Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Housewright Construction, Inc, a full service residential general contracting firm headquartered in Newbury, Vermont, is celebrating their 33^rd year of business. Since being founded by Craig Hervey in 1985, Housewright has earned a reputation as a premier builder and remodeler of distinctive homes in New Hampshire and Vermont and as a knowledgeable resource for historic restoration and reproduction.

Their woodworking shop designs and fabricates fine custom cabinetry and millwork for homeowners, architects and designers throughout New England. To learn more about the company or to schedule a project consultation, visit them at www.housewright.net or at their listing on Houzz.

Vermont Business Magazine United Counseling Service (UCS) has been recognized for their outstanding wellness program. For the fifth consecutive year, UCS earned an Excellence in Worksite Wellness award from the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports. The award was presented to members of UCS’ Wellness Committee at the 2018 Vermont Worksite Wellness Awards & Conference held on March 21st in Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine HealthHUB’s mobile dental hygiene facility has a new site in Randolph. Thanks to support from Gifford Health Care, a new electrical connection is being installed that will allow the facility to park at Gifford Medical Center in the lot behind the OB/Gyn building. The mobile facility – a trailer housing all of the equipment needed to clean teeth and take x-rays – will be in Randolph during school vacation week April 16 – 20, and again this summer. Clinic hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, April 16 through Friday, April 20.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Northern Power Systems Corp (TSX:NPS), a next generation renewable energy and energy storage technology company based in Barre, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017. Northern Power reported that in 2017 it had its first break-even year with approximately $40 million in revenue and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $0.8 million, including WEG related royalties. However, wind turbine manufacturing is expected to be suspended and with it furloughs are expected in Vermont. How many workers will be furloughed is not clear at this point. Northern Power reported to VBM that it has 75 employees globally, of which 50 work at the plant in Barre.

by Christine McGowan Dustin Glasscoe, owner of Vermont Farm Table, is quick to point to his team of woodworkers in Bristol when asked about being named 2017’s Vermont Woodworker of the Year. “I’m a business owner,” he clarifies, “not a woodworker.” While he may not be crafting the tables, stools and benches that earned him recognition from the Vermont Wood Works Council, he is unquestionably the visionary at the helm of his small and dedicated team. Glasscoe was named 2018 Vermont Woodworker of the Year in March.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today sent the following letter to the Vermont State Board of Education, detailing his vision for a cradle-to-career education system and the qualifications he’s asking the Board to consider in its evaluation of potential candidates. The State Board of Education is responsible for considering applicants and sending its nominations to the Governor, who then selects an appointee.

View the full letter below:

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Attorney General and Tax Commissioner are urging Vermonters to avoid the worst kind of April Fool’s trick: scams that could lure them into losing hundreds or thousands of dollars. State officials met at the Tax Department two weeks before the April 17^th tax filing deadline to warn Vermonters about the “IRS scam”, identity theft, and what they can do to protect themselves.

“Don’t be fooled,” said Attorney General T.J. Donovan. “With tax season just around the corner we want Vermonters to be alert and avoid problems that could cost them money,” he said. Donovan said that his office received over 5,000 calls reporting scam activity in the last year. More than 45% of those were related to the IRS scam. “The IRS will not call you if you owe them money, they send a letter,” said Donovan. “If you aren’t sure, hang up and call the IRS directly.”

Vermont Business Magazine In today’s rapidly evolving world, business leaders rely on timely and accurate data in order to make informed decisions on how to improve their operations, support their employees, and improve the bottom line. That’s why we, as leaders of companies that employ more than 800 Vermonters and account for over $1 billion in sales each year, are so concerned by your refusal to seek new information and analysis to address threats facing our state.

by Dan Monahan Fat Toad Farm, a small business located in Brookfield, has been named the 2018 Vermont Family-Owned Business of the Year. Husband and wife team, Steve Reid and Judith Irving and their daughter Calley Hastings have owned and operated Fat Toad Farm for 10 years. Throughout most of this time, Christine Porcaro, their “almost daughter,” has also been a critical member of this family team.

Fat Toad Farm specializes in producing a variety of caramel sauces made from local goat’s milk. The family is being recognized by the US Small Business Administration for employment growth, financial success, expansion and community involvement.

Leonine Public Affairs This week guns dominated the conversation in the State House once again. Later in this newsletter is a summary of these discussions. Beyond both chambers’ extended debates on gun legislation their respective committees spent time digging into the details on many of the bills that made the crossover deadline. We are now heading into week 13, which theoretically means there are six weeks remaining in the 2018 legislative session, which in turn means committees face a countdown clock to finish their work.At this point in the session no one issue has presented itself as something that would result in the session running longer than 18 weeks. While the gun control bills are very controversial, it appears they have been fast-tracked and are likely to be wrapped up well in advance of adjournment. Last year the legislative session ran long because the House and Senate were involved in a stand-off with the governor over teacher healthcare plans. The House-passed revenue bill could create such a stand-off as the governor does not support it because it creates $60 million in new income taxes to pay for the Education Fund.

by Zach Cockrum and Brian Shupe For anyone paying attention to Congress, it would a significant understatement to say it has not exactly been a pillar of bipartisan cooperation and common-sense deal making the last few years. That is especially the case on environmental issues, where the Trump administration and a majority in Congress have fought tooth and nail to undermine bedrock environmental protections for clean air, water, land and wildlife.

Yet, an appropriations bill passed last week with bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress stands out as a clear lesson that the ability for our elected officials to sit down and craft common sense policy that benefits the environment still exists, and we think Vermont’s elected officials – most importantly Governor Scott ­ – can learn from this example.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department says warm spring weather and melting snows will cause bears to come out of their winter dens in search of food. The department recommends taking down bird feeders on April 1 to avoid attracting them. Bears are very fond of suet and bird seed, especially black oil sunflower seed. Bringing feeders in at night doesn’t work, because bears will still feed on seed that is spilled on the ground.

Bird feeders are just one of the things that can attract hungry bears. Other sources of food that bears find appealing are: pet food, barbecue grills, garbage, household trash containers, open dumpsters, and campsites with accessible food and food wastes.

Purposely feeding a bear is not just bad for the bear, it’s also illegal.