Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas announced today that it has completed its 41-mile Addison Natural Gas Project and is now serving customers in Middlebury. Service to other Addison towns will begin throughout the year as more distribution lines to homes and businesses are complete, the company said in a press release issued Wednesday. Vermont Gas, based in South Burlington, was to have completed the pipeline last year. It has faced severe cost increases, court challenges, including one still before the Vermont Supreme Court, and virulent opposition from groups as diverse as landowners, fracking opponents and the AARP. It also fired its first contractor. The original cost of the project was $86 million, it then went to $121.6 million and $153.6 million. Vermont Gas has agreed to cap the ratepayer cost at $134 million regardless of the ultimate cost and take the rest out of profits.

Vermont Business Magazine Housing developers, business leaders, smart growth policy experts and poverty advocates joined together Wednesday to call on the Legislature to pass a $35 million housing bond. The housing bond was recommended by Governor Scott in his budget proposal. The advocates, who gathered at a State House press conference, said it would address a significant need for affordable housing in Vermont, help to alleviate homelessness, house the workforce, and provide expanded homeownership opportunities for Vermonters. Business has also supports it, as it would bring more development activity to downtowns. Legislators, however, have balked at the $2.5 million cost associated with the bonding. A plan in the Senate to use a $2 pernight hospitality occupancy fee to pay for the bonding met with widespread objections. The original bill (S100) called for the funds to come from the property transfer tax. The bill is now languishing in Senate Appropriations.

Vermont Business MagazineOn his first day in office, Governor Phil Scott signed an executive order to merge the state commissions that regulate Liquor and Lottery into a single entity. The House on Tuesday, however, introduced a bill (H525) that would form a committe to study whether to merge Liquor and the Lottery, even while saying that it seems to make sense. Scott does not see the need to delay what he sees as a more efficient single commission.

Vermont Business Magazine In the naissance of the Internet, a small phone company was formed in Bellows Falls that soon used its copper pairs to set up local email and Web browsing services. It was a local company that was competing against other local companies like Together Networks and national behemoths like AOL, CompuServe and Netscape. While some of those firms' technology still exists (even if they don't) from the good old days of the late '80s and early '90s (JavaScript, GIF), Sovernet, founded in 1995, evolved as a phone company CLEC and ISP. It was bought and sold a couple of times and eventually set up a "middle-mile" fiber network in Vermont and neighboring states that offers service largely to schools and government entities. Its new owner, FirstLight, announced today that it will rebrand Sovernet to the parent company name as it consolidates its recent flurry of acquisitions into one identity.

Vermont Business Magazine Gary S Thulander, president and general manager of the Woodstock Inn & Resort, was awarded the Borden E. Avery Innkeeper of the Year by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce at the 34^th Annual Vermont Tourism Summit, held April 5 & 6 at Stoweflake Resort, Stowe. The Vermont Chamber of Commerce Hospitality Awards are an important component of the Vermont tourism and hospitality sector. The awards presented each year at the Vermont Tourism Summit celebrate the hospitality and tourism industry’s vast contributions to the state economy, and acknowledge the award winners as stand-out achievers within the industry, who enhance Vermont’s iconic brand.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington School Board and the Burlington Education Association, which represents unionized teachers, issued the following statement following a meeting Tuesday with a third-part mediator. The two sides signed a one-year agreement last fall after the previous contract expired in August. The agreement avoided a possible teacher strike, but not after bitter negotiations.

BEA union members and supporters at an "informational picket" September 27, 2016. BEA photo.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine One of the final remaining questions involving the re-development of the Burlington Town Center – where’s the money coming from? – has been answered. Rouse Properties, a leading owner and operator of retail and lifestyle centers across the country, today announced in a press release that it plans to enter into a joint venture agreement with Devonwood Investors LLC, owner of the Burlington Town Center, to redevelop and completely transform “this outdated, suburban-style shopping mall, which is located in the core of Burlington, Vermont, into a state-of-the-art mixed use center that will feature high quality neighborhood apartments, shops, restaurants, services, and offices.”

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Jim Harrison as Representative for the Rutland-Windsor District, serving Bridgewater, Chittenden, Killington, and Mendon. Harrison, a resident of North Chittenden, was appointed to fill the seat vacated by former Representative Job Tate (R), who – as a reservist serving with a Naval Mobile Construction Battalion – is being deployed. Keeping with traditional practice when replacing a member of the Legislature, Governor Scott selected a replacement from the same political party.

Vermont Business MagazineGovernor Phil Scott filled another extended cabinet position in his administration last Thursday, with the appointment of Lisa Menard as Commissioner of the Department of Corrections (DOC). Menard had been serving as Acting Commissioner of the department since Governor Scott took office in January. As Commissioner, Menard leads a team of 1,047 corrections professionals that operate the state’s correctional system.

“Lisa has demonstrated incredible leadership and professionalism heading the Department of Corrections, and I am pleased to have her join our team as Commissioner, where I’m confident she will continue to serve the Department and the State well,” said Gov. Scott.

Vermont Business Magazine A $6 million gift from the Gund family – with a challenge to raise even more from other donors – will create the University of Vermont’s first university-wide sustainability institute that will accelerate UVM’s longstanding commitment to the environment. Designed to catalyze interdisciplinary research at UVM, the new initiative also will connect scholars with government, business and societal leaders to address urgent sustainability issues around the globe. The gift was announced by the university Tuesday morning.

by Vermont Representatives Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, Johannah Leddy Donovan, Diana González, and Martin LaLonde Donald Trump’s anti-climate agenda threatens Vermont’s economy and endangers Vermonters’ health. While the president retreats to bygone days when coal was king, there are no coal mining jobs in Vermont. There are, however, 17,000 Vermonters whose jobs in clean energy are threatened by his policies. And every Vermonter needs to be concerned that the president will allow more mercury, lead and arsenic – just some of the deadly byproducts of coal combustion -- into our air and water.

There’s a better way.

Vermont Business MagazineGreenbanc, a certified B Corporation and the winner of Green Mountain Power’s InspireSpace contest, has partnered with The Alchemist to offer all employees a free Home Energy Score.The score is a new approach to measuring home energy performance, developed by the Department of Energy, that is fast, affordable, simple, creditable and flexible. It is an asset-based rating intended to be similar to a vehicle’s miles-per-gallon rating for a home.

“I am so pleased to partner with the Alchemist to expand the number of Vermonters who are getting their Home Energy Score,” said North Lennox, founder of Greenbanc. “It’s an easy way for homeowners to identify cost-effective energy improvements that will help them save money, be more comfortable and have a more valuable home.”