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Vermont Business Magazine Four Vermont organizations will share a total of $1.35 million in Brownfields Program assessment and cleanup grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields grants allow communities to clean up contaminated properties, facilitating their redevelopment and reuse and improving local economies. The Vermont organizations include the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, Northeastern VT Development Association, Town of Springfield and Vermont River Conservancy.

Vermont Business Magazine Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) today reported first quarter 2018 earnings per share of 73 cents on an as-reported basis and $1.16 on an operational basis. These results reflect the lower federal income tax rate, favorable weather of 9 cents and a loss of (4) cents from the implementation of ASU No. 2016-01, which now requires the mark-to-market of equity investments in the nuclear decommissioning trust funds at EWC. Entergy is waiting on regulators to approve its intended sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon.

Vermont Business Magazine This week marks the beginning of the Intervale Center’s eighth annual spring tree planting campaign. Just in time for Arbor Day (April 27) and Mother’s Day (May 13), community members can help support the Center’s social enterprise, the Intervale Conservation Nursery, as we plant over 20,000 native trees and shrubs along rivers and streams in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The House effort to override Governor Phil Scott’s veto of S103, a bill that protects children and drinking water supplies from toxic chemicals, fell short today, as expected. The House voted 94-53 to override the veto. However, under the Vermont Constitution, two-thirds of House Members are needed to override a veto, or 100 members of the full House. The governor vetoed S103 Monday, March 16. The Senate quickly overrode Scott’s veto, March 19, in a 22-8 vote.

by Jack Hoffman Public Assets Institute The Legislature is again considering using the property tax as a deterrent against high spending in Vermont schools. Currently, school tax rates go up proportionally with per-pupil spending increases. The bill recently passed by the House would change the education funding system so that tax rates would rise faster than spending increases as a disincentive to higher spending.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott will speak May 19 at Johnson State College’s 151st commencement, at which about 310 associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees are expected to be conferred. The 11 am ceremony will be on the college’s South Lawn. Tent seating for the ticketed ceremony will be reserved for graduating students, their guests, and those involved in the commencement. Other guests may watch the ceremony from the lawn, as it is simulcast at the Dibden Center for the Arts on campus, or online at jsc.edu. Gates will open at 9 am, and parking will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank, today reported record quarterly earnings for the first quarter of 2018. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, was $1,207,304 or $0.39 per share compared to $1,006,669 or $0.33 per share for the same period in 2017, an increase of $200,635. The strength of the company’s core businesses combined with a lower federal tax rate due to the adoption of tax reform are the primary contributing factors to the improvement in operating results and returns to shareholders. Ledyard is based in Hanover with an office in Norwich.

​Vermont Business Magazine Vermont PBS has announced it has been nominated for five New England Emmy Awards, the most nominated broadcast station in Vermont this year. The New England Emmys are awarded for excellence in original video content.

Vermont Business Magazine Nine student finalists representing high schools from Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Vermont match their skills in reciting classic and contemporary poetry in a contest for the title of 2018 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 award.Poetry Out Loud is a national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Poetry Foundation and the state arts agencies.

Vermont Business Magazine Conservation Law Foundation released its Lake Champlain Report Card Tuesday, giving the State of Vermont a D+ for its ongoing clean-up efforts. The report card comes after the EPA gave Vermont a provisional pass for its work on the lake. According to the CLF, the near-failing grade is the result of a consistent pattern of missed deadlines, weak treatment standards and a lack of investment in clean-up programs. CLF is pushing legislation that would commit to long-term funding for clean water (Bill S.260).

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College Online, one of the nation’s most innovative nonprofit colleges, today announced that athenahealth, a leading provider of network-enabled services for hospital and ambulatory clients nationwide, has joined Champlain’s truED Alliance Program. Based on this partnership, athenahealth’s team of more than 4,000 US-based staff members will have affordable access to over 60 degree and certificate programs offered by the regionally accredited online college, allowing them to advance their knowledge and skill sets, and ultimately fulfill the company’s mission of delivering better healthcare for all.

Vermont Business Magazine Four times each year, New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) selects four recipient organizations at random to receive $625 each, for a total of $10,000 annually.