Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas today informed the State Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Public Service Board, and Department of Public Service about an inadvertent “taking” of Harsh Sunflowers, listed as threatened in Vermont, on a Monkton parcel of land within its Addison Natural Gas Pipeline corridor. This occurred late yesterday, July 18, as contractors were preparing the site for a horizontal directional drill. A contractor cut vegetation outside of the project’s right-of-way including some areas of Harsh Sunflower, which has been the subject of recent news reports. Vermont Gas said in a statement that it is disappointed by this event and that it immediately notified its environmental experts and state regulatory agencies.

Complete investigation and analysis of impacts is still pending. While that work takes place, Vermont Gas has ordered its contractors to cease all work at the site, which is owned by the company.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont will receive over $30,000 from two online obituary websites for violations of Vermont’s laws on charitable solicitations by a paid third party and consumer protection. Legacy.com and Tributes engaged in a scheme which resulted in Vermonters incurring fees ranging from $10 and $535.50 on donations made to nonprofits in lieu of flowers to the loved ones of a deceased individual. They accomplished this by providing obituaries online which directed mourners wishing to give a donation to a select nonprofit to the website of a third party, called Givalike, rather than to the nonprofit’s website.

“We are pleased to end this practice, which has cost Vermonters unnecessary fees at a time of vulnerability. This is a good outcome for Vermont donors and nonprofits alike.” Attorney General Sorrell stated.
The Attorney General found the following problems with the scheme:

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today signed an Executive Order to give preference to companies that are fighting climate change when awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in State contracts each year. “Climate change is the most urgent environmental issue of our time,” Governor Shumlin said. “Vermont has been a leader in America when it comes to combating global warming, but we can and must do more. By using our significant purchasing power as a state to reward climate-conscious businesses, we will help promote those efforts and encourage other businesses to adopt similar practices. It is my hope that whoever is elected as the next governor will keep this Executive Order in place.”

Vermont Business Magazine Two longtime and widely respected statewide advocates will retire from Vermont Legal Aid (VLA) in the next two months. Trinka Kerr, Vermont’s Chief Health Care Advocate, will retire on August 31 and Jackie Majoros, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman for Vermont, will retire on September 15. Both have worked at VLA throughout their legal careers.

by John McClaughry On July 7 Energy Independent Vermont, the coalition of enviro groups headed by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), announced the findings of its statewide poll on its proposal for a Vermont carbon tax. The poll found that 63 percent of respondents supported the carbon tax, while 31 percent opposed it (six percent were undecided). But before we take that seriously, maybe we ought to inquire into exactly what question was asked by the EIV pollsters.

Vermont Businiess Magazine Johnson State College has been designated Vermont’s premier public liberal arts college – a recognition that establishes JSC as the public version of Vermont’s more selective and costly private liberal arts colleges, such as Middlebury and Bennington. The designation comes from the board of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), which voted unanimously today at its annual meeting in Utah to approve JSC for membership in the organization. COPLAC recognizes institutions that “commit to providing superior liberal arts and sciences education to their students” and generally accepts only one college or university per state (or province, in Canada) for membership following an extensive application and review process.

Vermont Business Magazine Ward Group, an Aon Hewitt company, has once again recognized Vermont Mutual Insurance Group as one of the top 50 Property and Casualty insurers in the United States. This is the eighth consecutive year Ward Group has affirmed Vermont Mutual as a “Ward’s 50®” insurer. Every year, Ward Group identifies the industry’s top insurance companies through a comprehensive financial analysis of approximately 3,000 U.S. property and casualty insurers. The “Ward’s 50” recognizes insurers for their consistency, safety and superior financial performance. 

Vermont Business Magazine Matt Dunne was endorsed today by the Professional Firefighters of Vermont, a union representing firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics working for twelve of the paid professional fire, EMS paramedic services in Vermont. This is the latest in series of labor unions endorsing Matt for Governor. The endorsement was announced at an event held at the Ethan Allen Engine Co. #4 in Burlington. Members of Teamsters Local 597, Vermont State Employees' Association (VSEA) and the Executive Board of the Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO, which have all endorsed Matt’s run for governor, were also in attendance.

Matt Dunne receives endorsement of the Professional Firefighters of Vermont

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas issued the following statement Friday reaffirming permit compliance for the Addison Natural Gas Project: “Vermont Gas is committed to bringing a clean, affordable and reliable energy option to thousands more Vermont businesses and families. Vermont Gas is constructing the Addison Natural Gas Project in full compliance with all of its permits. 

“The recent determination that a wetland in Geprags Park (Hinesburg) should be re-delineated since its first evaluation in 2012 is not uncommon. In fact, we have amended project permits in other instances without impact to construction. We are working closely with our environmental experts to amend our Vermont Wetlands Permit to reflect this new delineation. This work in no way voids or revokes our existing permits or our ability to construct the project outside Geprags Park while amendments are being filed.

Vermont Business Magazine By purchasing $125,000 in Vermont Housing Tax Credits last Friday, Union Bank supplied the equity needed to help approximately 125 households buy their first homes in Vermont this coming year. These households will receive up to $5,000 to help cover their down payment and closing costs through a statewide program when they qualify for a Vermont Housing Finance Agency mortgage. Since its enactment by the Vermont Legislature in 2015, the popular program has helped 108 Vermont households with incomes averaging $65,000 become home owners. Vermonters using the program tend to be young, with an average age of 29.

by Mike Smith It was 1963 in Dallas, Texas, when an assassin, positioned on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depositary, shot and killed President John F. Kennedy as his open-roofed limousine rolled by. It stunned a nation, but the violence didn’t end there. For the next decade, there were more assassinations. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968. Robert F Kennedy in June of the same year. Four college students were killed by Ohio National Guard troops on the campus of Kent State University for protesting the Vietnam War in 1970. And these were only the highest-profile killings.

In 1968 there were also race riots in our major cities. Curfews were imposed and the National Guard assisted police in keeping the peace. And there were massive protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where protestors were beaten and bloodied in battles with police. It appeared, and many believed, the country was tearing itself apart.

Vermont Business Magazine Matt Dunne, Democratic candidate for governor, has submitted his latest campaign finance report with the Secretary of State’s office. Dunne said he is the only candidate to voluntarily release a campaign finance disclosure on a monthly basis -- more frequently than is currently required by law -- because he believes that with early voting underway, the public should have information about how his campaign is funded.

“I am proud to be running an aggressively transparent campaign, and that’s also the kind of governor I will be,” said Matt Dunne, Democratic candidate for governor. “With voting already well underway, I’ve made a point to disclose information about how our campaign is funded, because Vermonters deserve to know whether a candidate is running a people-powered campaign, like I am, or whether they’re self-funding or accepting corporate money.”