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Vermont Business MagazineUSMarine Corps General Joseph FDunford Jr, a 1977 graduate of Saint Michael’s College and the nation’s highest-ranking military officer since 2015 as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be the Commencement Speaker and will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at his alma mater onSunday, May 14, 2017, in the Ross Sports Center.

Saint Michael’s President Jack Neuhauser said General Dunford has maintained a proud and fond identification with Saint Michael’s since the general graduated as a political science major in 1977, the year he was commissioned as a Marine before rising rapidly in key leadership, planning and battlefield postings both domestically and abroad while building a solid reputation and broad popularity.

Public Assets Institute Each year the governor and Legislature go through the handwringing exercise of closing a projected state budget gap. The projected General Fund gap for fiscal 2018 is about $70 million. As usual, much of the conversation has been about reducing spending to get the budget to balance. This year the governor wanted school districts across the state to cut their budgets; he’d use the savings not to lower property taxes but to help fill the General Fund hole. The House would cut General Fund expenditures rather than put more pressure on school districts and property taxes.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power has launched a new outreach campaign to raise awareness of the value of heat pumps to make homes more efficient and comfortable, especially with winter upon us. If you’re like many Vermonters and value the thriftiness and frugality we’re known for, a heat pump might be right for you. Yesterday it was sunny and spring-like, today it’s bitter cold and snowy. We can’t predict the weather, but we can help our customers manage the highs and lows with ease and lower their carbon use.

Vermonters can take part in GMP’s cold climate heat pump program starting at $49 a month. A heat pump is more than twice as efficient as an oil or propane furnace. Heat pumps both heat more efficiently in the winter and cool in the summer. These products are installed and maintained with no additional charges by professional contractor partners.

Vermont Business Magazine Gaz Metro, the Quebec-based parent company of Vermont Gas Systems and Green Mountain Power, is expanding further into the renewable energy market with the acquisition of a Maryland-based solar firm. Valener Inc. (TSX: VNR)(TSX: VNR.PR.A) announced Tuesday that Gaz Metro Limited Partnership, its main investment, has acquired, through a subsidiary, Standard Solar, Inc., a leading solar energy firm specializing in the development, installation and financing of commercial solar electric systems across the United States. This strategic deal not only expands Gaz Metro's presence and expertise in the rapidly growing US solar energy industry, the firm said in a statement, but also opens the door to a promising approach of combining solar energy with other energy sources such as natural gas in the US.

Vermont Business MagazineA land donation has expanded the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison, one of Vermont’s premiere wildlife hotspots, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The donation by Dubois Farm Incof Addison will expand the property by 37 acres, to bring the property to a total of 2,895 acres.Wildlife management areas are conserved lands throughout Vermont that are owned by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and are managed for fish and wildlife habitat and wildlife-based recreational access. Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area hosts 200 bird species, and is among the most popular destinations in Vermont for bird-watchers and waterfowl hunters.

Vermont Business MagazineOn March 10^th& 11^th, downtown Montpelier will host a new, and unprecedented Cabin Fever Sale.The sale is unprecedented because participating stores will be offering 20% off storewide for two full days—with few restrictions. To identify participating stores, look for Cabin Fever signs in the retail window. This sale is not to be missed as many of downtown retail shops will be participating in the sale and will be the largest cooperative sale of the year.

Cabin Fever Sale Shoppers can also enter to win a $200+ Downtown Shopping Spree with an assortment of gift certificates to Bailey Road, Capitol Stationers, Yarn., The Drawing Board, The Book Garden, Global Gifts, Salaam Boutique, Onion River Sports, Woodbury Mountain Toys, Bear Pond Books and Capital Kitchen.

In addition to the sale, shoppers may enjoy entertainment and street buskers taking place downtown at different times during the sale.

Vermont Business Magazine Join a warming swarm of raucous revelers for the 22nd annual Magic Hat Mardi Gras celebration, March 10-12, in downtown Burlington. All events over Mardi Gras weekend will bring awareness and support for the Vermont Foodbank, while offering a fun and festive fête for the community. Over the years, Magic Hat’s Mardi Gras weekend has raised more than $250,000 for Vermont nonprofits, and the tradition will continue in 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine EPA has awarded $3.3 million in grants to strengthen the capacity of states and tribes to protect and restore wetlands, including $287,000 to Vermont. The Wetland Program Development Grants provide interstate agencies, tribes, and nonprofit organizations with funding to develop and refine comprehensive state, tribal, and local wetlands programs. While monies for these project came from 2015 and 2016 allotments, EPA will soon release a request for projects to be funded with 2017 and 2018 funding.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Representative Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, a senior Democrat on the Oversight Committee and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, met with President Donald J Trump and presented him with draft legislation to allow the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare—a proposal that the President said he backs and that the American people overwhelmingly support.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University President Dave Wolk announced at a campus assembly Wednesday that he will step down in December after serving for 16 years as president. Wolk came to the presidency in December of 2001 after intertwined careers in education and government, and 2017 marks his 43^rd year in public service. Wolk is the longest serving president in Castleton history by more than four years.

Vermont Business Magazine Today in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce markup of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) indicted the so-called “repeal and replace” bill proposed by the Republican majority, calling it hypocritical plagiarism.