Current News

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Brattleboro Not long after announcing their intent to shut down Vermont Yankee, Entergy executives agreed to hand over $10 million to boost economic development in Windham County and ease the pain of the nuclear plant’s closure. At this point, the state has distributed or committed about half of what Entergy will pay to support what’s been dubbed the Windham County Economic Development Program. And officials say they’re seeing “a very positive impact” in spite of the program’s slow start.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin did the honors on Thursday at the official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Blake Hill Preserves new production facility and retail store in Artisans Park in Windsor Vermont. The 6,000 square-foot facility was built by Springfield Regional Development Corporation with financing provided by the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA).  The new plant dramatically increases the production capacity of Blake Hill and, for the first time, offers a direct retail experience for customers.

Vermont Business Magazine While Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gave Hillary Clinton her biggest test for the Democratic Party nomination, voter turnout in the Green Mountain State is trending down. In 2010, Vermont had the 5th highest voter turnout at 55 percent. That number fell to 42.5 percent in 2014. The state still managed to rank in the top 10 thanks to high donations per capita relative to income.

Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, the Carson Davidson Revocable Trust Fund entrusted 204 acres of beloved property in Hubbardton to the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation as part of what will be Vermont’s newest state park. The Taconic Mountains Ramble park was the vision of Carson “Kit” Davidson, who passed away this past Thursday at the age of 92. Long before he built a Japanese garden in the shadow of Hubbardton’s Mt Zion, documentary filmmaker and author Kit Davidson lived with his wife Mickie, a children’s book author, in the heart of Greenwich Village.

“This was in the 1960s,” said Davidson, “back when real people could still afford that.”

Both he and Mickie loved the downtown’s creative energy, but they wanted a summer escape north of the city. The couple had a specific vision for their land, one not easily fulfilled until a fortuitous trip to Vermont in November of 1966 after five years of searching.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Retail Lumber Dealers Association (VRLDA) has named Joe Miles, president of r.k. MILES Inc, 2016 Lumber Person of the Year. The VRLDA Lumber Person of the Year recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the lumber and building materials industry as well as to his or her local community. 

Joe Miles (left) and Chuck Handley, NRLA Chairman, Burke’s Do It Best, take a moment to pose for a photo at the VRLDA’s 2016 Golf Outing and Annual Meeting held at Green Mountain National in Killington, VT on September 22. Courtesy photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) has announced the opening of this year's grant cycle and the availability of approximately $650,000 in grants funds for the 2017 program year. Funds support projects across forestry and agriculture that enhance Vermont's communities, economy and culture. Links to the requests for proposals and applications can be found online at http://workinglands.vermont.gov/apply/rfp. Applicant Information Sessions are scheduled for October 6th and 11th at various locations across the state.

Franklin County farm. VBM file photo.

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Vernon As the federal government works to come up with new rules for decommissioning nuclear plants like Vermont Yankee, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch can distill his hopes into two words. “We’re trying to say over and over again — ‘community involvement, community involvement, community involvement,’” said Welch, D-Vermont. Welch doesn’t believe the nuclear industry has the same goals. That’s why he and 14 other federal lawmakers — including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. — have sent a letter to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission expressing their concerns about the industry’s recent lobbying.

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Brattleboro Vermont Yankee administrators waited two years for the state’s permission to build a new storage facility for nuclear waste at the defunct Vernon plant. When they finally received that permit in late June, they didn’t waste any time getting started. Entergy administrators last week said the construction of a spent fuel storage facility is well under way, with a few dozen contracted workers having recently installed a massive generator that will provide emergency power to the complex.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont and the entire Northeast have experienced vigorous consolidation of telecommunications firms, especially of fiber optic carriers, with Oak Hill Capital Partners being one of the major players. FirstLight Fiber was sold to Oak Hill in September. In August, Oak Hill acquired Sovernet. Oak Hill bought FirstLight Fiber from private equity owner Riverside Partners, which is also investing in the deal and will continue as a minority investor in FirstLight. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. It is expected to close in early 2017.

FirstLight is a leading fiber-optic bandwidth infrastructure services provider operating in New York and Northern New England. Sovernet is a Bellows Falls-based telecom provider, which also offers "middle mile" fiber, mostly to schools and government. In 2010 it received a $33.4 million federal stimulus to build a fiber-optic network in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General William H Sorrell announced today that his Office has concluded, as a matter of law, that Franklin County Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Palmier was legally justified in his use of deadly force when he fatally shot Jesse Beshaw, who was unarmed, on September 16, 2016, in Winooski. The legal standard for the use of deadly force is whether the officer reasonably believed that he or a third party was in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, and that deadly force was necessary to respond to that threat.

by Edward Coates, SVP & Agricultural Banking Manager at NBT Bank Vermont has a diverse agriculture market with significant dairy and produce farms as well as maple syrup producers. There is also a movement throughout the Northeast and much of the country toward more natural, organic and locally-produced foods. This trend means expansion opportunities for well-established agribusinesses as well as new opportunities for start-ups. At NBT Bank, we are seeing many agribusinesses developing new markets and products, including many of the smaller operations that are significantly important to the overall industry.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s congressional delegation – Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Representative Peter Welch (D) – on Wednesday announced a nearly $9 million grant to support an innovative project to help Vermont students with disabilities in transitioning to the workforce. The grant from the US Department of Education to the Vermont Agency of Human Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (Voc Rehab) is for the Linking to Learning Careers Program.  These funds will support a new pilot project through the federal Disability Innovation Fund to evaluate a pioneering model to support students with disabilities in preparing for and entering the workforce.