Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has compiled and released a comprehensive, point-by-point summary of several times Judge Kavanaugh has misled the Senate under oath. He first published this list – one of the most thorough available – on Wednesday night. In topical threads, each with several entries and revealing documents, he shows how Judge Kavanaugh was not truthful in his sworn testimony.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) It is extraordinary where we find ourselves today. We are on the verge of a cloture vote, and possibly a confirmation vote, for Judge Kavanaugh to join the Supreme Court — while credible allegations of sexual assault against the nominee are not just lingering, they’re developing. The FBI investigation that we hoped would be full and fair has turned out to be neither, after the Trump White House and Senate Republicans appear to have successfully imposed so many restrictions to render it almost meaningless.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s Peace and War Center will host Former US Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Stephen M Young in person and former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice via webcast in the 12^th annual China Town Hall event on Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 6-8 p.m. in the Mack Hall auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Vermont Business Magazine Manufacturing Information Systems, Inc (MISys), a leading manufacturing software solutions company based in Woodstock, VT has announced that the firm is now sharing beneficial ownership with employees by becoming 100 percent owned by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Trust. As an employee-owned company, MISys, Inc. will continue to operate under the same business model.

"The ESOP was a natural next step for us," said Ray Martell, CFO of MISys. "Our employees have always held high standards when it came to software development and providing world-class support for our customers. As we look down the road, we believe that long term growth for both our employees and our customers is best served when all of us have a vested interest in success. An ESOP was the right choice for us."

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional vertically integrated solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced Wednesday that it has acquired the assets of WeCare Waste & Recycling, LLC and of Valley Sanitation. Both transactions closed on October 1, 2018. WeCare is a provider of residential, commercial and roll-off collection services in the Geneva, NY and Ithaca, NY marketplaces. Valley is a provider of residential and commercial collection services in the Plattsburgh, NY marketplace. In total, the Company expects to generate approximately $5 million of annualized revenues from the WeCare and Valley acquisitions.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power honored longtime Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Steve Parren with one of the state’s top environmental awards today – the GMP-Zetterstrom Award. Parren has helped save multiple endangered species, raised funds for non-game wildlife conservation and volunteered hundreds of hours on his own time to help turtles and amphibians.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Tech is pleased to announce that the college has been ranked 19th among the Best Northeast Regional Colleges for 2019 in the annual best college rankings published by U.S. News & World Report. The college has risen in two important categories this year, in both the public college category and Best Colleges for Vets. As a public college, Vermont Tech ranks 9th in the Northeast region, making it one of the top 15 public colleges in the north for the seventh year in a row.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University officials have kicked off Cybersecurity Awareness Month, with a presidential declaration proclaiming Norwich University's participation in the national campaign and information on a public speaker series along with other activities. Each Thursday, guest speakers will be on campus to give a presentation. These presentations are free and open to the public. All of the presentations will be in the Mack Hall auditorium every Thursday from 1 – 3:50 p.m.

This year's presenters include:

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) revealed Wednesday that it has sold the 309-room DoubleTree by Hilton Burlington Vermont for $35.0 million. Based on the trailing 12 months ended August 2018, the sales price represents a 17.3x EBITDA multiple and 4.5 percent capitalization rate, inclusive of required capital expenditures. The buyer is AAM 15 Management, LLC based in Burlington, MA. AAM 15 is a real estate investment and hospitality management firm. Its portfolio includes Residence Inn Burlington in Colchester.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) has awarded grants totaling $332,632.61 for 12 projects to benefit Vermont producers of fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, maple, wine grapes, and value-added products and to increase consumer access to locally produced food. These grants, funded through the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), were awarded to nine agricultural organizations to undertake a range of research, technology development, education, marketing, and program-building projects. The grants will leverage over $183,000 in additional matching funds.

“Specialty Crop Block Grants are growing the agriculture economy in Vermont,” said Anson Tebbetts, Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. “These investments are critical for the development of new crops, promoting Vermont brands and expanding markets for farmers and food companies.“

Fuse, Burlington It’s forecasted that in the next 20 years, more than one billion people will be Digital Nomads, a location-independent lifestyle made possible by the internet, cloud computing, and other advances in technology. The Digital Nomad trend is more than just a new way to work; it represents a way to live that’s connected, adventurous, creative, and collaborative.

Vermont Business Magazine Eight entrepreneurial start-up companies convened Tuesday at the Ben & Jerry’s headquarters in South Burlington for their first “sprint” of Accel-VT—a business accelerator providing support, mentorship, and access to capital for early stage companies committed to climate economy innovation. The businesses were competitively selected to participate in Accel-VT to help solve the challenges related to the rapidly evolving agriculture and food technology space and include Agrilab Technologies of Enosburg Falls, Ceres Greens of Barre, Meristem Farms of Morrisville and businesses from Michigan, North Carolina, Minnesota, Georgia, and Hawaii.