Current News

LaunchVT, Vermont’s statewide business pitch competition announced its 2015 contestants and the addition of a new second place cash prize. Six contestants were chosen to participate in the competition which concludes with a pitch session on May 7. A new second place cash prize has been added to the competition this year. The competition will now award a first place company $30,000 in cash and more than $45,000 of in-kind support with a new second place prize awarding $15,000 in cash and $25,000 worth of in-kind support.

An analysis of the recently-released 2014 US Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) National Bridge Inventory database finds good news and bad news when it comes to the most heavily traveled U.S. bridges. The good news is that there are 45 fewer structurally deficient structures in Vermont than there were in 2013. The analysis of the federal government data, conducted by American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Chief Economist Dr Alison Premo Black, shows cars, trucks and school buses cross Vermont's 206 structurally compromised bridges 331,196 times every day. Not surprisingly, the most heavily traveled are on the Interstate Highway System, which carries the bulk of truck traffic and passenger vehicles.

The bad news is that there are still 61,000 structurally deficient bridges across the nation that are still in need of significant repair. And it is a problem that hits close to home.

At the Vermont Travel Industry Conference on Tuesday, March 31, Bill Ackerman from Green Mountain Marketing and Advertising shocked many participants in his seminar with the news of Mobilegeddon. Attendees come to this conference to not only network with other tourism based companies but also to learn and share ideas and Ackerman certainly gave them their money's worth.

by Bill Ackerman, Green Mountain Marketing & Advertising It may sound like an April Fool’s prank, but pay attention; this is for real. If your website is not mobile friendly, Google is about to drop you like a hot potato.

The Red Clover Inn & Restaurant, a sophisticated inn and dining destination near Killington, has been honored by Vermont tourism industry peers for its locally-sourced cuisine, inspired cocktails and award-winning wine list, elegant atmosphere, support of the statewide tourism industry, and commitment to staff advancement and training.

The award was given to restaurateurs, longtime tourism industry icons, and siblings Ted Tyler and Pixley Tyler Hill before a packed audience at the 32^nd Vermont Travel Industry Conference in Burlington. Accepting the award beside the Tylers were General Manager Jeff Towle, Marketing Manager Caitlin Portch, and Innkeeper Carol PetitBon. The Tylers also credit Chef David Coolidge, Sous Chef Mike Ryan, and Sommelier Thomas Meek with the restaurant’s success.

The partnership responsible for developing the Jay Peak Biomedical Research Park, commonly known as AnC Bio Vermont, announced Tuesday evening that its updated private placement memorandum has been approved by Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation (DFR). The state’s EB-5 Regional Center had asked AnC Bio to suspend its marketing and offering efforts while the developers updated all of the project’s documents to come into compliance with new review standards being implemented for all of Vermont’s EB-5 projects. AnC Bio completed the process with the conclusion of an exhaustive market study of its products and services. DFR approved the project last week.

Northern Power Systems Corp (TSX:NPS), a next generation renewable energy technology company based in Barre and notable for its wind turbines, has announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2014. Revenue more than doubled to $56.5 million, a 174 percent increase over revenue of $20.6 million reported in 2013. Net loss for fiscal year 2014 was $7.9 million, a 44 percent reduction compared to a $14.1 million loss in 2013. This is the company's first public annual financial release. Shares of Northern Power have fallen steadily over the last year, from close to $4.50 a year ago to $1.52 per share at close of business Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Northern Power's assembly plant in Graniteville, Vermont.

The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center (UVMHN-CVMC) received the 2014 Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Award from the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The award recognizes Vermont employers who have made healthy behaviors a priority. The vision of UVMHN-CVMC’s wellness committee is “To improve the health and well-being of the CVMC community through health education and activities that will support positive lifestyle changes, resulting in improved productivity and morale, and decreased health care costs.”

Wellness committee members include: Kate Anderson, Charity Pratt, Frank Foti, Michael Kennedy, Pam Passburg, Robert Patterson, Sara Pryce, Rebecca Schubert, Kristin Sweet, Terry Redmond, Monica Urquhart and Kelley Willis.

While the latest statewide survey of Vermont CEOs shows continued optimism in the state's economic future, that optimism has waned. Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced today the 1st Quarter results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey. The survey, which is conducted quarterly, provides both a look back at the previous quarter and a predictive index going forward. The data for both the backward and forward-looking questions are weighted to the Vermont economy by sector employment and turned into “diffusion indices”.(1) These diffusion indices provide a tool for analyzing and presenting insight into the Vermont economy over time through the sentiments of the Roundtable members.

The Republican Governors Association will pay a penalty of $40,000 for campaign finance law violations during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign and file corrected campaign finance reports listing contributions it received and expenditures it made in connection with the 2010 gubernatorial election, according to a settlement announced today by Attorney General Bill Sorrell.

Bruce D Baker, Professor in the Department of Educational Theory Policy and Administration in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and Wendy I Geller, Data Administration Director at the Vermont Agency of Education, jointly published a research brief exploring efficiency and equity in Vermont public schools, the Agency announced today. in part, the brief states that, "Very small Vermont school districts face both elevated costs & elevated tax rates."

The past several Vermont governors have attempted to find a way to reduce costs by getting school districts and or schools to consolidate in an effort to decrease overhead. This brief suggests that not only is cost elevated with very small districts, but that educational opportunities are lesser in such districts.

Preliminary analysis of data on Vermont school districts shows that Vermont school districts experience a combination of:

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont manufacturing employment declined slightly in 2014, according to Illinois-based Manufacturers’ News, Inc. According to data collected by MNI, Vermont lost 605 industrial jobs, or 1.3 percent, from December 2013 to December 2014, in contrast to the 1.7 percent national average gain reported by the Labor Department for the same time period. Manufacturers’ News reports Vermont is now home to 1,363 manufacturers employing 43,777 workers.

The Vermont Department of Labor, using a slightly different data set (nonfarm, nongovernment, unadjusted, actual workers), still had similar, relative numbers for 2014. For the VTDOL, manufacturing employed 31,200 (9.8 percent of the nonfarm workforce) in December 2014, down 700 from December 2013, with electronics losing 800 workers and non-durable goods (food showed zero change) adding 100 workers, for a net loss of 2.2 percent.

BioTek Instruments been nominated for the 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award (commonly referred to as the "Freedom Award") by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense (DoD) office. The Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the DoD to employers for their support of National Guard and Reserve members.

On behalf of the Secretary of Defense, ESGR runs the annual award program, which has presented the honor to 205 employers since 1996.

BioTek was named the Deane C Davis Outstanding Business of the Year for 2009. VBM file photo.