Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Public Radio has launched JOLTED, a five-part podcast about a school shooting that didn’t happen, the line between thought and crime, and a Republican governor in a rural state who changed his mind about gun laws. In February of this year, Vermont law enforcement discovered an 18-year-old from Poultney had purchased a gun and documented his plans to commit a mass shooting at his former high school in the town of Fair Haven — bringing the threat of a school shooting closer to Vermonters than it ever had come before. The case against this young man motivated Vermont’s Republican governor, Phil Scott, to make a stunning reversal on gun control policy, and it catapulted Vermont into a debate about the line between thought and crime.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) has announced a distribution to members of $1.5 million in patronage capital funds, the largest capital distribution in the co-op’s 80 year history. This will be the sixth consecutive year that VEC members have received a patronage capital distribution. As all electric co-ops do, VEC allocates any money that’s left over after paying its operating expenses to its members. This “patronage capital” is kept in is kept in reserve and used to help the co-op secure good borrowing rates and invest in infrastructure, that allows the co-op to provide safe, reliable power to its members and maintain stability over time.

Vermont Business Magazine Grassroots Solar, Inc of Dorset, VT, has donated more than 220 solar panels—an array capable of providing 46 kW—to their solar project in Puerto Rico. The donation of the panels, given by Green Street Power Partners in Massachusetts, was facilitated by Bill Laberge of Grassroots Solar. Grassroots Solar has been working to bring power to homeowners in Puerto Rico following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine LineSync Architecture in Wilmington, Vermont, has recently undergone a rigorous assessment to earn B Corporation certification for the second year. B Corps form a global community of leaders that use business as a force for good. 2,500 B Corps now exist, spread over 50 countries. B Corps are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability to balance profit and purpose.

LineSync photo of Joseph Cincotta and Julie Lineberger, center, with their team.

Vermont Business Magazine An $11.7 million Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant renewal to the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) at the University of Vermont will support another five years of research on addressing and better understanding the unhealthy behaviors that negatively impact health. Those behaviors also cost the US healthcare system billions of dollars. The funding comes from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank, with branches in southern Vermont, is partnering with GreenPath Financial Wellness to offer its employees, customers and communities with practical resources and tools to improve their financial well-being. The goal of the new partnership is to enhance Berkshire’s ongoing commitment to helping individuals realize their financial goals. Funding for the new collaboration was made possible, in part, by a contribution from Berkshire Bank Foundation.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL) has announced that matching grants for renewable energy projects are now available through the Katy Gerke Memorial Program (KGMP) to Christian churches in Vermont and the following twelve (12) Upper Connecticut River Valley towns in New Hampshire: Bath, Charleston, Claremont, Cornish, Hanover, Haverhill, Lebanon, Lyme, New London, Oxford, Piermont and Plainfield.

Vermont Business Magazine Get your taste buds and fully loaded credit card ready. On Wednesday WhistlePig Rye Whiskey, based in Shoreham, announced the release of The Boss Hog V: The Spirit of Mauve, the fifth edition of their most profound whiskey. As the biggest and best expression of WhistlePig, The Boss Hog is only produced when the brand feels they can create something superior to anything they have previously made. This marque fulfills the five promises WhistlePig makes to each edition of The Boss Hog: single barrel, bottled at barrel proof, powerfully complex, distinctly unique from anything they have done before, and stupendous. The Boss Hog V targets the senses with a unique balance between sweet and spiced flavors and a fine balance between American power and French sophistication. Proof 115.8. Suggested retail price $499.99.

Vermont Business Magazine A new type of captive insurance company created by Vermont in response to US tax reform provides an onshore reinsurance alternative for companies facing an added tax burden due to the so-called BEAT tax, and likely will further enhance Vermont’s standing as a captive domicile industry, according to an A.M. Best briefing released Wednesday.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Wednesday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service continues to support the fight against the bat-killing fungal disease white nose syndrome (WNS) by awarding $1 million in grants to 39 states, including Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Lake Champlain Committee From July 18 to August 16, a stretch of 29 days, the daily high temperature in Burlington, Vermont never fell below 80 degrees F. The streak eclipsed the previous record for consecutive days over 80 by four days. Keep in mind, the streak of hot days began AFTER temperatures climbed into the 90s for six straight days earlier in July. During that heat streak the region set another record, the highest ever daily low temperature of 80 degrees.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Agency of Education announced this week the start of two major initiatives to develop state-wide career pathways in advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity. The Agency of Education is working in close collaboration with employers, regional CTE centers, high schools and colleges in Vermont to coordinate efforts and create opportunities to provide seamless transitions for Vermont students when they graduate high school. Manufacturing companies are actively involved in the process of designing these pathways so that students graduate high school with credentials and certifications the companies value.