Current News

The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) announced Thursday the availability of $1 million in grant funds for essential, catalytic investments in Vermont’s farm and forest economy, from individual enterprises to service providers to supply chain partnerships. These grants will fund projects that enhance Vermont’s economy, culture, and communities. This year, funds for local food market development projects, previously solicited through a separate request for proposals (the Local Food Market Development Program) will be allocated through the WLEB grant process. Links to the requests for proposals and applications can be found online at http://workinglands.vermont.gov/apply/rfp. Applicant Information Sessions are scheduled for October 7th, 9th, and 14th.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Thursday announced that five Vermont organizations have been awarded more than $5 million in federal grants to support victims of crime in Vermont. The funding from the US Department of Justice includes seven grants from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) totaling $3.6 million. The grants will help strengthen services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, including programs in Vermont’s most rural regions. Three grants from the Office for Victims of Crimes, totaling $1.6 million, will support victims compensation programs.

According to a report by Vermont Gas Systems, a record number of Vermont residents and business owners chose to heat their homes and businesses in 2014 with natural gas and nearly 99 percent of the company’s customers say the South Burlington company is easy to work with. For the fiscal year that ended September 30, Vermont Gas installed 1,524 new natural gas meters, beating its previous annual record of 1,503 that was set in 2008.

“Vermonters continue to choose cleaner, more affordable natural gas service because it can help the typical customer save up to 50 percent on their home-heating costs and lower their carbon emissions by about 25 percent,” said Don Gilbert, president of Vermont Gas. “Coupled with our award-winning energy efficiency program, Vermonters can save even more while helping to reduce their emissions in the Champlain Valley.”

A $1 million gift commitment from University of Vermont alumnus Richard W. Barrett, class of 1966, and his wife, Elaine, is the first major private gift to the largest capital project in the university’s history. Barrett, president and owner of Union Leasing Corporation, based in Boulder, Colo., is a long-time donor to the university’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences through the family’s Barrett Foundation, also based in Boulder.

This latest gift will be allocated to design and construction costs for UVM’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) facility, a state-of-the-art complex of labs, classrooms and research facilities that will transform the central UVM campus and fulfill a promising new academic and economic development vision for UVM.

Total cost of the project is estimated at $104 million, of which $26 million must be raised from non-debt sources.

In its annual Reader Resort Survey, SKI (skinet.com) named 10 Vermont resorts in the top 20 in the East, including the top three in the US and four of the top 10. With Tremblant, Quebec, number one, a spot it often holds, Smuggs, Stowe, Killington and Okemo were in the top 10, with Sugarbush, Jay Peak, Stratton, Mount Snow, Mad River Glen and Bromley also in the top 20. The reviews were written by SKI editors Joe Cutts and Gordy Megroz. Now in its 26th year, SKI’s annual resort survey is the longest running survey in the industry.

To view the gallery and see information on all the winners go to: http://www.skinet.com/ski/galleries/2015s-top-ranked-eastern-ski-resorts

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today raised new questions about skyrocketing prices for prescription drugs, including a new treatment for Hepatitis C that costs more than $1,000 per pill, and what he calls “staggering” price hikes for generic drugs. Sanders’ focus on the Hepatitis C medication stems from his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which recently learned that the costly new treatment is projected to cost the Department of Veterans Affairs $1.3 billion over the next two years.

The VA treats roughly 174,000 veterans with Hepatitis C and the drug requires a 12-week course of treatment for most patients. The impact on the VA budget is significant, even though the large health care system receives a discount on Sovaldi from Gilead.

New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: NHTB) has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of thirteen cents ($0.13) per share payable October 31, 2014, to stockholders of record as of October 24, 2014.New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc is the savings and loan holding company of Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb, a federally chartered savings bank that provides a wide range of banking and financial services.

Agriculture is one of Vermont’s most important economic sectors, and two institutions from the Higher Education Food Systems Consortium are collaborating to offer students a global take on climate change and sustainability. Sterling College and Vermont Tech are teaming up in a Global Field Studies course on Agricultural Adaptations to Climate Change that provides students the opportunity to study the political, ecological, and historical aspects of sustainable agriculture in and around Chiapas, Mexico. The Chiapas region offers a unique living classroom for students to learn about climate change and sustainability. This two-week international course is open to the public and will provide each student with four college credits.

Visitors to Burlington’s Waterfront Park will soon have a view unobstructed by power lines and large utility poles. Lines originally built in 1958 are coming down this week, as Green Mountain Power is removing the lines through Waterfront Park and north into Burlington’s Waterfront Access North project area.

“We are very pleased to be able to remove these lines along our scenic waterfront,” said Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “The significant upgrades we’ve made to the transmission system throughout Chittenden County now make it possible to operate reliably without these lines on the Waterfront.”

Moran plant with power lines near Burlington's waterfront. VBM file photo.

Sugarbush Resort announces the development of Gadd Brook Residences--new private, slopeside homes in Lincoln Peak Village. The construction of Gadd Brook is the next phase of construction in the resort’s Lincoln Peak Village master plan, concept approval of which was received in the summer of 2012.

Situated between historic Sugarbush Village and Lincoln Peak base area, the Lincoln Peak Village master plan envisions a 93-unit multi-phase residential development that provides a mixture of ownership opportunities. Rice Brook Residences--the first phase of the plan--created fifteen slopeside homes across three buildings, and was completed in late 2013. Based on the success of Rice Brook, Gadd Brook will be of similar design in that it will offer a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom privately-owned condominiums.

The University of Vermont and the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, Local 267 have reached agreement on a three-year contract, subject to ratification by UE membership. The union represents service and maintenance workers at UVM. UVM stated that ontract details will be available once ratification has taken place.

“I am very pleased that we were able to reach agreement on a new contract with the UE,” said Wanda Heading-Grant, Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. “Our service and maintenance workers are essential to the successful operation of the University. They are important and vital members of the UVM community.”

Less than five months after breaking ground on a new 2 megawatt solar project in Brattleboro, Winstanley Enterprises on Wednesday was joined by development team members and supporters to officially mark the project’s completion. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott and State Representative Mollie Burke headlined a group of dignitaries joining Winstanley Enterprises, Integrated Solar, REC Solar, Green Mountain Power and supporters and advocates of renewable energy to celebrate this project.

The newly constructed solar array sits on a 12-acre parcel owned by Winstanley Enterprises, and is the first project of its size in southeastern Vermont. Over 8,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels comprise the 2 megawatt system which on a clear, sunny day will produce 40 percent of Brattleboro’s electrical needs.