Current News

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine Remember the old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times”? We live in interesting times. The whole world is shifting — or at the very least, being rapidly “disrupted.” Autonomous cars, buses and trains? Robotics? Sunny day flooding? Overcrowding at the national parks? Rationing visits to the national parks to solve the problem of overcrowding? Data analytics? Data privacy? E-commerce vs dying retail? A “shared” economy that means fewer cars and less money from the gas tax to fix the roads and bridges? Drones? Engineers inspecting old bridges using new drones. Rising sea tides changing the footprint of large cities like Miami and New York. And that's just a start.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced he’s appointed 76 Vermonters to State boards and commissions in July 2019. Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities.

Vermont Business Magazine Bomber’s Moon, out September 24, marks New York Times Best Selling Author Archer Mayor’s 30th novel in the highly acclaimed Vermont-based Joe Gunther mystery series. Detective Joe Gunther worked for the Brattleboro, Vermont, police department and is now a Special Agent for the fictional Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI). Books about his case-solving prowess have appeared once a year since 1988 and been published in five languages. They routinely gather high praise from such sources as The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker, often appearing on annual ten best lists.

Archer Mayor on his Indian Roadmaster.

Vermont Business Magazine It was a banner week for the Jasper Hill Farm team of Greensboro Vermont; on Wednesday it was announced that Bayley Hazen Blue took Reserve Supreme Champion at the International Cheese Awards and on Friday the cheese medaled in its entry class, along with other accolades for the cheesemaker, at the American Cheese Society Competition (ACSC).

Vermont Business Magazine Continuing to fight for safe food, Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan announced that his office joined five other states to file a lawsuit challenging an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to allow the continued use of the toxic pesticide Chlorpyrifos on foods.

Vermont Business Magazine LaunchVT, an early stage business accelerator, has been awarded $10,000 under the ThinkVermont Innovation Grant Program, an initiative that responds to the growth needs of Vermont small businesses with 20 or fewer employees by funding innovative strategies that accelerate small business growth.

Vermont Business Magazine The Whitney Blake Company (WBC), a manufacturer of wire and cable, Koil Kords and cable assemblies, has been awarded $350,000 through the Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP). The proceeds of this loan will be used to restructure debt and increase operating capital, as the company reorganizes and expands its Rockingham operations.

Saint Michael's College Come Monday morning, August 12, Founders Hall and Founders Hall Annex will be completely empty and the President’s Office, Academic Affairs, and the Registrar will be operating from their new home Klein Hall, reports Joel Ribout, associate director of facilities and the one responsible for planning the Founders tear-down process scheduled to begin this fall semester.

Vermont Business Magazine Superior Technical Ceramics (STC), has been awarded $116,683 through the Vermont Training Program (VTP). The funding will support the implementation of a new learning management system. Since being acquired by Artemis, a capital investment company, in October 2018, STC has formulized a new strategy to increase the company’s value over the next 5 years. Focusing on employee development and transformation into a sustainable culture, the manufacturer partnered with Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) to take part in its Lean Leadership Transformation Program.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointments of Laurel Mackin of Thetford and Michael R. McCarthy of Georgia to fill assistant judge vacancies in Orange and Franklin counties, respectively. “Both Laurel and Mike have displayed a strong commitment to public service and dedication to their communities,” said Governor Scott. “I’m confident they will serve with distinction in these important roles.”

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers rose by a handful of claims last week, but remain low. Summer usually brings low claim levels, but sub-300 claims indicates very low volume. Initial claims for the week of August 3, 2019, totaled 296, up 7 from last week. Claims were 23 fewer than they were at this time last year.

Altogether 3,411 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 35 from a week ago, and 91 fewer than a year ago.

Nationwide, for the week ending July 27, initial jobless claims decreased to 209,000, down 8,000. The 4-week moving average increased 250 to 212,250.

For most weeks of 2017 and 2018 claims were lower than the year before, but have been up and down in 2019. This suggests the labor situation has settled after several years of a tighter and tighter labor market following the Great Recession of 10 years ago.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting involving members of the Montpelier Police Department. Preliminary investigation indicates the incident occurred shortly after 5:30 am Friday, August 9, 2019, on Spring Street. The man who was shot was transported to Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, where he was pronounced deceased. The deceased man is identified as Mark Johnson, 62, of Montpelier.