Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A bill that would protect small businesses targeted by aggressive lease financing companies has passed unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs. The bill, S206, addresses many of the common themes found in complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program by small businesses who lease credit card terminals. Currently, a small business may pay thousands of dollars for a terminal that commonly retails for less than $500. This high pricing would be eliminated by the bill through a cap.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims were up again last week and have risen above claims from the same time last year. For the week of March 3, 2018, there were 889 claims, 147 more than than they were the previous week and 104 more than they were a year ago. Altogether 6,456 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 374 from a week ago, but 841 fewer than a year ago. For most weeks of 2017 and into 2018 claims fell below the year before. This could reflect a transition from winter tourism season with the early onset of warmer weather. The coming weeks will show whether this is so, or if claims are trending up.

by Julie Moore, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources One of my favorite writers, David Quammen, penned an article for National Geographic more than 10 years ago, titled Hallowed Ground: Nothing Is Ever Safe. In it he notes: “In the world of conservation professionals, there is a dour saying: All our victories are temporary; only the defeats are permanent.” He goes on to conclude the article, however, with a slightly more cheerful variant – reminding the reader that our natural resources are only as good as “the intensity with which we treasure them.” To me, a critical piece of this necessary intensity is the work of the Agency to promote and celebrate good, concrete examples of people doing the right thing, in the right spot, and in the most responsible way. Front and center in this approach are some of the amazing opportunities for reuse and redevelopment that exist here in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Family Network has announced that it has received a $15,000 grant from the Doug Flutie Jr Foundation for Autism. This funding makes it possible for us to support families whose children have autism with grants of up to $200 to address family-identified needs such as respite, summer camp, or specific training/supports.

Vermont Business Magazine The weather has been kind to Vermont’s ski resorts and trails this March, with 6-12 inches of snow expected to reach the state and more snow in the long-range forecast. The heavy snowfall, combined with an ongoing stretch of consistent weather, will ensure that conditions for skiing, riding, and other winter sports will be excellent this spring. Vermont ski resorts are celebrating the March 8^th snowstorm with weekend events that celebrate winter, family, and Vermont’s outdoor recreation lifestyle. The recent snowfall has made for fantastic trail conditions that will compliment all of this weekend’s events.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott is urging regional winter enthusiasts to take advantage of the storm and enjoy this weekends conditions and scheduled events.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to National School Walkout Day, set to occur at schools across the nation from 10– 0:17 am on March 14, the Burlington School District has issued the following statement: “At Burlington School District, we support this national student movement towards safe and inclusive schools. Our students are engaged in critical thinking to empower student voice. As such, we are working with the principals in each of our schools to ensure that any and all activities undertaken in our District on the 14^th will be done so in an age-appropriate manner, be student-led, and, above all, happen in a safe manner.

Vermont Business Magazine National Pollution Prevention Roundtable board member Rick Reibstein traveled from Boston to Vermont this week and visited GLOBALFOUNDRIES to recognize the company for winning the 2017 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention ( MVP2 ) award. All GF employees receiving the award work at the GF Vermont facility. They included: Dan Wildermuth, Eric Lemire, Ruma Kohli, Jonathan Grohs, Randy Austin, Jim Densmore, Christopher Magg, Dan Hill, Louis Kindt and Shaun Crawford.

GF’s winning project is “Elimination of Legacy Wet Chromium Etch Processing in Photomask Manufacturing” and is from the Mask House organization at the Essex Junction site. This project brought about significant savings and reductions and also resulted in improved operator safety and productivity.

The following results were achieved:

Vermont Business Magazine In a fierce competition against four other contenders, Norwich University emerged as the winning team in NASA's third Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge. The University of Colorado Boulder team was awarded second place. In this engineering design competition, NASA enlists university teams from across the nation to develop creative solutions to some of the agency's most relevant challenges.

In 2017, NASA called for proposals for large power systems that could be used on the surface of Mars. Because these systems need to be in place before humans ever arrive on the Red Planet, teams were required to propose robotic or autonomous solutions for deployment and sustainable operation.

Vermont Business Magazine The bipartisan Coalition of Northeastern Governors (CONEG) met in Washington, D.C. recently and unanimously elected Governor Phil Scott as chair for 2018. CONEG – which includes governors from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island – is a non-partisan association of the Northeast states, encouraging intergovernmental cooperation on issues affecting the economic, social and environmental well-being of the Northeast.

Governor Phil Scott with Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA), Governor Gina Raimondo (D-RI) and Governor Dannel Malloy (D-CT). Courtesy photo.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine While the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec (FPAQ) is struggling with substantial levels of unsold inventory, there has been a significant increase in Quebec's imports of maple syrup, almost all from the United States, according to a report issued today by the MEI. Since the FPAQ started controlling both production and marketing, Quebec has been losing ground to its competitors. Between the start of the 2000s and today, the province has experienced the slowest growth in maple syrup production in all of North America (60%), far behind Maine (131%), New Brunswick (179%), and Vermont (254%).

Vermont Business Magazine New England’s wholesale electricity prices in 2017 were the second-lowest in 15 years, following 2016, which holds the record for the lowest average annual price since 2003, according to ISO New England Inc, the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity marketplace. Reduced costs are attributed to generally more mild weather, lower natural gas prices and a decline in consumer demand. While wholesale prices rise and fall, retail prices are set by regulators on a longer-term basis, so consumers will not see a drop in electric bills.

Vermont Business Magazine The state of Vermont has gained more financial assurances from the current and potential future owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon. In exchange, further legal action will cease. If regulators approve of the deal and the sale, it will move up the scheduled decommissioning of the site by about 40 years. Entergy Corp affiliates (NYSE: ETR) and NorthStar Group Services Inc announced May they have signed a settlement agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with state of Vermont agencies and other interested parties on terms for approval of the proposed sale this year of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, the entity that owns the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station.