Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has compiled and illustrated the most prevalent phone scams against Vermonters last year, from data provided by the Vermont Attorney General. Protect yourself and your loved ones, friends and neighbors from scams! Here is the list of the Top 10 Scams of 2016, as reported to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office Consumer Assistance Program.

See Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan's warning HERE.

Vermont Business Magazine In recognition of their service to Chittenden county, as well as their contribution to our local economy, the Burlington Business Association (BBA) will recognize the Vermont Air National Guard (VTANG) at the 2017 BBA Annual Dinner. This will be the first time the BBA has included a special recognition of this nature. VTANG has been an integral part our area for 70 years and employs more than 1,000 men and women, two-thirds of this staff are part time and work in full time jobs across Vermont, New England and the nation. In 2013 the Air Force displayed their confidence in the “Green Mountain Boys” when they announced their intention to base a squadron of F-35’s at VTANG’s facility in South Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine Folks throughout Chittenden County are getting ready to take to the ice for Howard Center’s March 11 annual Curling Challenge fundraiser, all in support of Howard Center. This year’s event features 32 teams, with several local high schools joining teams from the community, many sponsored by local businesses. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont and Dinse Knapp McAndrew are just a few of the sponsors who have teams this year and were some of the original sponsors when the event was created in 2010. Other sponsors include Geri Reilly Real Estate, Price Chopper, Tech Group, Tech Vault, and Kittell Branagan and Sargent. In addition, numerous other businesses contribute to the event’s success.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General Thomas JDonovan Jr on Thursday released new information to alert Vermonters about a dramatic increase in reported scams. The alert outlines the “Top 10 Scams” of 2016. This week, March 5-11 is National Consumer Protection Week. The Federal Trade Commission, Attorneys General, consumer watchdog groups and advocates are promoting various ways that consumers can take steps to protect themselves.

“Scams are on the rise and we are raising the alarm for Vermonters,” said Attorney General T.J. Donovan. “The number one reported scam is an IRS scam. As Vermonters prepare to file their taxes, we want to warn them and keep them informed,” he said. “If someone you don’t know calls or emails you: stop, verify, and report it. Don’t give out your personal financial information, and don’t be fooled,” he said.

Vermont Business Magazine The redevelopment of the Waterbury State Office Complex was named as one of the most significant construction projects of 2016, the Associated General Contractors of America announced today. As a result, the project's contractor, South Burlington-based PC Construction, received the association's Alliant Build America Award for the best construction management renovation project of the year.

"These awards highlight the most challenging projects that construction firms are building today," said Mark Knight, the association's president and president of Knight Construction Services LLC in Aberdeen, SD. "Moreover, the awards showcase how construction firms are using skill, technology, and collaboration to successfully build some of the most complicated and complex projects."

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.