Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s iconic landscape, including its mountains, woods, water, and wildlife, are some of the many reasons people choose to call the Green Mountain State home. This spring, Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore invites the public to join her for a series of conversations about Vermont’s land and water.

Vermont Business Magazine In a press conference today Attorney General TJ Donovan, Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, Speaker of the House Mitzi Johnson and Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe voiced their support for commonsense gun legislation. Senate President Ashe announced a plan to bring meaningful gun legislation to the Senate floor for a vote next week. The four elected officials voiced collective support for protecting victims of domestic violence and empowering law enforcement to protect the public and conduct effective risk assessments.

Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont will receive $140,000 from Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (Merrill Lynch) and Lawrence K. Barber as a result of a Department of Financial Regulation investigation. Commissioner Michael S. Pieciak announced today that Merrill Lynch and Barber will pay a combined administrative penalty of $98,000 to the general fund, $30,000 to reimburse the Department for the costs of its investigation. They will also pay a combined $12,000 to the Department’s investor education and training fund.

The investigation stemmed from a customer complaint seeking reimbursement from Merrill Lynch for losses incurred due to the actions of Barber, a registered broker-dealer agent and investment advisor representative in Merrill Lynch’s Burlington office.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Technical College, Copley Hospital, and a multi-faceted Workforce Development Group are pleased to announce that an Associate Degree in Nursing program will be available again in Lamoille County thanks to technology and partnerships. Representatives from Vermont Technical College, Northern Vermont University/Johnson State College (JSC) Distance Education Programs, Copley Hospital, The Manor, Green Mountain Technical & Career Center, Lamoille Home Health & Hospice, Visiting Nurses Association of Vermont, Morrisville After School Program, and the Lamoille Region Chamber of Commerce formed a Workforce Development Group in July 2017 with the goal to bring a nursing degree program to Lamoille County.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Maple Innovations, a startup founded by students from Vermont Tech, took first place at the LaunchVT Collegiate final pitch competition, winning $4,000 and a coveted spot in the 2018 LaunchVT cohort. Jack Beauparlant, from Danville, VT and Manny Aretakis from Pembroke, ME have developed a new tool for tapping trees that is lighter, ergonomic and more efficient than traditional tools, and sells for a fraction of the price. The combination of a competitive advantage in product value and price, combined with the sizeable market in New England earned the VTC student entrepreneurs the top prize.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine In October 2012, an Irish cider maker and beverage distributor stunned the Vermont business world by paying $305 million for Vermont Hard Cider Company, the maker of the Woodchuck brand. By all accounts it did not go well. Within two years the owner enlisted the Pabst Brewing Company to distribute and market the brands as sales did not meet expectations. Pabst also had a $150 million option to buy VTHCC.

On Tuesday, C&C Group plc, owner of the Middlebury cidery, announced that VTHCC on April 1 will resume full responsibility for the sales and marketing of the Group’s portfolio of cider brands in the US, including Woodchuck, Wyders and Magners. By mutual agreement the Group will terminate its current arrangements with Pabst.

Vermont Business Magazine Altus Power America, Inc and Reservoir Road Holdings, LLC recently combined efforts to develop two 648 kW DC ground-mounted solar systems located in the Town of Highgate, Vermont. The two arrays are built over old gravel pits on Frontage Road, converting previously unusable land into a renewable energy generator.

by Rob Roper Chris Miller, who works on the Social Missions Committee at Ben & Jerry’s, testified to the House Energy & Technology Committee that his company is firmly in favor of the carbon tax bills (H791/S284) based on the ESSEX Carbon Tax plan. Why? Because under the legislation, Ben & Jerry’s, which is owned by the British/Dutch company Unilever, will pocket an estimated $832,000 in electricity subsidies while avoiding the tax almost completely.

Vermont Business Magazine Recent energy upgrades to a 1950's cape-style home in Burlington have not only greatly improved the home's comfort and reduced its energy costs but have also earned the Energy Co-op of Vermont a 2018 "Best of the Best" Award from Efficiency Vermont. The Moore's home in Burlington's New North End was cold and drafty, particularly in the upstairs areas due to lack of insulation. Following an energy audit, working with a limited budget, Energy Co-op recommended installing improved ventilation in the bathroom plus some strategically placed foam insulation in the attic and knee walls.

"We're really proud of Paul Fleckenstein and our Efficiency Services team," says Brian Gray, general manager of the Energy Co-op, "This project demonstrates that even simple, affordable upgrades can make a big difference."

Vermont Business Magazine Isabel Wilkerson, author of the bestselling The Warmth of Other Suns and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will deliver the 2018 Middlebury College Commencement address on Sunday, May 27. A National Humanities medalist, Wilkerson spent 15 years working on her book, interviewing more than 1,200 people to tell one of the greatest underreported stories of the 20th century, that of the Great Migration. From 1915 to 1970, six million African-Americans fled the Jim Crow South in what became one of the largest internal migrations in United States history and one that permanently changed the social landscape of the country.

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Emergency Management Agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is giving public notice of its intent to provide financial assistance to the State of Vermont, local governments, and private nonprofit organizations under major disaster declaration FEMA-4356-DR-VT. FEMA is also giving public notice that, in some cases, it may provide financial assistance for activities that may affect historic properties, may be located in or affect wetland areas or the 100-year floodplain, and/or may involve critical actions within the 500-year floodplain.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont middle and high school students from across the state will gather at the Vermont State House on Thursday morning to urge Governor Scott and the Vermont Legislature to pass common sense gun legislation to help protect their lives and ensure that Vermont doesn’t become another tragic statistic. Students will be urging the Governor and Legislature to pass all three gun violence prevention bills currently before the House and Senate. These include S.6 (An act relating to requiring background checks for the transfer of firearms), S.221 (An act relating to extreme risk protection orders) and H.422 (An act relating to confiscation of dangerous weapons from a person arrested for cited for domestic assault.).