Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today (8/3/18), Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront saw visual indications of cyanobacteria at North Beach, resulting in a closure. All other beaches remain open. North Beach has historically been more vulnerable to these blooms due to the orientation of shoreline to the prevailing winds and its proximity to the Winooski River, which carries nutrient loads into the Lake. Given public concern and interest in the state of its beaches, the city offered the following information on these algae blooms.

CYANOBACTERIA (“BLUE-GREEN” ALGAE) BLOOM CLOSURES

● Parks, Recreation and Waterfront conducts visual inspections of the beaches everyday during recreation season

● Upon the presence of cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”), a beach will be closed

Vermont Business Magazine Road Pitch, founded in 2014 by Cairn Cross, co-founder and managing director of FreshTracks Capital visited eight communities in Vermont between July 30th and August 2nd. The event is a multi-day motorcycle trip around Vermont where a pack of “business bikers” with investing, entrepreneurial/business and business advisory experience ride together and stop in small towns where “Local Organizers” have organized a pitch session for entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to the group. There were 56 riders this year.

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company based in Rutland, today reported its financial results for the three month period ended June 30, 2018. For the quarter, revenues were $165.6 million, up $11.6 million, or 7.6%, from the same period in 2017, with revenue growth mainly driven by: robust collection and disposal pricing; higher solid waste volumes; higher organics and customer solutions volumes; and the roll-over impact from acquisitions; partially offset by lower recycling commodity prices and volumes. Shares were trading at $26.745, down -$1.355 (-4.82%) Friday mid-morning.

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Power Systems Corp (TSX:NPS), the Barre-based wind turbine and energy storage company, announced Thursday that it completed the initial closing of a private placement financing effected under the financial hardship exemption available to companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under certain circumstances. At the initial closing, the company issued Convertible Subordinated Promissory Notes to certain new investors as well as certain existing investors, including John Simon and Richard Hokin, who are both current and significant shareholders of the company and members of its Board of Directors, in the aggregate amount of C$2,446,642 or US$1,880,000.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bikers rode to the Vermont Granite Museum in Barre for the Central Vermont Road Pitch on Thursday. By the time the dust settled, there was no question: She Flys was the “Riders’ Choice." She Flys was also the “People’s Choice” winner. The Central Vermont Road Pitch was the final stop on the on the FreshTracks Road Pitch eight-city tour in which forty venture capitalists, investors, angel funders and financial advisors ride in to hear from entrepreneurs eager to make a “pitch” for funding for their based-in-Vermont projects.

In a competition in which six entrepreneurs made a pitch to the bikers, She Flys clearly rose to the top. Still Thyme Botanicals, a sparkling herbal tea brewer, was the riders’ second choice.

by Dustin A Degree From his first day in office, Governor Scott has made expanding our workforce and getting more Vermonters into good paying jobs the foundation of his economic mission. Putting folks into jobs we know are available in Vermont is one of the most effective ways to grow the economy. That emphasis, combined with the Administration’s new efforts to get more Vermonters into the work place, is beginning to show progress. And under Governor Scott’s leadership, we have finally started to reverse a nearly 10-year decline in the size of our labor force.

In June 2018, there were 348,287 people in our labor force – 4,656 more people than in December 2017. Six straight months of labor force expansion, after nearly a decade of decline and stagnation, is a reason for optimism. We’re back on the right track!

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims were largely unchanged last week and remain extremely low. For the week of July 28, 2018, there were 309 claims, 5 more than than they were the previous week, and 11 fewer than they were a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, on Thursday detailed the priorities he fought for in the “minibus” appropriations bill that passed the Senate Wednesday by a 92-6 vote. “As a member of Democratic Leadership, I am proud of the many initiatives I fought for in this bill on behalf of Vermonters."

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Thursday announced Dan French, EdD as the new Secretary of the Agency of Education. French was a Saint Michael's College professor. French started his career in education as a high school social studies teacher, K-12 principal and superintendent in Canaan, Vt. After living and working in the Northeast Kingdom for 15 years, he moved south to serve as superintendent for the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union from 2007-2016.

In 2009, French was named Vermont Superintendent of the Year, and he served as president of the Vermont Superintendents Association from 2010-2012. From 2016-2018, he was the coordinator of the School Leadership Graduate Program at Saint Michael’s, where he taught graduate courses in school leadership, the legal and financial management of schools and using data to improve schools.

Vermont Business Magazine There’s more than just water flowing through Vermont’s wetlands, lakes, and rivers during Clean Water Week. Over $10 million in Ecosystem Restoration Grants from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be infused into lakes and streams this fiscal year. The grants go to municipalities, farmers, regional planning commissions, natural resource conservation districts, watershed organizations, and other partners. Projects will target actions that reduce sediment and nutrient pollution, such as phosphorus, from flowing into lakes and streams.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC), Viridity Energy Solutions, Inc, Northern Power Systems, Inc, and WEG Electric Corp, today announced a new and unique collaboration to implement a utility scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for VEC in Hinesburg. The lithium battery system, with an installed power of 1.9MW and energy storage capacity up to 5.3MWh, will increase flexibility for VEC, allowing it to draw power from the battery during peak demand times, to reduce transmission costs. Because the battery storage system will be able to supply electricity when the grid is experiencing high demand, or “peaking,” it can help contain costs for VEC. In addition, when the battery system is not being used for peak demand charge reduction for VEC it will be used to provide grid stability to reduce potential power outages.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan will testify today before the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee in support of expungements for low-level offenses, one of the signature issues of his Community Justice Division. The Community Justice Division has made significant progress in a wide range of criminal justice reform initiatives. Notably, referrals to Court Diversion programs have more than doubled in the past year. Also, the bail reform bill the Community Justice Division advocated for is now law. In addition, the process of seeking an expungement has been streamlined and charges that do not result in convictions will be expunged or sealed rapidly in most cases.

The Community Justice Division was created by Attorney General Donovan in 2017.