Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) has introduced legislation that would provide federal funding to revitalize forests being destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer and help stem future infestations of invasive pests.  
 The Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Restoration Act (H.R. 3244) would create a federal grant program to fund research into promising strategies that advance the recovery of forests damaged by invasive pests.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) is alerting customers that with the nicer weather, they should also protect themselves and their property by thinking ahead, paying attention and being safe when driving, or doing yard work.  GMP is seeing an increasing number of reports of customers felling trees onto lines, excavating work digging into lines, construction and other large vehicles pulling down lines and drivers hitting utility poles. These incidents are dangerous, cause property damage at people’s homes and outages for other customers.

Vermont Business Magazine The College of St Joseph’s Board of Trusteeshas  voted to keep the college open and restructure it as a professional development and certificate-granting institution. The board’s decision reflects its continued commitment to the community and attracting youth, diversity and innovation to help grow and maintain the economic vitality of the Rutland region as it has for over 50 years.

by Nina LeMieux Two months ago, I told Vermont legislators the story of how I lost my job, my life savings and my apartment after I lost access to child care. It all started in January 2017 when my child care provider suddenly closed her doors. I was a full-time state employee and single mother of three children; not working wasn’t an option but I couldn’t get to work because I couldn’t find child care. I was forced to leave my job and begin collecting welfare and food stamps. I burned through my life savings and retirement within a few months. Then I had to give up our apartment and live with friends. I became severely depressed.

Vermont Business Magazine Eighteen Vermont working lands businesses and service providers were recognized Wednesday at an event celebrating the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI), created by the Legislature in 2012 to stimulate economic development in the agricultural and forestry sectors. The awardees received over $800,000. Governor Phil Scott and Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets Secretary Anson Tebbetts recognized each grantee on the grounds of the Intervale Center in Burlington, also a grantee, to emphasize the importance of working lands businesses to Vermont’s economy and heritage.  

by Christine McGowan Luke Persons and Roger Pion wanted to start a business, preferably one that kept them connected to the forested working landscape in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. With backgrounds in logging, excavating and trucking, the friends had heard about an emerging market for biochar, but knew little about its production or use.

Vermont Business Magazine A brand new hydropower curriculum developed by the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP) will be offered to public middle and high schools this fall. The project, which was recently supported in part by the Vermont Electric Co-op’s Community Fund, will target grades five through 12, and is designed to be easily integrated into teachers’ lesson plans. It follows Next Generation Science Standards and uses an interdisciplinary approach that will not only be easy for teachers, but also make students more engaged, according to Cara Robechek, executive director of VEEP.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Bicycle Shop in Barre is one of Orbea’s most successful partners in the United States and selected to attend this year’s Key Partner Presentations in Bilboa, Spain in June. Orbea is the world’s largest employee-owned cooperative and second oldest bicycle company in existence. Vermont Bicycle Shop has been a partner with Orbea since 2016, and in just three years has become one of the  most successful dealers of Orbea bicycles in the Northeast.

“We strive to be a community-focused bicycle shop,” said Darren Ohl, owner of Vermont Bicycle Shop. “We prioritize friendly service and work to be an inclusive shop where everyone is welcome. Our ability to combine big-world experience with small-town service is one of the key reasons Vermont Bicycle Shop was selected to attend Orbea’s Key Partner Presentations in Spain this year.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Foundation announced today that 18 nonprofit organizations across the state are receiving a total of $48,668 in Spark! grants for local projects that will nurture their communities and build social capital. These grants—where a small amount can make a big difference—are intended to light the spark that keeps Vermonters healthy and happy.

This round of projects includes the expansion of a Bennington area after school program for at-risk youth in grades 7-12, a new Justice Film and Discussion Series in Derby Line, two trails connecting a K-12 Orange County school to a nearby bike path to make a safer commute, and hiring bilingual high school students from local farmworker families to strengthen communications and reduce the isolation encountered by many of the Spanish speaking migrant families that work in Addison County.

Vermont Business Magazine FirstLight, a  provider of fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud, and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout Vermont and the Northeast, has announced that Champlain Cable has selected FirstLight to upgrade its high-speed fiber Internet service and provide cloud solutions. Champlain Cable is a manufacturer of high-performance insulated wire for automotive, commercial vehicle, Navy shipboard, industrial, and marine oil and gas markets. With manufacturing plants in Colchester, VT, and two facilities in El Paso, TX, operations rely heavily on the ability to efficiently communicate, place orders, and track inventory on a reliable, low-latency fiber network.

Vermont Business Magazine Gathering from across the country and around the globe under the theme of “Celebrating 200 Years of Distinction,” 497 students representing 13 online graduate programs and 6 bachelor’s degree completion programs will come together for a week of capstone and culminating academic work and conferences and commencement exercises at Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies (CGCS) annual weeklong Residency Conference June 17-21.

Vermont Business Magazine Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) today announced five newly elected members to its Board of Directors: Lang Durfee of Bethel Mills, Inc., Kerrick Johnson of Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Paul Lesure of Green Mountain Solar, Chris McKay of WEG Electric Corp., and John Spencer of Crown REC Services, LLC.