Current News

Vermont Business Magazine This morning, Monday, July 22nd, 2019, well known Vermont journalist and profile writer, Joyce Marcel, of Brattleboro launched a Kickstarter campaign aimed at raising $45,000 - the funds necessary to complete a book chronicling the full behind-the-scenes story of Christine Hallquist's historic run for the Vermont governorship. After being included in all campaign team calls and events from the beginning of the campaign in March of 2018, Marcel has hundreds of hours of transcripts and materials needed to tell the true story of why Christine Hallquist's history-making campaign was a success despite the loss on election day. With the support of Christine and campaign manager, Cameron Russell, Joyce Marcel's forthcoming book, The Christine Chronicles, promises to be a story of interest to many across Vermont and the nation.

Vermont Business Magazine Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) – all senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with exclusive jurisdiction over the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) – sent a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler raising serious concerns with the EPA’s recent “FOIA Regulations Update” final rule, asking him to reconsider the rule or provide sufficient opportunity for the American public to comment on it and additional transition time to ensure public awareness.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with a branch in Norwich, Vermont, today reported record quarterly and year-to-date earnings through June 30, 2019. Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, was $1,563,045 or $0.50 per share compared to $1,341,896 or $0.43 per share for the same period in 2018, an increase of $221,149 or 16.5%. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2019, was $2,870,804 or $0.91 per share compared to $2,549,200 or $0.82 per share for the same period in 2018, an increase of $321,604 or 12.6%. Strength in the Company’s core businesses and the ability to control operating expenses are the primary contributing factors to these record results.

Vermont Business Magazine Ward Group, an Aon Hewitt company, has again recognized Montpelier-based Vermont Mutual Insurance Group as one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the United States. This is the eleventh consecutive year Ward Group has affirmed Vermont Mutual’s place as a “Ward’s 50” insurer. Every year, Ward Group conducts a comprehensive financial analysis of approximately 3,000 U.S. property and casualty insurers. The “Ward’s 50” identifies the top 50 P&C carriers in the U.S. for their consistency, safety and superior financial performance.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Brattleboro Alliance today issued an RFP soliciting proposals from marketing professionals to develop a marketing initiative for the town of Brattleboro, VT.  The purpose of the initiative is to support the growth of tourism in Brattleboro.

Vermont Business Magazine Food Connects in Brattleboro is set to begin construction of their 1,200 square-foot cooler and freezer space in mid-August. The expanded operational space triples the available volume of cold and frozen storage space available to Food Connects to aggregate and distribute local foods. In November of 2018, Food Connects moved to their new facility at the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s (BDCC) Business Park. This large space offers many benefits—access to a loading dock for their fleet, increased office and storage space, and most importantly, room to move and store more food. The latter is essential to Food Connects’ future as they work toward building more market opportunities for local producers of refrigerated, frozen, and shelf-stable foods. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) hosted its Annual Meeting at the King Farm, joined by Commissioners and guests from across the TRO Region. The event was hosted to celebrate and highlight some of the fantastic work being done by TRORC to enhance the region’s quality of life over the past year.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine You may not know her name, but if you've ever watched your select board on public access television, you owe a debt of thanks to Lauren-Glenn Davitian. Or if you've watched Town Meeting, your fire department’s barbecue, your kid's dance recital or any other community event. Davitian, 58, is the co-founder and executive director of Burlington's CCTV/Center for Media and Democracy, otherwise known as Channel 17. She has been a vital leader in the world of Vermont public access television for over 35 years.

Public Assets Institute Half of Vermont counties lost workers last year, and the state’s labor force dropped overall. The total change was small—75 fewer people working or actively looking for work—and may have been a temporary dip. Two years of growth preceded it, and the latest figures from the Vermont Department of Labor show the state’s labor force grew again in the first half of 2019. Labor force numbers are based on workers’ places of residence; jobs are counted at the place of employment. So while the labor force of Vermont’s northwest counties fell, the region still accounted for more than half of Vermont’s job growth.

Vermont Business Magazine A program long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will invest $98,918 in bolstering efforts to bring local agriculture into the classrooms and cafeterias of Vermont schools.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced Farm to School grants to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers.

Leahy said:  “Tying local agriculture to our schools not only provides our children with healthy meals and improved nutrition, it encourages a long standing connection to the farms that define our Green Mountain State.  Every student deserves equal access to healthy meals, and I’m proud that our school nutrition leaders will use these funds to help all children gain a better understand about where their food comes from.  This announcement is another example of how Vermont continues to lead the nation in implementing this effective strategy.”

Vermont Business Magazine Since CFES Brilliant Pathways was founded in 1991, rural America has experienced declines in population and jobs as well as lower aspirations among youth. On Saturday July 13, CFES reinforced its commitment to rebuild rural America by raising over $450,000 to help students become college and career ready. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following update in response to Brookfield Properties’ announcement that its CityPlace Burlington project is faced with additional delays. While lacking details, the project will be redesigned and likely scaled back. "Like many in our community, I am frustrated and disappointed that the developers have not commenced construction of CityPlace Burlington. At the same time, Brookfield’s statement today and recent actions demonstrate that there remains a potentially very good path forward with them to transform this long-troubled site into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood."