Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Jeffords Steel and Engineering is proud to announce the addition of the Jeffords Machine Shop in its Plattsburgh Facility. “The addition of the machine shop completes us as a steel fabricator”, said Larry Jeffords, Founder and CEO of Jeffords Steel, “We are now a 100% full service steel fabrication operation.” The new machine shop is managed by Bob Davenport, who has over 25 years in the machining business.

Jeffords continued, “Bob becoming available was the last piece of the puzzle for us. Our shop couldn’t be in more professional hands.” Said Davenport, “The machine shop business is not easy and the market has seen them come and go over the years. Businesses couldn’t rely on one consistent supplier. Jeffords has been here for over 30 years. We aren’t going anywhere.”

Vermont Business Magazine Child care in Vermont costs too much and workers get paid too little. A report released today on early child care in Vermont says that equitable early care and learning for all Vermont children ages birth to five is the most significant opportunity for the state to make systemic and dynamic improvements that will foster economic development, advance social and community well-being, and provide the greatest positive impact for future generations. The report also suggests that the state nearly double its investment to just over $90 million (the current budget for CCFAP in State Fiscal Year 2017 is $47.3 million; an additional $43.5 million would be needed to fund the proposed changes.)

Vermont Business Magazine Mike Smiles has resigned as Executive Director of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum effective December 31 to pursue new opportunities. “Mike has made valuable contributions to the museum during his tenure,” said Bob Beach, President of the LCMM Board of Directors. “Through his innovative approaches to enhancing and expanding our educational programs and partnering with AmeriCorps, Mike has positioned LCMM as a vital Expanded Learning Opportunity Provider.  We wish Mike the best in his future endeavors.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Law Firms of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC and Nixon, Vogelman, Barry, Slawsky & Simoneau P.A. have filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, on behalf of twenty-two Southern New Hampshire residents who were potentially exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in the water supply of Merrimack and Litchfield New Hampshire.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont will receive over $220,000 from a settlement entered into by Attorney General William H Sorrell and 42 other Attorneys General with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (“BMS”). The settlement relates to the drug company’s alleged improper marketing of Abilify. The total settlement amount is $19.5 million. Abilify is the brand name for the prescription drug aripiprazole.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) is proud to announce Start Here (www.vcet.co/podcast), a podcast sharing the stories of active, aspiring, and accidental entrepreneurs. With support from the Vermont Technology Council and FairPoint Communications, Start Here is co-hosted by VCET’s David Bradbury and Sam Roach-Gerber, and is available to listeners on SoundCloud beginning December 7th and iTunes on December 14th. 

Vermont Business Magazine Lamoille Housing Partnership was recently awarded a $100,000 affordable housing grant through the TD Charitable Foundation’s Housing for Everyone Grant Competition. The grant will be used to assist in the funding of Evergreen Mobile Home Park in Hardwick. The Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) was created in 1991 to provide and maintain safe, decent, and affordable housing without discrimination or prejudice. Through rentals, home ownership, or other means, LHP serves a variety of people, including low income individuals and families, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and seniors living on social security that seek to live independently as they age.

Vermont Business Magazine Personal Income taxes, the single most important revenue source for the state of Vermont, were down nearly 13 percent in November, dragging down what otherwise was relatively good revenue results. The General Fund for the month of November collected $87.33 million, $2.55 million below the consensus revenue targets adopted by the Emergency Board on July 21, 2016. Along with Personal Income (-$5.35 million or 12.9 percent), Sales and Use and Inheritance and Estate taxes were also off, -$0.20 million and -$1.09 million respectively.

Vermont Business Magazine Airmen and aircraft from the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing are deploying in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. A squadron of F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 134th Fighter Squadron and approximately 300 Airmen from the Wing are en route to the US Central Command area of responsibility. The deployment began Wednesday afternoon. While deployed, the squadron will be flying combat missions in support of Operation Inherent Resolve to degrade and destroy Da'esh (Da'esh is also known as ISIS, ISIL, or IS).

Vermont Business Magazine Middlebury College announced today that it has reached carbon neutrality — a major sustainability milestone many years in the making. In doing so, Middlebury attains a net zero carbon footprint, meaning that the institution has balanced the amount of carbon emissions it releases with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset.

­­“I am thrilled to announce this significant moment in Middlebury’s history of environmental leadership,” said President Laurie Patton. “I encourage the campus community to pause and reflect on the importance of this achievement and recognize the visionary work of so many people who brought us to this point.”

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin, citing 2013 legislative action to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, today announced his intention to allow Vermonters convicted of that offense prior to the law change to apply for a pardon, essentially wiping the offense off their criminal record. Applications will be accepted beginning today and taken through December 25.

“Today I am announcing an effort using the Governor’s pardoning power to expedite our move to a saner drug policy and criminal justice system,” the Governor said. “Decriminalization was a good first step in updating our outmoded drug laws. It makes no sense that minor marijuana convictions should tarnish the lives of Vermonters indefinitely.”

Shumlin said he will consider pardoning convictions of marijuana possession up to one ounce for people that do not have violent criminal Vermont convictions or felonies on their records.

Vermont Business Magazine Osterman Propane, LLC, a Massachusetts company, has agreed to pay $15,778 to 89 Vermont consumers (an average of $177 each) and $7,500 to the State of Vermont to settle claims that the company violated Vermont consumer protection laws. The Attorney General found that, since 2012, Osterman did not disclose fees to certain commercial propane users, even though Vermont’s propane law required the disclosures.

“Vermont law protects propane consumers, including many business consumers, from hidden fees. We’ve worked with the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association and been transparent about our enforcement to ensure that propane suppliers are aware of Vermont law. This is a reminder that propane dealers will be held accountable for not providing the protections required,” said Attorney General Bill Sorrell.