Current News

Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty The number of properties sold in the first half of 2018, across all categories including single family, condos, multi-family, land and luxury properties, in northwest Vermont increased over the 1st half of 2017. This positive trend reflects strong buyer demand and is a welcomed sign after a moderate, but long-term decline in unit sales. The median and average sale prices continued to rise for single family, multi-family and land sales. Single-family unit sales were up 2.1% over 2017 in the first half. Newly listed properties declined by 6.7%. While inventory levels are still at near record lows, the 2nd quarter showed some moderate improvement.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Technical College announced Wednesday that their paramedicine program has received official accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Initial full national accreditation was granted to the new Paramedicine certificate program. The CAAHEP is responsible for the specialized accreditation of paramedicine education programs. The program is the first fully accredited paramedicine program in the state.

Vermont Business Magazine Efficiency Vermont and Sense have launched a pilot program with more than 200 Vermont households to assess how an innovative smart home technology can inspire people to use less energy and make their homes more efficient. Sense offers a home energy and awareness monitor that, combined with Efficiency Vermont programs and services, can transform how customers understand their own energy use and continuously encourage them to beat their "personal best" in saving energy.

Vermont Business Magazine Dynapower, the South Burlington-based technology leader in power electronics for energy storage, has received the prestigious 2018 Electrical Energy Storage (ees) Innovation Award for its DPS-375 DC-DC converter. The innovative DPS line of DC-DC converters significantly reduces the cost to couple battery energy storage with utility-scale solar plants. Dynapower’s DPS technology increases energy production and revenue of utility-scale solar projects.

Vermont Business Magazine Bill Orleans, president of PP&D Brochure Distribution has reached agreement with Maxham Warehousing’s president John Morse to acquire the Maxham company’s assets, including their warehouse located in Worcester, Vermont. Maxham Warehousing has provided warehousing and distribution of brochures and magazines to Vermont’s nineteen State Welcome and Information Centers for the last seventeen years. This includes delivery of over two million pieces a year.

PP&D, founded in 1981, will continue to be headquartered on Pine Street in Burlington and utilize the Worcester location for the Vermont State Welcome and Information Centers distribution program.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced legislation Wednesday to end money bail, which would prevent people from being locked up before trial solely because they cannot afford their bail. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) has introduced a companion bill in the House. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and nearly a quarter of all people imprisoned on any given day, disproportionately black, Latinx, and Native American, are “unconvicted”—meaning they are sitting in jail waiting for a trial, plea bargain or conclusion to their case. Hundreds of thousands of the “unconvicted” population are in jail simply because they could not afford their bail.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Unions representing Consolidated Communications workers in Northern New England say an overwhelming majority of members have authorized leaders to call a strike if negotiations do not lead to an acceptable outcome. Negotiations began in April on a contract that expires August 4. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council T-9 and Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400, together now represent more than 1,000 workers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. They held meetings in the three states over the last 10 days where union members heard from the bargaining committee and then voted on whether to authorize a strike.

Vermont Business Magazine The Main Street Alliance of Vermont (MSA-VT) announced today that Ashley Moore has been named State Director. MSA-VT was founded in 2014 to elevate the voices of small business owners on important public policy issues in Vermont. Moore has been with MSA-VT since its founding, and during that time was responsible for managing the organization’s policy initiatives and conducting outreach to the small business community statewide. She has been serving as the organization’s Interim State Director since March.

Moore succeeds MSA-VT founder and former State Director, Lindsay DesLauriers, who stepped down from the position to take a leadership role at her family's business, Bolton Valley Resort.

Ashley Moore. MSA photo.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The UVM Medical Center and the nurses’ union (Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals) completed a bargaining session Tuesday night, the first since a two-day strike that began on July 12. The two sides did not reach agreement on a new contract, which expired July 9, but did sign two tentative agreements and proposed language changes on three other articles. The two items were related to urgent pay and nurses who work per diem. The two big items for nurses have been staffing and competitive wages.

Vermont Business Magazine Strolling of the Heifers and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation will host the 2018 visit of the FreshTracks Road Pitch at the River Garden on Wednesday, August 1 at 3 pm. The Road Pitch, a gang of motorcycling business investors and advisors, is stopping in Brattleboro on the afternoon of August 1 to hear funding pitches from local businesses that are ready to scale up.

The public is invited to hear the pitches of the local competitors, and stay for the announcement of the winning pitch. Light refreshments will be provided by Strolling of the Heifers’ Farm-To-Table Apprenticeship students.

Vermont Business Magazine Albany, NY-based FirstLight, a provider of fiber-optic communications in Vermont and throughout the Northeast, announced today that Antin Infrastructure Partners has completed the acquisition of FirstLight. Antin acquired the company from private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, Novacap and Riverside Partners Financial terms of the completed transaction were not disclosed.

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast today announced it has completed its deployment of a new Internet service that will deliver speeds up to 1 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) to residential and business customers in the 156 communities the company serves in Vermont. These speeds are among the fastest and most widely available and include access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network of more than 19 million hotspots.

Comcast’s new 1 Gigabit Internet service uses DOCSIS 3.1 technology that makes it possible to deliver ultra-fast speeds over the existing communications lines that are already in most homes and neighborhoods. To enjoy the service, all customers need to do is install a new DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem.