Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Representatve Peter Welch (D-Vermont) took to the House floor this morning in opposition to House legislation that would preempt Vermont’s GMO labeling law with what he, Senators Leahy and Sanders and Governor Shumlin call a weaker national standard for foods containing genetically engineered (GE or GMO) ingredients. The legislation (S 764), approved by the Senate on July 7, passed the House by a vote of 306 to 117. Leahy and Sanders voted against the bill as it made its way through the Senate. It will now go to the White House for consideration by President Obama, who is expected to sign it.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont State Colleges (VSC) Board of Trustees unanimously approved one-year, interim appointments to fill two presidential vacancies. Patricia Moulton has been appointed as interim president at Vermont Technical College (Vermont Tech).  Moulton currently serves as the Secretary for the Agency of Commerce and Community Development for the State of Vermont. As Secretary, she facilitated the expansion of many Vermont companies, helped attract new companies, assisted in rebuilding Vermont after Tropical Storm Irene and helped create the nation’s first statewide comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) that has led to millions in federal grants for Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The endangered little brown bat has a new home at Kingsland Bay State Park in Ferrisburgh. Green Mountain Power partnered with Vermont Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Forests, Parks, and Recreation to install a new “bat condo” to give the bats a safe and secure habitat in the park and aide in the recovery in Vermont. The condos look like a tree house on stilts and provide shelter for raising young and safety from predators.      

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the National Alliance for Jobs and Innovation (NAJI) released "Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Under State Consumer Protection Laws," a report card on the effectiveness of laws in 50 states in protecting manufacturers' intellectual property (IP) and the jobs that depend on trade secrets and other IP. For many American manufacturers today, IP is the most valuable asset they own – more valuable than their factories and other physical plants.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is encouraging members to conserve energy on Friday, July 15, and Monday July 18, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. when demand for electricity is expected to spike as a result of high temperatures throughout New England.

Vermont Business Magazine The Flexible Capital Fund announces the addition of Encore Renewable Energy to their socially responsible investment portfolio. The $400,000 of permanent working capital will enable Encore to hire new staff to support business development, engineering, and project management as they expand geographically, strengthen strategic environmental partnerships, and further develop financing partnerships at a critical growth juncture.

by Mike Faher/The Commons A wind turbine developer is defending the embattled Stiles Brook Wind proposal in the town of Windham, saying critics have relied on “many inaccuracies” and “false claims.” Iberdrola Renewables, which wants to build 28 turbines on a ridge in the towns of Windham and Grafton, issued a July 8 letter in which the company rebuts concerns about the project’s wildlife, water quality, flooding, and health impacts. The latter topic has spurred emotional debate often focused on low-frequency sound emitted by turbines. But, in the letter addressed to Windham officials, Iberdrola argues that there’s no credible evidence that the Stiles Brook project will cause injury to its neighbors.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has received an application from Vermont Gas Systems for a Threatened and Endangered Species Taking Permit which would authorize transplanting and taking of the state-threatened "Harsh Sunflower" (Helianthus strumosus) on one property owned by Vermont Gas Systems in Monkton to allow installation of the Addison Gas Pipeline.

Vermont Business Magazine The East Central Vermont Telecommunications District (ECFiber) has reached an agreement with Joseph D Fail Engineering, Inc to provide design and engineering services for extending the ECFiber network 250 miles to serve all premises in West Windsor, Pittsfield, Pomfret, Barnard, Thetford, and Strafford. Fail Engineering has extensive experience in providing design and engineering services for fiber to the home (FTTH) networks in rural areas. That experience will be instrumental in moving ECFiber forward in nearly doubling the size our FTTH network in east central Vermont.

ECFiber file photo

Vermont Business Magazine Some 5,000 emergency responders will take part in Vermont’s largest ever emergency exercise later this month.  Individuals involved in emergency response on the local, state, and federal levels will be tested in the face of extreme circumstances as part of Vermont’s Vigilant Guard catastrophic emergency exercise. The simulation will play out in 50 locations throughout Vermont and include state agencies, local communities, 16 hospitals, the Burlington Airport, and the Vermont National Guard among many others.  Three years in the planning, its goal is to evaluate performance and identify gaps that may exist in the state’s response to a catastrophic event.

Vermont Business Magazine EPA will award additional grants of nearly $2.6 million in supplemental funding for communities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont to carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects at contaminated Brownfields properties. Vermont, with $850,000 will get the lionshare of the money. The projects will help communities create jobs while protecting people’s health and the environment.

The supplemental funding, ranging from about $200,000 to $500,000, will support an array of cleanup and redevelopment projects in the following New England locations:

Vermont Business Magazine - The People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Bank, announced today that it has awarded $5,000 to ReSOURCE, Easter Seals Vermont, and Camp Ta-Kum-Ta in South Hero.