Current News

Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore announced today that she will host a listening tour this February and March to hear directly from “our customers” about their experiences interacting with the Agency. The Secretary invites business owners, planners, real estate agents and others with regular business before the Agency to attend one of five public forums being hosted across the state at regional economic development commissions.

“The Governor charged me with protecting and sustaining the health and beauty of Vermont’s forests, waters, and wildlife in part because it’s one of our strongest economic assets,” says Agency Secretary Julie Moore. “The Agency has been a leader in working to continuously improve programs and processes, but we recognize that we can always do better. I invite all Vermonters with regular business before the Agency to come and share your experiences.”

Vermont Business MagazineGreen Mountain College, the nation's number-one college for sustainability-based education, reminds high school seniors that the essay deadline for its newFirst in Sustainability Scholarship Awardis right around the corner. All essays must be submitted online and received byFebruary 15, 2017by11:59 pm Pacific time. For students who are passionate about pursuing careers in social, economic and/or environmental sustainability, this is an opportunity to take full advantage ofGreen Mountain College'spremier curriculum.

Vermont Business Magazine SunCommon, a Waterbury Center-based solar installer, has joined California'sSunpreme Channel Network — a strategic partnership program designed to deliver the most advanced solar products and expertise to residential, carports and commercial clients through leading solar installers. Sunpreme carefully selects its strategic channel partners, awarding the distinction only to installers that consistently put customers first with high quality solutions.

Vermont Business Magazine Monday morning at Switchback Brewing Company’s annual meeting, owner and Brewmaster, Bill Cherry, announced to the brewery’s 30 employees that they had become partners in ownership of the 14-year-old company. Cherry, who will remain as Brewmaster and President of the Burlington beer maker, said about the transition, “I wanted Switchback to be Vermont-owned forever."

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Governor Phil Scott and Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille announced a plan that would improve health care outcomes for Medicaid patients while ultimately lowering costs. The two were joined by several doctors and health care providers, detailed the State’s Medicaid agreement with OneCare Vermont, representing a coalition of hospitals, independent practices, and other health providers within the framework of a Accountable Care Organization (ACO) financial model.The agreement between DVHA and OneCare is for nearly 30,000 attributed Medicaid patients and nearly 2,000 unique health care providers. The pilot will run for one full year, with the total cost estimated to be $93 million in state and federally-matched funds.

Vermont Business Magazine MILK MONEY L3C, an equity crowdfunding portal for Vermonters, has announcedits sixth Invest Local campaign: KINGDOM FIBER. Vermonters will have the opportunity to learn more about and invest in this broadband company via the Milk Money platform. Milk Money offers the opportunity for true “impact investing” since a dollar invested in a local business generates potential financial return as well as tangible social return on investment. By investing in a local business such as Kingdom Fiber, you will circulate wealth and build a stronger community that fosters new relationships between businesses and community members. The Milk Money platform serves as a meeting place for Vermonters to discover local investment opportunities such as Kingdom Fiber.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) has announced its 2017 Energy Transformation Program, to support members in reducing their carbon footprint. The 2017 opportunities include financial incentives for members who install cold-climate heat pumps, purchase or lease electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or transition away from generators to power their homes or businesses.With 32,000 members across 2,000 square miles, VEC is committed to identifying and assisting members that may benefit from fuel switching and emission reduction opportunities through new technology and customized solutions.

Vermont Business MagazineThe East Central Vermont Telecommunications District (ECFiber) is continuing its steady growth, bringing service to parts of Royalton (downtown and Dairy Hill Road/Ducker Road), Strafford (Kendall Road/Jordan Road/Old City Falls Road,) Pittsfield (Route100 and Tweed River), and Randolph (SouthRandolph Road).

“These expansions have been funded privately and through Connectivity Initiative grants from the state's Dept.of Public Service,” said Irv Thomae, Chairman of ECFiber and Governing Board delegate from Norwich.“We’re pleased that more residents in these areas are now able to enjoy the benefits of locally grown, full time, state-of-the-art realbroadband,Later this year we will bring our service to six entire towns, including Pittsfield, Pomfret, West Windsor, Barnard, Strafford and Thetford.We plan to fully cover 21 of our 24 towns by 2019.”

Vermont Businiess MagazineA recent survey of its customers, required by the Vermont Public Service Board, found that 94 percent of Green Mountain Power customers are satisfied with the company, which is an increase of 2 percentage points over the previous year and4 percentage points over the same quarter in 2015. The company conducts an ongoing survey of customer satisfaction and achieved this high quality service level in late 2016.

“I am incredibly pleased by these scores,” said Mary Powell, President and CEO at Green Mountain Power. “We routinely meet with and talk to our customers to learn directly from them what they want from their energy company. And we hear resoundingly they expect affordable, low-carbon, and reliable power, and responsive customer service. Everything we do at Green Mountain Power is connected to these customer priorities.”

Vermont Business Magazine A major report released Monday by the Vermont Business Roundtable concludes that a radically expanded early education program that focuses on children aged 0-5 would pay the state back more than three-fold, while also improving social outcomes. According to the report, the lifetime benefits generated by the expanded ECL (early care and learning) programs reaches $77,413 per child, while the additional government investment required is $25,112 per child. Society would receive $3.08 for every additional dollar invested by Vermont’s government in the expansion of ECL programs. After deducting costs, each child would produce more than $52,000 in lifetime benefits to society. The report does not endorse a specific funding source and could come from a variety of sources.

Vermont Business Magazine In what it described as a victory for home builders and other small businesses, Burlington-based Great Northern Construction, a member of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association (HBRANV) of Northern Vermont, successfully appealed a state Department of Labor determination that the company had "misclassified" one of its employees as an independent contractor.

In the December 2016 decision, the central issue before the Supreme Court of Vermont was whether the worker, an expert in historic restoration, was an employee of Great Northern Construction under the statutory definition of "employment."

Claudine Safar, of Monaghan Safar Ducham PLLC, represented Great Northern Construction (GNC) through both the DOL appeal process and before the Vermont Supreme Court.

Vermont Business MagazineEPA has completed comprehensive reviews of site cleanups at nine National Priorities List Sites (Superfund Sites), including four Federal Facilities, across New England by performing required Five-Year Reviews of each site. The two sites in Vermont are the Old Springfield Landfill and the Pine Street Canal in Burlington. The Superfund program, a federal program established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and endeavors to return them to productive use.