Current News
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Technical College and GlobalFoundries will host Governor Phil Scott at a press conference to announce the launch of their GlobalFoundries Technician Program on March 22, 2019. The press conference will begin at 11 am with opening remarks by the governor, followed by Vermont Tech President Patricia Moulton and GlobalFoundries' Senior Location Executive Dale Miller. A representative from Senator Bernie Sander's office will also be in attendance as the organizations detail the new workforce development opportunity for Vermonters to gain a credential of value while employed and earning a salary. This opportunity expands access to post-secondary training for high school graduates through this innovative public-private partnership between Vermont Tech and GlobalFoundries.
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Vermont Business Magazine Krista Tippett, host of the public radio show On Being and a bestselling author, will deliver the 2019 Middlebury College Commencement address on Sunday, May 26. A National Humanities Medalist, Tippett is a Peabody Award–winning broadcaster whose weekly show is carried on more than 400 public radio stations across the country. On her show, Tippett explores broad cultural and spiritual questions about what it means to be human and how we want to live. Her wide range of guests have included Desmond Tutu, US Senator Cory Booker, US Women’s Soccer champion Abby Wambach, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The On Being podcast has been downloaded more than 200 million times. Tippett is also the founder and leader of the On Being Project and the curator of the Civil Conversations Project.
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Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont will award honorary degrees at the May ceremony to commencement speaker Darren Walker, Suzanne Preston Blier, John Bramley, Jackson JW Clemmons, Michela Gallagher, and Marcelle Leahy.
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Vermont Business Magazine ISO New England has published its 2019 Regional Electricity Outlook (REO), an annual report looking at the trends and challenges affecting New England’s power system, as well as the work being done by the ISO to ensure the region’s homes and business have reliable electricity. ISO New England Inc is the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets.
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts and National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Executive Director of Public Policy Nathan Bowen attended the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday with US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Secretary Perdue invited several key associations to the closing bell including representatives from the National Corn Growers Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the National FFA Organization. Secretary Tebbetts serves as Vice Chair of NASDA’s Animal Agriculture Committee.
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$823,000 Invested in Vermont Ag & Forestry Businesses
Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI) and governing board (WLEB) were created by the legislature in 2012 to stimulate economic development in the agricultural and forestry sectors. WLEI is a collaborative effort between the Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, Department of Forest, Parks, and Recreation, and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. WLEB, which finalizes all funding decisions, achieves this goal by making investments across businesses and service providers in critical leverage points which will have the highest return on investment. This initiative supports Vermont entrepreneurs by providing financial assistance to help innovate and grow their business while also creating jobs, building infrastructure, and promoting growth in economies and communities of Vermont’s working landscape.
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Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power is alerting customers that the forecast calls for heavy, wet snow starting overnight tonight, and that outages and some damage is possible. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch for parts of Northern, Western, and Central Vermont, and forecasters say snow totals could reach up to 12 inches in some higher elevations. They are calling for very wet snow, and mixed precipitation, which could weigh down trees and take down power lines.
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Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University President Richard W Schneider and Senator Patrick Leahy, (D-Vermont) announced on Thursday, March 21, the award of three major contracts totaling approximately $7.3 million that continue Leahy’s long-standing support of cybersecurity education programs and research at Norwich University.
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Vermont Business Magazine Long View Forest, Inc and Encore Renewable Energy announced today the commissioning of a 745 kilowattpeak (kWp) community solar array on three acres at the new Long View headquarters and woodyard on Ferry Road in Hartland. The project is on a 28-acre remediated “brownfield” property formerly used as a saw mill and lumber treatment facility. Brownfields, because of prior environmental contamination, are deemed prime solar sites under Vermont regulations.
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by Lori Fisher, Executive Director, LCC Earlier this month, Lake Champlain completely iced over for the first time since 2015. In this issue of Enews we share some of the magic of winter on the lake with articles on snow kiting, Nordic skating and ice fishing. Read on to learn about how ice thaws, check out a series of upcoming events including a World Water Day presentation about plastics in Lake Champlain and a special international conference that draws on the past and looks to the future. You’ll also find clean lake tips, nature notes and water news from near and far.
As winter wanes, we hope you have a chance to take in the special beauty of a frozen lake. Thanks as always for your support and stewardship of this great waterway.
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by Rob Miller, CEO, VSECU Unlike many financial institutions, VSECU is not run by outside investors, we’re run by our members. This makes us uniquely positioned to respond to what Vermonters need from their lenders. That’s why we’ve put a strong focus on investing in renewable energy. Our members know that investing in efficient renewable energy supports Vermont and our local economy.
Energy Action Network (EAN) recently released their 2018 Annual Progress Report, which adds further evidence for why these investments are the right thing to do for Vermonters, our environment, and our economy.
For instance, supporting Vermonters’ investments in renewable energy supports homegrown Vermont renewable energy businesses, which now employ almost 19,000 Vermonters – 6 percent of our workforce. That’s the highest share of any state’s renewable energy employment in the nation.
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Vermont Business Magazine Runamok Maple and Sogle Property LLC (d/b/a Thunder Basin Maple Works) have been granted a combined $95,779.90 in Vermont Training Program (VTP) funds. Both companies are co-owned by Eric and Laura Sorkin and together tap 81,000 maple trees on 1,350 acres in Cambridge and Fairfield, Vermont. Production across both companies has doubled in size over the last year