Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Lowe’s Companies, Inc (NYSE: LOW) today announced it will close 51 of its big box home improvement stores. Most of the closing are in Canada and none are in Vermont or New Hampshire, or near the borders in Massachusetts or Upstate New York. There are two Lowe's in Vermont, both in the Burlington area. Lowe's said in a statement that the wind-down of certain underperforming store locations is part of its ongoing strategic reassessment. The closest store closings to Vermont are in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Grandby, Quebec.

To focus on its most profitable stores and improve the overall health of its store portfolio, the company said it will:

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Dinse, the Burlington-based law firm, announced today that Spencer Knapp has rejoined the firm as senior counsel, after stepping down as Senior Vice President & General Counsel of UVM Health Network and UVM Medical Center on September 30. Knapp served in those positions for 16 years. Before joining the Medical Center, Knapp was a longtime partner of Dinse where his law practice focused on corporate and health care matters.

Vermont Business Magazine Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), southeastern Vermont’s community mental-health agency, announced today that its Windsor County DUI Treatment Docket court program has expanded to become the Southeast Regional DUI Treatment Docket by virtue of the program’s capacity to now serve Orange and Windham Counties. A five-year, $1.9 million grant received by the Vermont Judiciary from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) now supports not only an expanded service region but also expanded eligibility criteria for referral to this program, along with expanded access to evidence-based services.

Vermont Business Magazine This list is final from Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos. We have posted all tax returns as received to this point. Information is as provided by candidates.

Vermont Business Magazine Inntopia has recently moved their Burlington operations to a larger space in 55 Community Drive at Technology Park. Inntopia has signed a five-year lease on the new 4,825 square-foot space comprised of a large common area with flexible configuration options, five meeting rooms, and a large kitchen. The new office is located within one of our LEED certified buildings. Their new space at Technology Park provides easy access to the airport, maintains several recreational trails surrounding the park and Whales Tails, has abundant parking, and is convenient to public transportation.

Google Maps photo of 55 Community Drive at Technology Park in South Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine K&E Plastics, a leader in machined plastic parts, has been certified by the US Small Business Administration as a HUBZONE business. The Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZONE) is a SBA program to encourage business investment in underserved communities.

The HUBZONE program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities by mandating that 3% of all Federal Prime Contracting dollars awarded are to be set aside for HUBZONE certified firms.

Vermont Business Magazine A community non-profit that has served Burlington since 1866–just one year after the City itself was incorporated has formally marked the start of an historic next chapter. At a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday morning, the Greater Burlington YMCA celebrated the start of construction on a new 50,000-square-foot facility at 298 College Street, Burlington, that is anticipated to open its doors in early 2020.

Public Assets Institute With 25 percent more Vermonters living in poverty than in the early 2000s, median household income stagnant, and high-quality child care still not affordable or even available to many Vermont families, the state’s elected officials need to focus on addressing these and other foundational issues in the next biennium. To move Vermont forward, policy makers need to zero in on three fundamental initiatives:

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional vertically integrated solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced Thursday after markets closed that it has acquired the assets of Boon & Sons, Inc and of Oceanside Rubbish, Inc. Both transactions closed on November 1, 2018. Boon is a provider of residential, commercial and roll-off collection services in the Rochester, NY, market. Oceanside is a provider of residential, commercial and roll-off collection services and operates a transfer station in the Southern, Maine marketplace. In total, the company expects to generate approximately $16 million of annualized revenues from the Boon and Oceanside acquisitions.

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, on Thursday after markets closed reported its financial results for the three month period ended September 30, 2018. For the quarter, revenues were $172.8 million, up $12.6 million, or 7.8%, from the same period in 2017, with revenue growth mainly driven by: robust collection and disposal pricing; higher organics and customer solutions volumes; and acquisition activity; partially offset by lower recycling commodity prices and volumes; and lower solid waste volumes due to the fire related business interruption at a transfer station and lower collection and transportation volumes. Shares were down early Friday nearly 10 percent ($29.00 −$3.14 (9.77%).) Shares overall are trading on the upper end of its 52-week high/low ($34.48/$18.60).

Third Quarter and Year-To-Date Highlights:

Vermont Business Magazine The City of Burlington discovered yesterday that the "Everyone Loves a Parade" mural has again been vandalized. The mural is on an ally just off Church Street in downtown Burlington. This time, the vandal(s) removed the faces of the figures in the section of the mural from Samuel de Champlain to Ethan Allen, seriously damaging this section of the mural.

Vermont Business Magazine Randolph-based Catamount Solar is offering a new program for electric vehicle owners. Catamount will include a Level 2 Car-Charging Station free with any 7kW or larger system purchased from them. The new program supports Catamount Solar’s mission to help Vermonters lower their carbon footprint and achieve the state’s renewable energy goals.

Co-founder, Dan Kinney said, "The car charging station is a terrific value for folks with electric vehicles. A two stage charger can fully charge much quicker than the charger that comes with the vehicle. Catamount Solar is committed to help all Vermont citizens find their path to energy independence."