Current News

Public Assets Institute Most Vermonters do not have a big enough nest egg for retirement. In fact, for many, the nest has no egg at all. And the problem is worst for women and people of color. These were just some of the findings in a report released earlier this year by the Vermont Public Retirement Study Committee. As Public Assets documented in A Framework for Progress: Investing in Vermont’s people, infrastructure and good government, there are many barriers to saving for retirement. Nearly half of working Vermonters do not have access to an employer-based plan, people often do not enroll in plans on their own, and stagnant wages make it a struggle for many employees to save.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2017 State Barn Preservation Grants. Seventeen matching grants totaling $211,369 will aid in the restoration and maintenance of significant historic agricultural buildings in ten counties around the state.

Funding will help owners to repair a broad range of barns from a 1933 gambrel-roof horse barn in Underhill to a circa 1830 English barn that is part of a complex of historic agricultural buildings at the Miller Farmstead in Ferrisburgh. Grants will support foundation repairs, drainage work, timber frame repairs, and replacement of failing roofs.

Vermont Business Magazine The president and owner of Maple Landmark was today named the 2017 Vermont Small Business Person of the Year. Michael Rainville is being recognized by the US Small Business Administration for Maple Landmark's employment growth, financial success, expansion and community involvement. Rainville is now a finalist for the 2017 National Small Business Person of the Year. Vermont's Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's Homemade were presented the national award by President Reagan in 1988.

"It's a privilege to have Maple Landmark recognized for its efforts," said Rainville. "Throughout the years we have been recognized for our toys, but this is the first time Maple Landmark has been recognized for its overall business operations."

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is pleased to announce that Peter Rossi has joined VEC as Chief Operating Officer (COO), a key position in VEC’s senior leadership team. As COO, Rossi will be responsible for overseeing engineering and operations for the co-op, which serves approximately 32,000 members over 2,000 square miles of Northern Vermont.

Rossi joins VEC after 10 years at Powder River Energy Corporation in Wyoming, where he worked first as its Manager of Business Support Services and then as Manager of Service Operations. Prior to that, he worked for eight years in various roles at IBM. He started as VEC’s Chief Operating Officer on March 6.

Vermont Business Magazine The members of Porter Medical Center voted unanimously at the PMC annual meeting on March 15 to approve necessary amendments to the Porter bylaws representing the final step for Middlebury hospital tocomplete an affiliation with the University of Vermont Health Network. The affiliation will become effective in April, and the formal community launch is planned for May 11 during National Hospital Week.

Vermont Business Magazine House Speaker Mitzi Johnson on Wednesday afternoon joined House Majority Leader Representative Jill Krowinski, Appropriations Committee chair Representative Kitty Toll, and the Ways & Means Committee chair, Representative Janet Ancel, to remind Governor Phil Scott that Vermonters expect him to present responsible budget proposals. Governor Scott replied that he proposed a balanced budget that does not cut key programs no matter what the legislative leaders suggest.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group once again set records for earnings and sales in 2016, a year that also saw the company’s culture receive national attention. Mehran Assadi, the president and chief executive officer, said National Life set a number of historic milestones in 2016. “Across the board, top line and bottom line, we had yet another record-setting year,” said Assadi. “Our extraordinary performance reflected our long history of financial strength and our deep roots on Main Street, America.”

Asked to single out key metrics from 2016, Assadi focused on two:

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Winter is back, and Vermonters are ready to play in the snow once more! It’s no secret that Vermonters love snowmobiling, but did you know that more than 2400 miles of VAST (Vermont Association of Snow Travelers) Trails cross Vermont farmland? That’s more than half of all the VAST trails, statewide.

Vermont Business Magazine Average retail gasoline prices in Burlington have fallen 1.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.28/g as of Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 100 gas outlets in Burlington. This compares with the national average that has fallen 1.3 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.29/g, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. Vermont prices stood at $2.28 average today, two-tenths lower than last week and 4 cents lower than a month ago, and lower in the southern part of the state, but 33 cents higher than a year ago at this time.

Vermont Business MagazineAs part of City Market's 2016 Co-op Patronage Seedling Grant recipients, it offered over $56,000 in grant funding to local food projects at a recent Grant Celebration, whichalso launched the 2017 Co-op Patronage Seedling Grant process. City Market sent over $656,000 in Patronage Refunds to more than 11,450 Members in November 2016. As part of the Patronage Refund process, the Co-op offers Members the opportunity to donate their checks to strengthen Vermont’s food system. Members who receive Patronage Refunds support these donations by choosing not to cash their checks within the required 90 day time period. This year, uncashed Patronage Refund checks from Members are funding 8 local food projects from community organizations doing amazing work in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine US Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year 2018 cap on April 3, 2017. All cap-subject H-1B petitions filed before April 3, 2017, for the FY 2018 cap will be rejected. The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent. H-1B specialty occupations may include fields such as science, engineering and information technology.

Vermont Business Magazine Moody’s Investors Service revised the City of Burlington’s outlook to positive and affirmed the City’s A3 credit rating on Monday (see Burlington ratings table below). In itsCredit Report released March 13, Moody’s stated “The city remains committed to improving its financial position and has generated four consecutive surpluses (audited 2013-2016). Management adheres to the fund balance policy adopted by the Council in 2015 and has been budgeting $1 million annually for reserve replenishment. The policy targets an unassigned fund balance of 10-15 percent, and the city achieved that in fiscal 2016, well ahead of schedule.”