Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Over the past 72 hours, Lisman for Vermont has been notified by supporters of Bruce Lisman that they received deceitful phone calls in conjunction with the upcoming Republican primary. Scott and Lisman are Republican candidates for governor. The primary is Tuesday, August 9. There is a consistent pattern to the calls, the Lisman campaign said. The individual receiving the call is asked if he/she supports Bruce Lisman for Governor. If the voter says “yes”, the caller offers a series of false and outrageous claims designed to defame Bruce Lisman’s character. If the person receiving the call still indicates support for Bruce Lisman, or seeks to end the call, he/she is told, “Don’t forget to vote in the state primary on August 23.” The August 23 date is two weeks after the actual primary election date.

Vermont Business Magazine As part of a continuing effort to bolster economic development in Northern Vermont, Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), Congressman Peter Welch (D) and Governor Peter Shumlin (D) joined Northern Border Regional Commission Chair Mark Scarano in announcing more than $1.8 million in federal grants on Friday. In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders, and Welch said:  “The grants are as varied and unique as the communities they will help, but they share a common theme.  Each one will grow the economy and have a measurable impact on the lives of Vermonters, and communities across our Northern Counties.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival announced today that New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) will be the festival’s new Presenting Sponsor, beginning a three-year commitment. Discover Jazz will again present 10 days of live music throughout downtown Burlington beginning on June 2, 2017. Next June will mark the 34th anniversary of the festival, which is known for bringing legendary musicians like Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Mavis Staples to the Queen City. The event is one of the state’s most accessible music festivals, offering over 100 hours of free live music, and is a major showcase for musical artists from Vermont and around the region. 

Discover Jazz at Leunig's on Church Street in Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Public Service invites all interested Vermonters to provide input on the standards the Department must create per Act 174 of 2016 for determining consistency of regional and municipal plans with state energy policy. The Department will host a forum to gather input on August 30, from 9 a.m. to noon, in Montpelier at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (Noble Hall). For those who prefer to provide input in writing, the Department has published an online survey, available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WMTZFF2. Responses to the survey are due September 5, and those received by August 25 will help inform the discussion at the forum on the 30^th. The Department expects to release an initial draft of the standards later in September for additional public comment.

by Beth Fastiggi, FairPoint Communications Vermont State President Companies often find it challenging to stay on top of the most up-to-date tech products for their offices because they are busy focusing on the core needs of their business. Though understandable, this focus can prevent them from taking advantage of the new technologies that would truly make a positive impact on their businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine After the previous week's spike and relatively high summer numbers, weekly unemployment claims fell last week to their lowest level of the season. Claims in 2016 generally have been running above 2015 claims, but were down last week year-to-year. For the week of July 30, 2016, there were 362 claims, down 277 from the previous week's total and 26 fewer than they were a year ago. By industry, claims claims were down across the board, especially for Manufacturing, which spike in the previous report. Service, the usual leader, again had the most claims. 

Altogether 4,060 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 176 from a week ago, and 68 more than a year ago.

The Department processed 0 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08).

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Senator Leahy joined public officials, residents and staff from Downstreet Housing & Community Development celebrate the official opening of Downstreet’s new office, community space and 27 units of affordable housing known as Downstreet Apartments. The ceremony included the unveiling of a new granite sculpture, designed and created by Barre artist George Kurjanowicz, in the green space surrounding the new building.

The building is located in downtown Barre at 22 Keith Avenue, (on the corner of Summer St. and Keith Ave.) which provides easy access for residents to downtown Barre amenities, and makes Downstreet staff more accessible to residents and clients with ground-floor offices, according to Liz Genge, Downstreet’s Director of Property Management.

by Yana Walder, Lake Point Property Management Moving your office operations into a new space will most likely be exciting and stressful. To avoid it being mostly the latter, read on for seven insights on leasing a professional office space in Vermont. It can take a small to midsize company three to six months to secure a lease for a new office. There is no standard commercial lease deal; each tenant, property owner, and building is unique. It is helpful to understand how they fit together.

Before you set out to find your new ‘just right’ office space, consider the workflow of the space your company currently occupies. Does the size, budget, location, and fit up work for you? What doesn’t work? Are you growing, downsizing or running steady? Do you require privacy and confidentiality or do you bank on interaction and creativity by leasing in a shared space?

1. Budget the right amount of space

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power President and CEO Mary Powell was named among the top 25 Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market CEO Connection in 2016. This list recognizes the top 25 women in the U.S. based on their ability to influence change, innovation, and standards for excellence in companies with annual sales between $100 million and $3 billion. GMP hopes trailblazing CEOs like Powell will inspire the next generation of female leaders to break barriers and take chances. Other winners include businesswoman and fashion designer Tory Burch.

Mary Powell. GMP photo.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont consumers and the State of Vermont will receive a total of over $1.6 million as part of a settlement concerning the wakefulness drug Provigil, Attorney General William H. Sorrell announced today. The settlement ends a multistate investigation into anticompetitive conduct by Cephalon and affiliated companies to protect the monopoly profits earned from Provigil by delaying generic competition. Vermont and 48 other attorneys general entered into a $125 million settlement with Cephalon.

by Lake Champlain Committee On Friday June 17, EPA released a final Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Lake Champlain. The TMDL sets a pollution budget, defining how much of a given pollutant can enter a water body with water quality standards still being met. It took 5 1/2 years to complete, and is the culmination of hard work by dozens of scientists, engineers, computer modelers and others working for EPA and the state of Vermont. The effort was thorough, and required by law, but it is not a roadmap for cleaning Lake Champlain. The TMDL is only a budget for how much the lake can absorb and meet water quality standards.

The Commons, Brattleboro Over the first several years of his tenure, Governor Peter Shumlin made no secret of his desire to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. And since the Vernon facility stopped producing power at the end of 2014, Shumlin’s administration has repeatedly challenged plant owner Entergy’s decommissioning plans — often without much success, given that the process is mostly federally regulated. It will be up to Shumlin’s successor to set the tone for the state’s interactions with Entergy starting in January 2017. In interviews in advance of the Aug. 9 primary, five gubernatorial candidates discussed their proposed approaches to monitoring and intervening in Vermont Yankee decommissioning.