Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP), based in Waltham, MA, announced on Wednesday that it has completed the acquisition of retail fuel and convenience store assets of Vermont-based Champlain Oil Company, Inc. The acquisition includes 37 company-operated gas stations with Jiffy Mart-branded convenience stores in Vermont and New Hampshire, and approximately 24 fuel sites that are either owned or leased including lessee dealer and commission agent locations. The transaction also includes term fuel supply agreements for approximately 65 gas stations, primarily in Vermont and New Hampshire. The 126 stations primarily market major fuel brands such as Mobil, Shell, Citgo, Sunoco and Irving. The purchase price, excluding inventory, was approximately $134 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.

Vermont Business Magazine For the fourth consecutive year, farmers across Vermont will once again open their barn doors and garden gates to welcome the public for a behind-the-scenes look at Vermont’s vibrant working landscapes. Vermont Open Farm Week 2018 will be held Monday, Aug. 13 through Sunday, Aug. 19, and feature 63 events at 43 farms across the state. Events are live and sorted by day and location on DigInVT.com.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB) reported second quarter 2018 net income of $34 million, which was a 73% increase over 2017 second quarter net income of $20 million. This primarily reflected the benefit of Berkshire's Greater Boston expansion through acquisition and business development, resulting in higher market share, increased efficiency, and record profitability.

by Morgan Hood, Efficiency Vermont Big things are brewing at Magic Hat Brewing Company in South Burlington. That’s where skilled beer makers from five Vermont breweries gathered recently with energy efficiency experts from Efficiency Vermont, Burlington Electric Department, and Loureiro Engineering Associates for a three-day intensive dive into energy use. As Magic Hat’s designated energy advisor at Efficiency Vermont, I was fortunate to work alongside this accomplished group of brewers as they learned how to find and address the causes of unnecessary energy use. The time was well spent; the group identified potential energy savings of as much as $320,000 per year for Magic Hat, preventing power-plant pollution equivalent to a year’s emissions from 167 cars.

Vermont Business Magazine What is the best way to address hunger in the Upper Valley? Well, there might not be a single “best” way, but the fight against food insecurity is getting a big boost with the launch of the national healthy food incentive program Double Up Food Bucks at the Co-op Food Stores of Hanover, Lebanon and White River Junction. Double Up provides low-income Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits with a one-to-one match to purchase healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Vermont Business Magazine A vision of a different kind of agricultural education takes a step toward becoming a reality this summer when Sterling College begins to offer classes in Henry County, Kentucky, based on the lifework and writing of Wendell Berry. The College has been awarded a three-year grant totaling $156,000 to support the development of a series of field intensives that, as an extension of Sterling’s long-standing Field Studies program, will be the inaugural academic courses in The Wendell Berry Farming Program of Sterling College.

by Bill Schubart My favorite way to recover after a hot afternoon’s hard work has always been to chug down a quart of ice cold water from a Mason jar and then jump into a clear mountain brook or a neighbor’s pond.
It refreshes me both inside and out and reminds me that water is a healer – as well as one of our most fragile natural resources.

In the ‘50s, my family had a camp on Lake Willoughby and every spring we’d run one end of a pipe into the lake to feed the camp’s drinking supply. As kids, we drank from mountain streams when hunting and fishing. And we swam in Lake Elmore, even though it was effectively the local septic system.

Usually, there wasn’t any visible evidence of that.

Vermont Business Magazine The second year of the Northeast Recycling Council’s (NERC) NERC Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award competition has begun. The award will recognize an individual or organization for the impact they have made on sustainable materials management within the NERC 11-state region. Applications for the will be accepted through September 12. To be eligible, an organization or individual must be located within NERC’s 11-member states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Outdoors Woman is sponsoring an outdoor education retreat for adventurous women 18 years and older in Canaan, Vermont on September 14-16, 2018. Fall Doe Camp will offer three days of classes to be held in the woods, in the lodge, on the lake and on the sandy beach as foliage season begins in the Northeast Kingdom of VT.

Doe Camp will be returning to Jackson's Lodge & Log Cabins, a 59 year family tradition providing heated lakefront cabins on beautiful Lake Wallace. Located in Vermont's moose country, Jackson's Cafe is a local favorite for homemade breakfast and baked goods (including gluten free).

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ:UNB) today announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend. Consolidated net income for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was $2.5 million, or $0.54 per share, compared to $2.2 million, or $0.50 per share, for the same period in 2017 and $5.2 million, or $1.16 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to $4.2 million, or $0.93 per share for the same period in 2017.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Personal Income taxes finished the month of June ahead of projections again, pushing General Fund revenues for the month and the now-completed fiscal year well ahead of economists' targets. The latest results were expected given recent results, but are in contrast to the first half of the fiscal year.

Vermont Business Magazine Housing Vermont took ownership of the Depot Square property today. Housing Vermont will operate the property under new management as it makes plans for a substantial renovation and redevelopment of the building for affordable housing and commercial opportunities. The Depot Square apartment building, located in downtown St Johnsbury, is in need of substantial renovations. Financing, design and permitting of the redevelopment plans are expected to take 12 to 24 months to assemble.