Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Vermont Off Leash K9 Training — an award-winning, dog-training business boasting more than 115 locations nationwide — is now available to Burlington residents and their canine charges of all breeds and ages, courtesy of Stockbridge, Massachusetts Transplant Eve-Marie Troy.

Aggressive dogs, fussy dogs, shy dogs and even dogs sporting an overall unruly nature can all benefit from obedience training unlike what has been offered before in Vermont’s Queen City.

Vermont Business Magazine Ian and Kara Bouchett, co-owners of Juicebox announced this month that they will be expanding operations to an additional location in the Berlin Mall. Juicebox opened on College Street in Burlington in late 2013, to offer a variety of fresh, healthy juices, smoothie bowls, and smoothies. At the beginning of the year, the Burlington juice bar began conversations with the mall owners (Heidenberg Properties) about a location in the space neighboring the mall’s successful Planet Fitness.

Vermont Business Magazine In a letter to the community issued Wednesday, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the Vermont Department of Health, stated that test results of indoor and outdoor air at the Integrated Arts Academy (HO Wheeler) show that it is safe for students, teachers and staff to be at the elementary school. School begins August 29.

Vermont Busienss Magazine Governor Phil Scott revealed Wednesday he will reappoint Kevin Mullin, of Rutland, as chair of the Green Mountain Care Board. For the last 15 months, Mullin served as the interim chair, completing the remainder of Al Gobeille’s term, who stepped down in January 2017 to serve as the secretary of Human Services.

Kevin Mullin, GMCB chair.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Grossman School of Business today announced the launch of its new 15-credit Certificate of Graduate Study in Sustainable Enterprise and its Leading Sustainable Innovation Professional Certificate Program, both accepting enrollments for January 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, August 21^st, the Burlington Board of School Commissioners passed a resolution asking City Council to place a $70 million bond question on the November ballot. The School board passed the resolution by a margin of 9-1.

Vermont Business Magazine Strolling of the Heifers’ successful farm & food business accelerator, Windham Grows, is in full swing with its third cohort. The current group of entrepreneurs, who started the program in July, are from all over the Northeast. In its first eighteen months, Windham Grows mentored thirteen Windham County businesses. The combined scale of the program’s first phase equates to the 13th largest employer in the county with 150 employees, over $500,000 in outside investments, and 30 new jobs to the region.

“Windham Grows is excited to continue growing conscious food and agriculture businesses by providing them with state of the art tools, resources, and mentorship needed to evolve businesses to the next level by helping them create positive change in their community, and revolutionize the future of food” said Orly Munzing, Executive Director of Strolling of the Heifers.

Vermont Business Magazine On Primary Day last Tuesday, Republicans in Chittenden County added a third name to the two listed on their ballot for State Senate. Former Essex Junction State Representative Paul Dame's name was placed into nomination after receiving the required number of write-in votes across the county. Former representative Dame will now join fellow Republicans Alex Farrell and Dana Maxfield on the ballot in November in an attempt to break up the 6-person Senate District (the largest such legislative district in the country) currently held entirely by Democrats.

Senator Patrick Leahy There have been a number of headline-grabbing days during the first 18 months of the Trump administration. Yesterday will likely rank among the most extraordinary. And among the most troubling. The President of the United States was effectively identified by his longtime lawyer and confidant as an unindicted co-conspirator in their efforts to commit criminal campaign finance violations. If true, then-candidate Trump arranged payments to two women he had affairs with in violation of federal law in order to keep those affairs hidden from the American people at a most critical time, days before the election.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of Directors of the Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) announced today that Rebecca Towne will be joining the co-op as chief executive officer. Towne has almost 18 years of utility experience in Vermont, serving 14 years in various roles at Green Mountain Power and the last 3 ½ years as vice president of organizational strategy at Vermont Gas Systems.

Towne, who currently lives in Essex, will start at Johnson-based VEC on October 8. She takes over from Christine Hallquist, who stepped down in February to run for governor. She will be the Democratic candidate against Republican Governor Phil Scott in November.

Rebecca Towne. VEC photo.

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute It should be clear by now that Washington is committed to a lopsided economy that keeps concentrating money in the hands of fewer and fewer people. But in some state capitals, including Montpelier, elected officials are beginning to recognize that smarter tax policies are aimed at helping working families.

Senator Patrick Leahy We are now less than two weeks away from Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Two weeks away and the Committee has received only six percent of his total White House records according to the National Archives. And not a single one of the records we have received has been provided by the National Archives. That is because the Archives will not complete its review of the limited-number of records requested by Chairman Grassley until October — a month after the Majority Leader intends to hold a final vote on Judge Kavanaugh.