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Vermont Business Magazine In late June, Public Radio News Directors Inc. and emcee Korva Coleman of NPR presented 173 awards to 72 organizations at its conference in St Louis for work done at stations and other outlets during calendar year 2015. Vermont Public Radio took home three of the awards for commentary, newscast, and arts feature. The annual PRNDI Awards is the only national competition devoted to rewarding outstanding local public radio news in a variety of categories.

"This year's competition was fierce with over 1,200 entries submitted," according to George Bodarky, PRNDI President. 

VPR was recognized with three national awards for its 2015 coverage in the following categories:

Commentary:

Vermont Business Magazine An increase in the Labor Force could indicate that potential workers are entering the workforce because of growth in the economy. At least that is one answer the state is offering to explain a rare increase in the jobless rate. The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for June was 3.2 percent. This is a one-tenth of one percentage point increase from the revised May rate.

Vermont Business Magazine BioTek Instruments, based in Winooski, celebrated the start of a $4 million, 22,000-square-foot facility expansion during a company-wide event on Monday, July 18, featuring honorable guests Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, Congressman Peter Welch, Governor Peter Shumlin, and Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott. The increased space will be used to support the Company’s rapidly growing manufacturing and design needs, and once completed at the end of 2016, will also add a number of new jobs to the local economy.

Briar Alpert, BioTek President and CEO speaks as, from left, Lieutenant Governor Scott, Congressman Welch, Senator Leahy and Governor Shumlin listen. VBM photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provided an update today on bottled water availability for Shaftsbury residents living near the closed town landfill, and details on an upcoming informational meeting. Additional monitoring wells at the landfill and private drinking water wells within a quarter mile of the landfill will be tested over the next few weeks. The decision to test wells of homeowners near the landfill resulted from Wednesday’s announcement on the finding of PFOA in a groundwater monitoring well at the site. Results showed PFOA to be present at a concentration of 25 parts per trillion in the one monitoring well tested.

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bank is pleased to sponsor the Papering the Town: Circus posters in America exhibit at the Shelburne Museum. The $5,000 sponsorship shares circus posters from the 1800's and 1900's with guests through January 22, 2017. This is an exciting exhibit as some of these circus posters have not been displayed since becoming part of the Shelburne Museum's collection, due to their enormous size.

Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of State Jim Condos would like to remind all Vermonters that the deadline to register to vote in the August 9^th Statewide Primary is Wednesday, August 3rd.“Voting is the very basis of our democracy,” said Secretary Condos, “I encourage everyone to get out and participate in Vermont’s Primary on August 9^th.”

Vermont has one of the most generous early voting periods in the nation, allowing you to vote in person at your town clerk’s office or by mail 45 days before an election.  If you are not registered, the Secretary of State’s new elections management system makes it easier than ever to register to vote.  Through your own personalized “MVP” or “My Voter Page” you can easily locate your polling place, view the ballots you will see on Election Day and request an early ballot.

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ:  MBVT), the parent company of Merchants Bank, today announced net income of $4.4 million and $0.63 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2016 compared to net income of $3.5 million or $0.50 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2016 and $3.1 million in net income or $0.49 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2015. For the six months ended June 30, 2016, net income was $7.9 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, compared to net income of $6.5 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, for the same period in 2015.

The return on average assets was 0.90% for the three months ended June 30, 2016, compared to 0.71% in the linked quarter and 0.72% for the same period in 2015. The return on average equity was 11.36% for the three months ended June 30, 2016, compared to 9.32% in the linked quarter and 9.73% for the same period in 2015.

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont President Tom Sullivan has been selected to serve as the Vice Chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I Presidential Forum. The Presidential Forum’s charge is to assist the NCAA Division I Board of Directors in accomplishing its strategic mission in the Division I governance structure. It is also charged with ensuring that the NCAA core value involving presidential leadership of intercollegiate athletics at the campus, conference and national level is achieved. The Forum is comprised of one president or chancellor from each of the 32 Division I conferences. Sullivan, who has led UVM as its president since 2012, has served as the America East representative to the Forum since its inception in 2015. 

Vermont Business Magazine State economists Jeff Carr and Tom Kavet lowered Fiscal Year 2017 tax revenue estimates by $21.1 million today in a presentation before the state Emergency Board, which accepted the revised numbers. The vast bulk of that shortfall will be made up by savings in the Medicaid program. FY 2017 began July 1. The economists also reported that Vermont’s revenues grew by 2.3 percent in fiscal year 2016 and Vermont employers added 4,400 jobs in the last year. The Legislative (Kavet) and Administration (Carr) economists said state revenues will grow by 4.8 percent in fiscal year 2017. The loss in revenue is somewhat, but not entirely, due to 1.5 million fewer skiers this past winter, a 32 percent drop. The downgrade means the state is projected to bring in about $21 million less in revenue than anticipated when the FY2017 budget was adopted.

Vermont Business Magazine More than 150 local businesses and institutions ranging from farms and credit unions, to hotels, main street shops, manufacturers, and solar companies urge support for renewable energy and maintaining Vermont’s strong net metering program.  The net metering program is currently in the final stages of being revised by the Public Service Board.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce today called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take additional steps to ensure publicly traded companies and corporations properly disclose climate change risk. In a letter (see below) to SEC Chair Mary Jo White and SEC Corporation Finance Division Director Keith Higgins, Treasurer Pearce encouraged the SEC to create standards to assist investors in making informed investment decisions.

“Climate change is real and could impact the profitability of certain companies,” said Treasurer Pearce. “As a fiduciary overseeing the State’s investments, I encourage the SEC to create a publicly accessible database of climate change disclosures. More transparency will allow companies and investors to work together to better assess climate and carbon risk, and assist the SEC in its mission to create marketplace fairness.”

Vermont Business Magazine Four State agencies have just released their Annual Green Infrastructure Progress Reports. The reports are a result of an executive order signed by Governor Shumlin in 2012, directing state agencies to promote and demonstrate how we can use natural systems as a cost effective alternative approach to managing stormwater runoff. In Vermont, stormwater washes pollutants into rivers and lakes and create risks of flooding. “Stormwater runoff from rainwater and snowmelt can pollute our waterways and be costly to fix,” explains Rick Hopkins, senior analyst with the Vermont Clean Water Initiative Program. “Green Infrastructure technologies can mitigate these impacts by using nature-like practices to slow down, capture for reuse or infiltrate stormwater into the ground.”