Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Onyx Renewable Partners LP, a leader in the development and finance of commercial and industrial (C&I) and small scale utility solar projects in North America, today announced it has closed a deal to acquire a portfolio of C&I assets from SunEdison for an undisclosed amount. The portfolio consists of assets in California, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Details of the projects in Vermont were not immediately available. SunEdison owns several solar projects in Vermont and a subsidiary owns the wind farm in Sheffield, which presumably was not part of this transaction.

by Michelle Ownes, VPR Vermont Public Radio has received a $1 million commitment from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation in support of the VPR Next Campaign. The Byrne Foundation gift’s intention is to inspire members of the VPR audience to participate in the Campaign. With this announcement, all gifts to the campaign moving forward will be matched by the foundation, up to a total of $1 million. An on-air fundraiser is scheduled for September 20-24 to encourage fans of VPR to support the campaign and take advantage of this matching opportunity.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) issued the following comment Monday after House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) introduced legislation to reform and reauthorize the EB-5 Regional Center program, which is currently authorized through September. Vermont's EB-5 program is one of those around the country that has been burned by alleged fraud, in this case an alleged $200 million bilking of foreign investors involved with the Jay Peak, Burke Mountain and related projects in the NEK.

by Bill Schubart Whomever we elect to lead us for the next two years, we’ll need to confront two gaping holes in our governance: strategic planning and ethics. Our last few decades ought to have alerted us to the need for both. Lacking these essential guardrails, we fall prey to the egos and legacy whims of our political leaders and are left to choose from their menu of needs rather than our own.

Strategic planning looks through the lens of known facts at real trends affecting Vermont and its people – economic, demographic, social, and environmental. It quantifies current challenges and opportunities, measures them against known trends and data and offers scientific rather than ideological solutions.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont tops the nation in chicken pox vaccinations, according to newly published results from the 2015 National Immunization Survey for Teens (NIS-Teen), but there is more work to be done to ensure all Vermont teens are protected against cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV). The annual telephone survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Vermont adolescents age 13 to 17 had the highest rate of varicella (chicken pox) immunization in the country. More than 96 percent of teens in Vermont were fully vaccinated, which is significantly higher than the national average (83 percent). Vermont teens also had higher than average vaccination rates for Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), meningococcal disease and HPV. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (VNA) opened the doors to the new McClure Miller VNA Respite House on Monday. The ribbon cutting celebrates completion of the 21-room Respite House which will replace the current 13-room Vermont Respite House located in Williston. Construction of the state-of-the-art building, named in honor of local benefactors and long-time hospice advocates Holly and Bob Miller and Lois McClure, began in the fall of 2015. All costs associated with the project are being funded through an $8.6 million capital campaign which is on-going. Through the generous support of the community, $5.5 million has been raised to date.

by Carolyn Shapiro A number of common conditions are mistaken for multiple sclerosis (MS), a disabling central nervous system disease, say researchers at four academic medical centers across the US in a study published online August 31 in the journal Neurology. While it has been known for decades that MS misdiagnosis is a problem, there have been no large studies to help better understand the disorders mistaken for MS and the possible reasons for why they are misdiagnosed. The research involved 24 MS specialist neurologists at the University of Vermont, Mayo Clinic, Washington University, and Oregon Health & Science University, who identified an incorrect diagnosis of MS in 110 patients.

by John Goodrich For nearly 38 years I had the privilege to work for one of the most important companies in the St. Johnsbury area. Weidmann puts bread on the table for 300 families. It was, and is, a mainstay of our local economy. Thus I was alarmed at the urgent call by Scott Campbell, a Democratic candidate for the House, for the legislature to impose a new “carbon tax” on gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, heating oil, and propane. Campbell’s proposed tax is designed to raise $500 million a year when fully in place in 2028.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group and the Vermont Historical Society announced a partnership on Monday that will preserve and protect a significant painting that for 55 years has greeted visitors to the company’s Montpelier headquarters. The mural, “Tribute to Vermont” by prominent artist and Dartmouth College instructor Paul Sample, was installed in 1961 in the lobby of National Life’s then-new headquarters building in Montpelier.

Vermont Business Magazine For the sixth year in a row, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel, Darn Tough Vermont and Smartwool are teaming up to help provide warm, Merino wool socks and much-needed support to Vermont’s homeless population in preparation for the state’s colder months. This Thursday through Saturday, Lenny’s is offering 25% off socks during the 6th Annual Charity Sock Sale. With every pair of Darn Tough and Smartwool socks sold during the sale, a pair will be donated to local homeless shelters. In addition, Lenny’s will make a monetary donation for each pair sold. The organizations receiving the donations include the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) in Williston, the Samaritan House in St. Albans, and the Good Samaritan Haven in Barre, and JCEO Community Outreach Emergency Services Program in Plattsburgh.

To date, Lenny’s has donated over $69,000 worth of socks and support to these shelters.  

Vermont Business Magazine The federal receiver who has been appointed to the Jay Peak EB-5 foreign investor fraud case, Michael Goldberg, has issued the following Q&A about the $15 million settlement with Citibank. Goldberg is effectively running the Jay Peak and Burke Mountain resorts and overseeing the assets involved with those developments and others related to the alleged fraud. The Securities & Exchange Commission and the state of Vermont is alleging $200 million in fraud in the EB-5 case, which also includes the proposed AnC Bio research facility in Newport.

Michael Goldberg, right, with Governor Shumlin, at the grand opening of the Lodge at Burke Mountain. VBM photo.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senate Candidate Scott Milne on Saturday formally launched his U.S. Senate bid in his hometown of Washington, VT.  Milne made his case to voters that career politicians in Washington, D.C., and the big money that fuels them are ruining our futures. Over one hundred supporters descended on the small town in Orange County, where Milne grew up, for  a morning of optimism.  “Scott Milne makes me believe that things can start to function again in Washington.  I’ve known him since he was a kid over at the school and he’s the man for the job,” said Joy Driscoll.

Scott Milne campaign photo.