Current News

Vermont Business Magazine City and State officials celebrated a decision by the Vermont Economic Progress Council board to approve Montpelier’s application for a TIF district that includes the Capital City’s core downtown and Barre Street corridor. The VEPC board voted unanimously on Thursday to approve Montpelier’s application, opening the door for the City to focus on improving infrastructure to support and encourage private development, including affordable and market-priced housing, business development and expansion, and more.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Electric Cooperative will receive $1,743,876 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the repair of 54 transformers and 2,887 miles of transmission and distribution electric conductor line poles damaged in the October 2017 severe storm and flooding. The grant represents the federal share of the total project cost of $2,325,168. The remainder will come from non-federal sources.

This grant is funded through FEMA’s Public Assistance program which provides grant reimbursement to communities for expenses incurred in the immediate response and the recovery from a disaster. Eligible applicants include states, federally-recognized tribal governments, U.S. territories, local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations. The grant applications are submitted by the state, which coordinates the process with local governments.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) filed the final proposed rule amendment to the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) with the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) and the Secretary of State (SOS). The amendment includes requirements for reducing nutrient contribution to waters of the State from subsurface tile drainage on agricultural fields.

Vermont Business Magazine US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker beginning on October 1, 2018, to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.

Vermont Business Magazine A Finnish company might distribute thousands of winter tires from its warehouse in Vermont, but it now relies on the power it gets from the sun to do it. Nokian Tyres has installed solar panels to help power its Colchester distribution facility. Currently, the total annual output of the facility is approximately 427,500 kWh, which covers over 110% of the facilities annual usage, allowing the solar array to send excess energy to the renewable power grid.

“We continuously work to protect the planet and want to ensure we are doing everything possible to contribute to our long-term work towards environmental sustainability,” said Hans Dyhrman, director of marketing, Nokian Tyres. “Not only will this project contribute to keeping business costs at a minimum, but it will assist in our efforts to generate clean and renewable energy.”

Vermont Business Magazine College is an exciting time full of new faces, newfound freedom, and new expenses. While it’s important to find a campus that gels with your personality, it’s no secret a city’s living cost—and a school’s tuition—can end up making your decision for you. Between rent, utilities, and groceries, a weekly $4.50 trip to Starbucks can push your monthly student budget over the limit. Lucky for you, Move.org got its hands dirty and dug up the 25 most affordable college towns to help you vet your options and Burlington came in at 13.

Vermont Business Magazine A grant from the US Department of Agriculture will help fund startup and operational costs in the first year of the Lyndonville Coworking Space, an initiative of Northern Vermont University-Lyndon scheduled to open November 1 downtown. The one-year Rural Business Development Grant of $51,377 and a contribution of $65,123 from NVU will support expenses from rent and marketing to event hosting and bike racks.

Vermont Business Magazine What do a brewery, a coffee company, and a semiconductor facility all have in common? These businesses represent some of this year’s winners for the Governor’s Award of Environmental Excellence. Every year, the Governor recognizes several organizations and companies that are striving for excellence when it comes to sustainability. The 2018 winners are the Alchemist Brewery, Downstreet Housing and Community Development, Global Foundries, Vermont Coffee Company, and the Village of Essex Junction.

Alchemist photo of founders John and Jen Kimmich

The awardees took on a range of ambitious and innovative projects from renewable energy to water conservation initiatives. Here's a quick look at the five award-winning projects:

Vermont Business Magazine Farmers, chefs, food producers and others working in Vermont agriculture are invited to apply to the third round of Vermont Fresh Network (VFN) Conference Scholarship Program grants. This round of funding supports participation in the Food Loves Tech expo, including access to all panel discussions and “The Future of the Cocktail” opening reception. The expo takes place November 2nd & 3rd in New York City. Apply by Wednesday, Sept 19 to the Vermont Fresh Network Conference Program.

Vermont Business Magazine Announced during the awards dinner at Jayco, Inc's annual Dealer Homecoming this week in Indianapolis, Pete's RV Center, based in South Burlington, was announced number three in the category of Top Ten Towable Dealers for Model Year 2018. The Pete's RV South Windsor, CT, store led the charge with the sale of a combination of nearly seven hundred Jayco travel trailers and fifth wheels. An outstanding achievement considering Pete's RV Center was not ranked in the top ten last year.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals announced today that they are holding a public Vote of No Confidence. The Vote of No Confidence is set to target UVM Medical Center CEO John Brumsted and President Eileen Whalen, along with the hospital Board of Trustees. VFNHP said in a press release Thursday that the hospital’s recently released Form 990 tax statement "expos(es) the exorbitant executive salaries earned by these administrators while nurses are still fighting without a contract for safe staffing and fair wages." The VFNHP press release said they are taking action to hold the administration accountable to the community it serves.

Vermont Business Magazine On August 30, 2018, the Vermont Public Utility Commission issued amendments to its procedures that govern the use of the Commission's online case management and filing system, known as ePUC, to make it easier for interested persons to participate in Commission proceedings. In part, the amendments largely eliminate the requirement that any document filed electronically using ePUC must also be filed with the Commission in paper.

Previously, the procedures governing the use of ePUC required parties to file a paper copy with the Commission of any document filed electronically. This requirement was imposed when ePUC was first introduced to the public, to ensure that paper copies of documents that were filed electronically were available in the event that errors were made in the electronic filing process or that the ePUC system did not function as planned.