Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s K-12 schools are at the forefront of implementing the Universal Recycling law and using food education and local resources to cut down on food waste. They are successfully reducing waste, managing recyclable materials and creating food scrap diversion programs in exemplary form. “In their classrooms and cafeterias, Vermont’s youth are learning important hands-on lessons about how simple and routine it can be to reduce waste, rescue food, recycle materials, and compost. It becomes natural,” said Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Emily Boedecker. “Schools are jumpstarting the market and demanding the pick-up, recycling and composting services we need to revamp our waste management system.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Education today awarded Flexible Pathways Expansion Grants to 13 supervisory unions and school districts through Vermont. These awards will be used to support 14 projects to expand SUs/SDs’ capacity to provide meaningful, personalized learning opportunities and better clarify flexible pathways for students in Vermont. These grants represent the continued effort to support schools and communities in their efforts to implement the Flexible Pathways Initiative – Act 77.

Vermont Business Magazine Ahead of Saturday’s Earth Day celebrations around the state, Vermont Gas announced its support of the Intervale Center’s efforts to plant trees throughout Vermont this spring. With support from Vermont Gas and other partners, the Intervale Conservation Nursery, a program of the Intervale Center, will plant 28,000 native trees and shrubs this year as part of conservation projects aimed at improving water quality statewide. Vermont Gas, as part of its CARE initiative, will also join the Nursery and Friends of the Winooski River in May to help plant 200 of these trees in Williston as part of its commitment to conservation and education.

Vermont Business MagazineGovernor Phil Scott Thursday morning honored electrical lineworkers from Vermont’s electric utilities. The Governor hosted a recognition event in his State House ceremonial office during which he praised Vermont’s lineworkers for their hard work and dedication and presented aproclamationhe signedon Tuesdayin recognition of National Electric Utility Lineworker Appreciation Day.

Vermont Business Magazine Vail Resorts is extending its reach into Vermont. In March it announced it was buying the ski operationis at Stowe Mountain Resort for $50 million and Wednesday said it has named Inntopia, the hospitality resevation service based in Stowe, as a key partner to offer guests more real-time booking, lodging options and dynamic pricing across Vail’s brand websites. Inntopia offers the most flexible and robust advanced reservation system in existence. Vail Resorts, said, it will launch the use of Inntopia’s inventory distribution network this summer.

“We are very excited to be working with Vail Resorts, the leading global mountain resort operator,” said Trevor Crist, founder and chief executive officer of Inntopia. “The partnership will help Vail Resorts to continue to deliver exceptional service throughout the vacation booking journey and the complete vacation experience.”

Vermont Business MagazineThroughout February and March, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets held aListening Tourto gather feedback and ideas about farming in our state. Over the course of six weeks, the Agency hosted meetings in Lyndonville, Brattleboro, Middlebury, StAlbans, and Montpelier. More than 300 farmers and community members attended. Today, the Agency is announcing a plan to address the Listening Tour feedback.

“The suggestions and ideas shared by participants were insightful, and covered a wide range of topics,” said Ag Secretary, Anson Tebbetts. “The feedback was diverse, but four main themes emerged.”

On the whole, here’s what was shared, and how the Agency of Agriculture plans to address it:

The Next Generation

Vermont Business MagazineComposting sometimes gets a bad rap. Some fear that it's smelly. And many composters are, shall we say, less than easy on the eye. But one, groovy-lookingWorm Farm Compostersold in the USby Gardener's Supply Company, is being recognized with an international design award. Thousands of products were vying for the "Red Dot Award," and the Worm Farm Composter has achieved this coveted design recognition.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Antibodies has signed an agreement with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) of Nairobi, Kenya to produce and distribute monoclonal antibodies that detect infectious disease markers in cattle. This agreement is a result of a collaboration between Green Mountain Antibodies, ILRI, Dr John Barlow of the University of Vermont, and Dr Bill Golde, currently of the Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland. This agreement allows Green Mountain Antibodies access to existing antibodies and will lead to greater world-wide availability of high-quality, validated antibodies for animal health diagnostics.

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont Professor Jon Erickson has never been a fan of the status quo. As an ecological economist, his national and international scholarship has challenged the core assumptions of mainstream economics. As a social entrepreneur, he has helped build interdisciplinary research-to-action collaborations between reluctant academic, government and civil society partners. Now as an up-and-coming independent filmmaker, he’s gauging the strength of a new era of progressive politics in America he thinks may be waking at just the right moment to seed the social movement of a generation.

Vermont Business MagazineFoodScience Corporation has moved into a new headquarters located at 929 Harvest Lane, in Williston, Vermont. The move marks the start of a new chapter for the company, which had been located in Essex Junction for over 30 years.The new facility continues the company’s focus on quality, being an FDA registered facility that is cGMP certified by the Natural Products association, UL inspected and SQF (Safe Quality Foods) Level 1 certified. The new FoodScience Corporation headquarters is also a USDA Aphis and EU approved manufacturing facility, which allows for global shipping of its products. In addition to its new headquarters in Williston, they also operate a liquid manufacturing facility in Colchester, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine From January 14-April 22, 2017, Walk the Long Trail at Berlin Mall taps into Vermonters’ love for the outdoors, and offers a fun, healthy, and educational experience. By walking 544 laps in the mall’s heated, enclosed common area, participants can walk the equivalent of the Long Trail’s 272 miles. Photos, graphics, and other media provide the sense of being immersed in the Trail and its surroundings. Participants’ walking distances are recorded as they achieve milestones along the way, and the mall owner (Heidenberg Properties Group) is donating funds to presenting partner, the Green Mountain Club, based on the number of miles people walk. As of April 15, 595 registered mall walkers have raised $4,332 for the Green Mountain Club, official stewards of The Long Trail.

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc(NASDAQ:UNB), the parent company of Union Bank based in Morrisville, today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2017. Consolidated net income for the first quarter of 2017 was $1.9 million, or $0.43 per share, compared to $1.8 million, or $0.39 per share, for the same period in 2016. Net interest income was $6.3 million for the quarter ended March31, 2017, compared to $5.9 million for the same period in 2016, an increase of $367 thousand, or 6.2%.A regular quarterly cash dividend $0.29 per share was also declared.