Current News
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by Christine McGowan Butternut Mountain Farm in Morrisville, Vermont epitomizes both the quaint history and bright future for Vermont’s maple industry. The third generation sugaring operation, now run by siblings Emma and Ira Marvin, stands poised to build on the foundation of botany, forestry and maple syrup production laid by their father and grandfather, to capitalize on growing demand for pure maple syrup.
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Vermont Business Magazine NBT Bancorp Inc (NBT) subsidiary EPIC Advisors, Inc. (EPIC), a full-service 401(k) recordkeeping firm, has acquired Retirement Plan Services, LLC (RPS), a retirement plan services company located near St Louis, Missouri, that provides full-service recordkeeping, administration and plan design solutions to employers nationwide. NBT Bank has branches in Northwestern Vermont.
“We’re pleased to have this opportunity to continue the growth of our well-established retirement services business with the acquisition of RPS by EPIC,” said NBT President and CEO John H. Watt, Jr. “We now have retirement plan clients in all 50 states and we serve over 220,000 plan participants through our retirement plan services entities. EPIC and RPS together will enable us to build on our mission of helping America retire.”
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Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office settled with six landlords in Vermont for violations of consumer protection and lead laws. Vermont’s lead law protects all Vermonters, especially children, from the harmful effects of lead poisoning. Every landlord with pre-1978 rental properties is required to submit annual compliance statements which show that the landlords have performed the essential maintenance practices (known as EMPs) and the properties are in compliance with the lead law.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce announces the recipients of its annual Hospitality Awards, the award ceremony will take place at the 35th Annual Vermont Tourism Summit on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.
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Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power crews are working hard and are well on the way to getting the lights back on for the nearly 56,000 customers affected by Wednesday’s strong winds. The storm brought tropical storm force winds, leaving widespread damage across the state, particularly east of the Green Mountain Ridge, with Windham County hit especially hard. Crews are encountering downed trees, lines, and broken poles.
A pine tree brings down power lines on Route 5 in Bellows Falls. GMP photos.
GMP and external crews were positioned to respond quickly before the storm hit and have been working non-stop to get the lights back on with more than 500 people doing storm repairs.
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by Jack Hoffman Public Assets Institute Cost containment is the watchword around public education this legislative session, with a focus on “high spenders.” The assumption seems to be that reining in high-spending school districts will free up lots of money for low-spending districts and also lower property taxes for everyone. No one has defined “high spender” or “low spender,” although for some legislators the terms appear relative to their own towns’ spending. But one way to analyze education spending is to see where the majority of pupils fall and then look at who lies above and below.
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Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) announced today that he will hold three senior town meetings throughout Vermont on Saturday, April 14, to discuss issues facing older Vermonters. The meetings will be held in Montpelier, Newport and St Albans. The series of town meetings will include a discussion on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the high cost of prescription drugs, affordable housing, transportation and healthy food.
RSVPs are required. Please call Sanders’ office at 800-339-9834 to RSVP.
Saturday, April 14
Montpelier
What: Senior Town Meeting, with free breakfast
When: 9:30 a.m.
Where: Montpelier High School; 5 High School Drive; Montpelier
Newport
What: Senior Town Meeting, with free lunch
When: 12:30 p.m.
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Vermont Business Magazine In the United States, the proportion of parents without health insurance has dropped 39 percent in just six years, according to the Annie E Casey Foundation's Kids Count Data Center. Today, only 11 percent of parents lack health coverage. At the state level, the rate of uninsured parents fell without exception. West Virginia reported the greatest change — a drop of 14 percent — leaving just 5 percent of parents uninsured in 2016. Maine, Massachusetts and Wisconsin reported the smallest drop — a dip of 1 percent. But those states already have high rates of coverage. Massachusetts is first with only 2 percent of parents not covered by health insurance. Vermont was tied for second with Hawaii at 3 percent not covered. Texas is by far the highest at 23 percent.
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'Cognitive' Technology Could Vastly Speed Inspection Process for Urban Development
Vermont Business Magazine Digging a hole in most major cities – for new construction or infrastructure repair – is no minor undertaking. With a dozen or more separate utilities required to inspect the ground under the dig site for a welter of obstructions like water, sewer and gas pipes, electric lines and electric generators – some so old they don’t appear on city maps – the permitting process can take 18 months or more.
Transformational new technology being developed jointly by the University of Vermont and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga could reduce the inspection process to an afternoon’s work.
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Vermont Business Magazine After nearly 50 years in the HVAC industry, Wil Buskey, ARC Mechanical Contractors’ owner, officially retired December 31, 2017. From the time he was honorably discharged from the US Navy where he learned about HVAC/R and electrical systems, Wil worked in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration business in some capacity.
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Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office, along with the US Department of Energy are honoring 12 ENERGY STAR partners for their outstanding contributions to public health and the environment. These enterprises will be named ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year for demonstrating national leadership in cost-saving energy efficient solutions. The 12 New England businesses and organizations are among a total of 163 Partner of the Year awards that will be presented in Washington, DC, on April 20.
“The 2018 ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year have demonstrated real leadership, showing how American families and businesses can make smart business and environmental decisions,” said EPA New England Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn. “Energy Star has become a trusted resource for American citizens and business leaders.”
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by John Boutin Vermont Business Magazine The 2018 Best of Business Awards (BOB Awards) winners have been announced by Vermont Business Magazine. This awards program celebrates the best Vermont companies in more than 100 business-to-business categories. VBM readers chose the winners! Starting on January 1, 2018 and closing on March 1st, VBM surveyed its magazine and digital subscribers. We asked our readers – the business leaders of Vermont – who they trust to provide their services in over 100 different categories.