Current News

Vermont Business Magazine This holiday season, Main Street Alliance of Vermont is making it easier for shoppers to identify local businesses that share their values. An initiative called ‘Shop Your Values’ helps shoppers locate businesses that are serving their communities by advocating for policies that support working families and foster a thriving small business economy. Businesses on the list have rallied behind policies like paid leave and high-quality, affordable health care and child care. Shoppers who wish to locate these businesses and others around the country can search on the organization’s site, shopyourvaluesmsa.com.

Vermont Business Magazine Funding is now available from the Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation for growth-stage efforts and programs that support viable career pathways and career prospects for Vermont women and girls. The Vermont Women’s Fund was established in 1994 as an enduring resource to support women and girls in the state. The Fund remains the largest philanthropic resource dedicated exclusively to this mission. A council of women from around Vermont advises the Fund and participates in its grantmaking and leadership work, including the work of its partnership with the Vermont Commission on Women and Vermont Works for Women—Change The Story—an initiative seeking to fast-track women’s economic security in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine FASTSIGNS of Burlington, a local sign and visual graphics company has recently opened under the direction of franchise owners, Geoff Poulin and Dan Emmons. After working together for over 20 years, Poulin and Emmons decided to go into business and open the first FASTSIGNS location in the state of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has released a guidance to assist Data Brokers in complying with Vermont’s new Data Broker Regulations, Act 171 of 2018. These regulations go into effect on January 1, 2019. The new law requires Data Brokers to register with the Secretary of State annually and maintain certain minimum data security standards. The deadline for registering is January 31, 2019, and, starting in January registration can be completed on the Secretary of State’s website.

A copy of the registration form is also attached to the guidance and may be completed and delivered by mail or in person to: the Vermont Secretary of State, Corporations Division, 128 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633-1104.

Vermont Business Magazine This fall, through the 2018-2019 Vermont Mentoring Grants, MENTOR Vermont (formerly known as Mobius) has awarded 29 grants, totaling $310,300 to support adult-to-youth mentoring programs throughout the state. This funding will support more than 100 new and existing program sites, and nearly 1,800 adult-to-youth mentor pairs in communities across Vermont.

“Mentoring programs throughout the state continue to play a crucial role in helping youth in their community grow and develop into thriving, productive, and engaged adults,” said Chad Butt, executive director of MENTOR Vermont. “MENTOR Vermont and our funding partners are thrilled to be able to continue supporting this important work.”

Vermont Business Magazine While winter storm Bruce packed a punch with severe winds and heavy wet snow knocking out power to more than 116,000 customers, those in GMP’s Powerwall program were able to keep the lights on through outages. There are more than 1,000 Powerwalls providing backup power in customers’ homes as part of this innovative pilot program and installations continue, with all 2000 Powerwalls fully subscribed.

GMP photo of linemen fixing power lines November 27, 2018.

The Tesla Powerwall battery acts like a generator, kicking on seamlessly during outages to power your home, but without fossil fuels. Customers can charge them off the grid with GMP’s 90-percent carbon free power, or with their own home solar array.

Vermont Business Magazine Four University of Vermont faculty, including a dean at the university, have been named to a list of the world’s most impactful researchers, based on the number of times their published studies have been cited by other researchers over the past decade. Researchers on the list are in the top 1 percent of all scholars whose work has been cited by others. The prestigious Highly Cited Researchers list is compiled and published annually by Clarivate Analytics.

Vermont Business Magazine The firm responsible for causing thousands of Vermont educators’ medical bills to be unpaid was fraudulent when it pitched its services to the state’s school districts, according to a lawsuit filed today by the state’s largest union. In its filing on behalf of the Burlington Education Association and others in Vermont Superior Court, Vermont-NEA accused Williston-based Future Planning Associates of consumer fraud and breach of contract. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

The NEA said in press release that the failure of Future Planning to properly process claims and reimbursements has wreaked havoc on thousands of educators, some of whom avoided medical procedures, left prescriptions unfilled, and were refused care because of unpaid bills. Some were also threatened with collection agencies because of the unpaid bills.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Democratic Party has reached an agreement with their staff union, an affiliate of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4. The three-year contract includes a 3% COLA, 100% employer paid healthcare and a vehicle to join the Green Mountain Secure retirement plan. “The USW applauds the Vermont Democratic Party for its leadership by example in recognizing its campaign staff’s desire to organize and bargain collectively as members of our union through card check recognition,” said John Shinn, Director of USW District 4. “Clearly, and especially when it comes to respecting that all work has dignity, our organizations share important values and beliefs.”

Vermont Business Magazine Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) announces the appointment of two new members to its Board of Trustees. Joining LHP’s Board of Trustees is Brian Story of Johnson, and Graham Mink of Stowe. “We are always on the lookout for caring, thoughtful individuals to help LHP continue moving forward to meet our mission,” said Lamoille Housing Partnership Executive Director, Jim Lovinsky. “Brian and Graham bring a wealth of municipal and private development expertise and experience to our board, along with their interest and energy. Welcome!”

Brian Story has been Johnson’s Town Administrator since 2016; prior to this he had a career in teaching, as well as an extensive resume of involvement in public service. “I was eager to join the LHP board because I want to help address the challenges that families face when they do not have quality affordable housing,” said Story.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets has released two Request for Proposals (RFPs). VAAFM is making available up to $90,000 of funding from these two programs to assist eligible Vermont farmers and food businesses to make upgrades to their operations and improve the sustainability of their businesses. The application period for both grant programs will be open from Monday, January 7, 2019 until Thursday, January 31, 2019 at noon. Awards will range from $2,000 to $5,000.

“These important dollars are targeted at making food safer while making farming more affordable. There is a major federal change underway in the produce safety world and the Agency wants Vermont farmers to be equipped and prepared for that change. These grants will help our farmers,“ says Secretary Anson Tebbetts.

Vermont Produce Safety Improvement Grants

Vermont Business Magazine As part of Governor Phil Scott’s “Capitol for a Day” initiative last week, he toured a wildlife underpass project along Route 15 in Wolcott on lands owned by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The project promotes safe movement of wildlife under the road and is being completed through a partnership with VTrans, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy and the town of Wolcott.

The Wolcott Wild Branch Project will include a wildlife shelf under the Route 15 bridge that encourages wildlife to pass safely under the bridge, in addition to tree plantings on the surrounding lands along the bridge that will allow wildlife to safely approach the underpass. The project also includes the removal of a nearby bridge owned by the town of Wolcott. The bridge abutment sits in the water acting as a barrier to both water and wildlife and had causes dangerous ice jams in the winter.