Current News

Lake Champlain has received yet another world-class fishing designation. Renowned fishing media outlet, World Fishing Network, ranks Lake Champlain one of the seven best smallmouth bass lakes in North America. The ranking, which was first reported on WFN’s website, describes Lake Champlain as “perhaps the best lake in all of North America for both quality largemouth and smallmouth bass.”

“This reinforces what Vermonters have known for years, that Lake Champlain has some of the best bass fishing anywhere,” said Vermont Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter. “Not only does the big lake have some of the best fishing, it also offers some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere, especially at this time of year.”

EPA awards Healthy Communities Grants to 14 community-based projects across New England, including two for Vermont. The grant funds for New England total about $340,637 that will go towards community projects addressing environmental and public health issues in New England. EPA’s Healthy Communities Grant Program brings together discretionary funding across many different programs to fund community projects that reduce environmental risks, protect and improve human health, improve the quality of life, and advance resilience.

This year there were a large number of applicants for Healthy Communities Grants. There were initially 70 submissions for applications. This year EPA selected 14 projects to receive grants totaling $340,637.

Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) recognized four Vermonters for their outstanding efforts promoting renewable energy business this year at Renewable Energy 2014: “Leading the Change in Energy,” an annual renewable energy conference. RE2014 is Vermont’s annual convention bringing together key players in the clean energy sector. The conference was held Thursday and Friday at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington.

Governor Shumlin speaks at RE2014 Friday. Photo by James K Buck.

One of Vermont’s most picturesque ski towns is now considered one of the nation’s most tech-friendly towns, according to Google. Google has named Stowe as the 2014 eCity for the State of Vermont. The eCity Awards recognize the strongest online business communities in all 50 states. The businesses in these communities are embracing the web to find new customers, connect with existing clients and fueling their local economies. Stowe joins the ranks of America’s leading cities in the digital economy.

“Stowe serves as a prime example of how innovation and growth in e-commerce can successfully contribute to bolstering economic progress and competitiveness,” said Matt Dunne, Head of Google Community Affairs. “Google is proud to recognize Stowe’s accomplishment, and the role it plays in creating Vermont jobs.”

Keurig Green Mountain, Inc, today announced it has received notification from The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it is closing the previously disclosed four-year inquiry into accounting and disclosure matters at the Company and would not be recommending any enforcement action against the Company or any of its current or former employees.

"Since 2010, we have voluntarily cooperated with the government in an open and fulsome manner and we are very pleased to have this matter closed," said Brian Kelley, Keurig's President and CEO. "Throughout this time, every Keurig employee stayed focused on delivering innovative beverage solutions that consumers embrace as part of their daily routines. This led to exceptional quality, convenience and choice for consumers, with more than 275 beverage varieties and over 50 brands in the Keurig brand family."

About Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.

Vermont will receive $83,000 of a settlement state attorneys general reached with TD Bank that resolves a 2012 data breach that affected almost 16,000 Vermont consumers. The breach involved the loss of two unencrypted backup tapes containing 1.4 million files that had been accumulated over eight to ten years. The files contained a variety of personal information belonging to some 260,000 TD Bank customers nationwide.

“Vermont is committed to protecting the privacy of consumer information, whether held by a small retailer or a national bank. The most important things a business can do once it’s suffered a breach are to remedy the problem and get notice out as quickly as possible,” Attorney General Sorrell said. Though the breach occurred in March 2012, notice was not given to consumers or the Attorneys General until October 2012, almost seven months later.

Vermont Business Magazine The cost of decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon is estimated to be $1.24 billion, the onsite storage of the spent nuclear fuel should be completed by 2020 and the plant will be put into SAFSTOR for an undisclosed period of time before the site is returned to a "green field" status, according to the plant's owner. Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee has submitted its site assessment study for the decommissioning of the nuclear facility to the State of Vermont’s Public Service Department, Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Health, and Public Service Board.

Vermont Business Magazine New unemployment claims in Vermont were up again last week, but increased at a brisker rate. Levels this year have been running consistently lower than those of last year. For the week of October 11, 2014, there were 487 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 88 from the previous week's total, and 124 fewer than they were a year ago.

Altogether 3,721 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 120 from a week ago and 493 fewer than a year ago. The Department processed 1 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), one fewer than the previous week.

Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Unions representing over 1,700 of FairPoint's approximately 2,550 employees in Vermont (about 700), New Hampshire and Maine went on strike at 12:01 Friday morning. FairPoint said its operations will continue "without disruption." Negotiations had begun on April 25. The two biggest issues involve the company's desire to align union worker benefits with packages common to its other employees and it also wants to bring in more non-union employees to do jobs typical of union positions to allow it to be more flexible as the need arises, say following a storm. The unions said it anticipates these two moves costing union members $700 million on the one hand and, on the other, leading to replacing union workers with non-union employees.

Vermont will receive $75,455 in restitution and other recoveries as its share of a national $31 million civil settlement with Organon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc to resolve allegations that the drug manufacturer, which is now owned by Merck & Co, Inc, engaged in various marketing violations. Specifically, whistleblowers in two federal lawsuits filed in Massachusetts and Texas alleged that Organon underpaid rebates and misrepresented drug prices to state Medicaid programs, offered improper financial incentives to nursing home pharmacy companies, and promoted its antidepressants Remeron and Remeron SolTab for unapproved uses in children and adolescents. The lawsuits were filed under the federal False Claims Act and various State false claims statutes.

Vermont AG: Oct 17, 2014

After a comprehensive selection process, the University of New Hampshire has chosen the design-build team of Populous, Lavallee Brensinger Architects, and PC Construction for the new $25 million athletic complex slated to open in the summer of 2016. The new four-story stadium will feature tiered seating for 11,500 and include dedicated levels for concessions and restrooms, a president’s suite, press and club boxes with a common multi-purpose stadium club room, a gateway entry with ticket sales building, and a pedestrian concourse. The project will be built to UNH’s high sustainability requirements, and meet the standards associated with a LEED Silver facility.

Vermont Business Magazine It should come as no surprise that in California the "most unique" jobs are held by actors, that in Connecticut it's actuaries (who get paid a lot more), in DC it's political scientists (who get even more) and that in North Dakota it's derrick operators (who get less). But in Vermont the "most unique" job is maple surgarer? dairy farmer? solar panel installer? health care worker? waiter? Nope, it's Highway Maintenance Worker, which is even lower paid and does not exactly evoke the image we generally choose to project. According to a report recently released by CareerBuilder, in the sprawling United States economy, the types of jobs that define entire regions are as diverse as the geographies that shape borders and the people who live within them. Simply put, there are some jobs you can only seem to find in certain places.