Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Accounting firm Siliski & Buzzell has merged with Williston-based CPA firm, Davis and Hodgdon Associates in a deal that closed on July 1. Operating under the banner of Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs, the firms’ newly expanded team will continue to operate from their existing locations in Rutland and Chittenden counties. Robert E Buzzell Jr, CPA, CVA will continue to manage the Rutland office which will be known as Siliski & Buzzell, a division of Davis & Hodgdon Associates CPAs.

John Davis, left, and Robert Buzzell, partners, Davis & Hodgdon.

Vermont Business Magazine All State of Vermont email addresses will be changing today, Monday, July 27, 2015 from [email protected] to [email protected]. The reason for the change is to enhance security on state-owned email addresses, and all associated communications from the State. Email addressed using the old [email protected] address format will continue to be received until August 2016.

If you have a [email protected] email address there is no action you need to take to start receiving and sending mail using the @vermont.gov address.

Email addresses from @partner.state.vt.us will also change on July 27, 2015 to @partner.vermont.gov.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Historical Society President Laura Warren has announced that Mark Hudson, who has been the Vermont Historical Society's executive director for six years, has resigned to take a position as the executive director of the Tudor Place Historic House & Garden in Washington, DC. Warren also announced that the organization has launched a national search for his successor.

Under Hudson's leadership, the Vermont Historical Society conducted several fundraising campaigns which created three rotating exhibit galleries at the Vermont History Center in Barre and which supported restoration projects of the Center's historic building. The organization also received two awards from the American Association for State and Local History-one for its Vermont History Explorer website for children and teachers and another for publication of A Very Fine Appearance: the Vermont Photographs of George Houghton.

Vermont Business Magazine On six acres along the banks of The Ottauquechee River in Woodstock, a brand-new, 38-room boutique hotel grand opened in early July. This opening makes 506 On The River Inn the only new hotel to appear in this historic town in decades. Though the hotel has enjoyed a soft opening for some months, the announcement that the final eight guest rooms and its pool, the sole indoor hotel pool in Woodstock, are now complete, brings the self-contained resort to complete fruition. Immediately upon entering the hotel, guests are enveloped in the inn’s chic yet comforting modern meets farmhouse aesthetic.

by Erin Mansfield vtdigger.org Governor Peter Shumlin now believes Vermont should create an independent commission to handle ethics complaints, his spokesperson said. Scott Coriell, said Wednesday was the first time, to his knowledge, that the governor had been asked whether he supports such a commission. The governor’s call for a commission was first reported by The Associated Press.

Wednesday was also the day that three news organizations published articles that raised questions about possible conflicts of interest within Shumlin’s administration. Coriell said recent events, including news about a state regulator who moved to work on a project he was overseeing, had nothing to do with the announcement.

Vermont Business Magazine Senix Corporation of Hinesburg, manufacturer of ToughSonic ultrasonic level and distance sensors, today announced the launch of a new website, http://senix.com/, the first in a series of initiatives to expand the product and information capabilities it delivers. The new website launch coincides with Senix Corporation’s 25^th anniversary of continuous industry leadership in delivering advanced, smart ultrasonic sensors worldwide.

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly $250,000 will be awarded to Vermont watershed teams, supporting projects largely developed during the 2015 Leahy Center Environmental Summit. The High Meadows Fund announced this week $249,000 to be awarded to six watersheds. The Mad River, Lamoille Valley, Saxtons River, South Lake, Upper White River, and Mill Brook teams will work with their own communities to help residents solve pressing issues to become more floodwater and climate change resilient.

At the Leahy Summit in March, all the teams, save one, joined together to discuss the theme “Climate Change Resilient, Floodwater Smart.”

The about 150 attendees heard from experts, including Vermont Secretary of Transportation Sue Minter, Partnership for Water Sustainability Executive Director Kim Stephens, Sen. Patrick Leahy and keynote speaker, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, and spent two days brainstorming at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain.

Elizabeth Hewitt vtdigger.org Vermont Legal Aid filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday seeking to halt implementation of a $125 reduction in the monthly Reach Up benefit for hundreds of Vermont families. The Department for Children and Families recently sent notices to 860 Reach Up households saying they would see a $125 reduction in their monthly benefit beginning August 1 if an adult family member receives supplemental security income (SSI), a federal disability benefit. The reduction would impact more than 15 percent of the homes that receive the program’s cash benefits.

The class-action lawsuit alleges that the reduction, which the Legislature approved in the fiscal year 2016 state budget, is unconstitutional and that it discriminates against households with family members with a disability.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas Systems today announced that it has selected Michels Corporation, a Wisconsin-based family-owned company, for mainline construction on its Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project (ARNGP). Michels was founded in 1959 and has been in the Michels’ family for more than 50 years. Vermont Gas said it selected Michels Corporation for its expertise and the culture it brings to this important expansion project.

Vermont Business Magazine According to a recent survey by AARP Vermont of registered voters across the state, most Vermonters feel that ratepayers should not bear the costs of a gas pipeline nor be subject to higher rates to fund Vermont Gas System’s (VGS) Addison Natural Gas Project. Furthermore, most of those surveyed said they would be more likely to support a candidate who committed to ensuring that regulators advocated for affordable residential utility rates. Most felt they needed better representation from regulators at the state level regarding utility costs and that there should have been far more transparency on the increasing costs of the VGS pipeline project.

Highlights of the survey are detailed below:

-80% feel VGS customers should not pay for the pipeline.

-Only 7% knew that ratepayers were funding the project.

-94% believe VGS should have disclosed cost increases as soon as they were discovered.

by James Douglas Moving Vermont’s economy forward requires investments in both innovation and infrastructure. There’s no shortage of innovation in Vermont – we’re fortunate to have legacy industries and cutting edge entrepreneurs eager to contribute to our economy and provide good jobs. It’s not easy for them, however. Costs are higher here than in many other places. And too many areas of our state lack critical energy and telecommunications infrastructure necessary to compete in the 21^st Century economy.

Many of the challenges our employers face also exacerbate the trials of working families. As the cost of living in Vermont continues to rise, Vermonters in the middle struggle to keep pace.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont fell by more than 100 last week. Despite a spike in June, claims are typically low during the summer. There were 363 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont, a decrease of 133 from the previous week's total and 41 fewer than they were a year ago. Generally, claims have been running below last year's totals.

Altogether 4,394 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 196 from a week ago, and 569 fewer than a year ago. The Department processed 0 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08). The total for all programs was 4,394 claims, 196 fewer than last week, and 576 fewer than the same time last year.