Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Just as Vermont is getting bombed with heavy snow, Killington Resort has announced that it will invest $16 million in a number of significant upgrades ahead of the 2018-19 season. The upgrades will optimize the guest experience and make the mountain more accessible to all guests. Enhancements will include a new 6-person high speed bubble chairlift, new lift service at South Ridge, significant upgrades to the K-1 Express Gondola, additional availability of intermediate trails, improvements to existing intermediate runs, and resort-wide infrastructure upgrades including the addition of hands-free lift access validation with RFID technology at both Killington and Pico.

by Jack Hoffman Public Assets Institute While it includes some useful changes, the House bill to reform education funding fails in its stated objective, which was to “simplify the funding process” and “strengthen the connection between voters and the cost of supporting local schools.”

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims hit a modest spike last week, but remain lower than they were the same time last year. For the week of February 24, 2018, there were 742 claims, 330 more than than they were the previous week and 44 fewer than they were a year ago. Altogether 6,082 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 145 from a week ago, and 933 fewer than a year ago. For most weeks of 2017 and into 2018 claims have registered below the year before.

Vermont Business Magazine As part of a four-year partnership to revitalize community centers with strategic transportation investments, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) are pleased to announce the Better Connections (BC) Grant Program has funded three projects to increase local transportation options and the vitality of Vermont's village centers.

Grant Winners:

* The Town of Danville will develop an action plan to improve safety and accessibility along Route 2 and strengthen the connection between the village and the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. (Alison Low, Northeastern Vermont Development Association,[email protected])

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power has deployed its line crews from around the state into southern Vermont to ensure a strong response to outages caused by the wet, heavy snow that has already begun to fall. Forecasts indicate that heavy snow might continue, or the temperatures could rise slightly turning to rain, which would lessen outage impact.

​Vermont Business Magazine The state's second largest health care facility has selected an in-state candidate as its new leader. John Casella, Chair of the Board at Rutland Regional Medical Center, announced today the board’s unanimous selection of Claudio D Fort as the next president and CEO of Rutland Regional Medical Center, Vermont’s largest community hospital. Fort will succeed current President and CEO, Tom Huebner, who is retiring at the end of March after a 28-year tenure at the hospital. Fort has been in executive healthcare leadership in both the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors for nearly 30 years. Fort will take over this spring.

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company based in Rutland, today reported its financial results for the three and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2017. Casella also provided guidance for the next fiscal year ending December 31, 2018. Revenues were up over 5 percent for the quarter and the year and net income was up for the quarter, but the net loss for the year increased versus 2016. Casella shares are trading at just over $25 and down slightly in after-hours performance and are on the high side of its 52-week range: $12.21 - $27.38.

Highlights for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2017:

​Vermont Business Magazine Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve state committees selected 149 nominees for the 2018 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. A thorough vetting process, from the more than 2,350 nominations submitted by Guardsmen and Reservists, determined the semifinalists. Three Vermont organizations were named: Rescue Inc; University of Vermont; and UVM Medical Center.

These semifinalists are from both large and small employers, as well as government organizations, representing numerous industries across the United States. ESGR received nominations for employers in all 50 states, Guam-CNMI, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.

Check out the complete list of semifinalists below.

An ESGR national review board will select and announce the 30 finalists by March 30.

History of the Freedom Award:

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced he’s appointed 47 Vermonters to State boards and commissions in the month of February. Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities. The Governor’s office is currently soliciting applications to fill vacancies and upcoming term expirations. All those interested in serving on a board or commission should visit the Governor’s website at http://governor.vermont.gov/boards-commissions to apply.

Appointments made by the Governor from February 1 – 28 are listed below:

Endangered Species Committee

• Elizabeth Thompson of Jericho
• Paul Wieczoreck of Hinesburg

Transportation Board

Vermont Business Magazine A longtime Waterbury business, ST Paving, recently flipped the switch on 156 rooftop solar panels. The asphalt paving company worked with SunCommon to fill the company’s roof with solar. The system will produce more than the business needs, and so owner John Reynolds is sharing the excess with his own home and that of four of the company’s long-time employees.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the Q4 2017 outlook results of their joint initiative, the VBR/EPR Business Conditions Survey and Index. Carr said the results appear to show “neutral to mild optimism” in the Vermont economy.

Overall Finding

The latest survey, which was conducted during January of 2018, achieved a response rate of 69 percent overall and included a 50 percent or greater response rate from 13 of 14 represented sectors within the membership. Survey results show that:

• A supermajority of respondents (69%) shared negative outlooks specifically with ease of hiring for available positions, a decline from the previous survey (63%);

Vermont Business Magazine Finalized results filed Wednesday confirm that New England’s annual capacity auction concluded with sufficient resources to meet electricity demand in 2021–2022, and at the lowest price in five years. ISO New England Inc filed the finalized results with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The auction assures capacity for the system regular while guaranteeing a rate of return for participating generators. Two Boston-area generators who had previously signed up but wanted to terminate their participation were retained to ensure reliability.