technology. With 32 branches and 38 ATMs state-wide, Merchants Bank continues to maintain one of the largest branch networks in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont’s part-time faculty, who are represented by United Academics, have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement. Under the new agreement, the salary pool will be adjusted as follows: A 3.25 percent increase in fiscal year 2016; a 3 percent increase in 2017; and a 2.5 percent increase in 2018, totaling 8.75 percent over three years.

Bargaining with the part-time faculty union has been underway since late February of this year. Both parties agreed in May to enter mediation in order to reach an agreement.

Vermont Business Magazine By vastly reducing reliance on fossil fuels, increasing conservation and using more renewable electric, especially for transportation and heating, Vermont will reach its goal of meeting 90 percent of its energy needs through renewable sources by 2050. The Public Service Department today released the Public Review Draft of the 2015 Comprehensive Energy Plan. The draft, which weighs in at a governmental 386 pages, reaffirms Vermont’s 90 percent goal and provides additional details on how to get there. The PSD sought significant public and stakeholder input to inform the draft and has been working across state agencies – including the agencies of Natural Resources; Transportation, Agriculture, Food and Markets; Commerce and Community Development; and Human Services – to put the draft together.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College will celebrate the beginning of a new era of creativity and the arts on Saturday, Sept. 26 with the official opening of the College’s new Center for Communication and Creative Media (CCM) at 375 Maple St. The new facility will be open to the public for tours from 10 am to 1 pm during Family Weekend. An evening reception for alumni and other invited guests will be held from 5 to 8 pm.

“This is the gateway to the campus,” said President Donald J Laackman, “and will provide collaborate space for students, faculty and others to gather in and out of the classroom.”