Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Leaders of unions representing telecom workers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont responded in a statement today to the announcement by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc that it plans to purchase FairPoint Communications in 2017. The sale is subject to approval by both companies’ shareholders and state regulators.

Vermont Business Magazine WPTZ-TV meteorologist Tom Messner, WCAX-TV weather anchor Sharon Meyer and the late radio and TV personality Dean Slack were all inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame December 3 at the Hilton Burlington. Sharon Meyer became director of WCAX’s weather department upon the retirement of VAB Hall of Fame member Stuart Hall. Sharon is known not only for her forecasting skills but also for sharing her love of Vermont’s natural beauty with her viewers. Sharon is regularly featured on NESN Red Sox broadcasts.

Sharon Meyer and Tom Messner. VAB photos.

by Mike Smith Recently, Democrats announced their new leadership team in the U.S. Senate. This new team included Sen. Bernie Sanders. His new assignment is to try and convince those working-class Americans who abandoned Democrats in the recent election to support Democratic candidates in the future. The hope is that a populist senator like Sanders will be able to identify and address the core concerns of middle-income Americans. But, as Sanders embarks on his new assignment, he needs to recognize the mistakes the Democrats made during the last election.

by CB Hall Vermont Business Magazine The State Transportation Board has wrapped up its annual fall series of public forums in mid-November, and this year's theme for the sessions – Vermont's railroads – has sparked considerable interest in a mode of transportation that, some Vermonters say, is very much underused. Each year, the autumn events focus on a different aspect of transportation in the state. This year, according to the board's executive secretary, John Zicconi, attendance at the seven forums was “above our normal attendance in the last five years.”

Vermont Business Magazine Bartenders are one of the most common jobs in America and Vermont is the best state in which to be one, according to Zippia. In fact, Vermont is by far the best bartending state in the Northeast. A significant number of people work as bartenders in every state in the union. Zippia ranked the states based on available jobs and wages. While Vermont has the second fewest number of jobs overall, bartenders in Vermont have a very high relative wage.

Since bartenders are such a prominent occupation, the national employment resource Zippia wanted to look at where bartenders have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around, and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

by Emma Lamberton Vermont Watchdog When Greg Cunningham bought a vacation home in Enosburg Falls in 1992, he knew he never wanted to leave. “Vermont was my getaway. A visit filled me with intense joy,” he told Watchdog. Cunningham and his wife fell in love with the quaint, remote town in northern Vermont. Cunningham, an electrical engineer living in Toronto, grew up north of the Vermont border in Quebec.

Vermont Business Magazine The diversion of food scraps and other organic matter from landfills per Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law (Act 148) presents an expanding economic opportunity for Grow Compost of Vermont to provide organics hauling and management services to food scrap generators such as schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and institutions. Grow Compost of Vermont anticipates organic hauling services will account for over 65 percent of revenue in 2016, compared to 54 percent in 2015 and 17 percent in 2014. 

Vermont Business Magazine Legislation long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) to help ensure that the criminal justice system functions fairly now goes to the White House for signature after the Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill on Thursday. The Justice for All Reauthorization Act aims to reduce the rape kit backlog by supporting grant programs that fund forensic testing.

The bill, coauthored by Leahy and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), also renews the Innocence Protection Act, a landmark Leahy law which includes the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program. That program facilitates the use of post-conviction testing of DNA evidence that can exonerate the wrongly convicted and hold the guilty accountable.  The bill also requires the Justice Department to assist state and local governments to improve their indigent defense systems and ensures implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Vermont Business Magazine Campaign for Vermont Prosperity (CFV) announced today its new vision for Vermont. Campaign for Vermont is a non-partisan advocacy group that has pushed for ethics reform in state government, a modern education system, better access to the voting booth, and economic prosperity for all Vermonters. CFV was formed by businessman and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lisman in 2011.

“We are excited to announce a sharper message and a vision for what we are working towards” said Executive Director Ben Kinsley. 

“We want to see a Vermont where everyone can succeed and we have a state that is sustainable, fiscally, socially, and environmentally” said Board Chairman Louise McCarren, “we do very well in so many areas like environmental and social responsibility, but have families that are struggling to make ends meet.”

Campaign for Vermont Prosperity envisions:

Vermont Business Magazine WCAX has announced the addition of three journalists to its news team and the promotion of another member of the team. Ike Bendavid, a native of Bennington, has joined the WCAX newsroom as a reporter and producer. Ike is a graduate of Castleton University and Mount Anthony High School. He is also an award-winning member of the Castleton Football Team. 

Priscilla Liguori will join the reporting team at WCAX. Priscilla will contribute stories to the early evening and late evening broadcasts. She is an Emerson College graduate and looks forward to covering the stories of Vermont, New Hampshire and New York on her nightly beat.

Vermont Business Magazine Last night, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation that will provide much-needed new funding for Vermont and other states battling the opioid epidemic devastating families and communities across the country. Also included in the bill is new funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research on the treatment and cure of life threatening diseases. The legislation provides $1 billion in grants to states, localities, and service organizations working on the front lines of the epidemic. States experiencing a high incidence of opioid addiction will be given priority in the distribution of funds.

Vermont Business Magazine The Northeast Kingdom Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation made $80,000 in grants to 26 organizations in Orleans, Essex, and Caledonia Counties this year. The Fund was established in 2011 by the Community Foundation and local partners as a permanent philanthropic resource to support the people and communities in the region. This year’s grantmaking was supported in part by the Stony Point Foundation and many other donors from across Vermont. The support of these donors demonstrates the importance of philanthropic collaboration and partnership in advancing the work of communities in the Northeast Kingdom.

Coutts-Moriarty Camp photo