Current News

by Deb Markowitz Every Earth Day, I take time to reflect on the importance of the work we do at the Agency of Natural Resources and how much I appreciate the passion and commitment of our over 600 employees. At ANR, our work to protect the environment is not just a job -- it also provides a life of meaning and purpose. We love Vermont and its great outdoors, so we work together to make sure we protect Vermont’s beauty, health and heritage. We conserve state lands. We ensure our soil, air and water are clean. We make it easier for Vermonters to get outside to hunt, fish and recreate. And we plan carefully for a future that reduces our contributions to climate change and prepares us for its impacts.

Vermont Business Magazine Declining snowfall in Vermont, a likely byproduct of a warming climate, is sure to negatively affect the state's $600 million snowmobile industry. New research provides a sobering look at just how much. A significant part of Vermont's snowmobiling appeal lies in the state's interlocking network of trails, which allow snowmobilers to cover large geographic areas, said Robert Manning, a natural resources professor at the University of Vermont and lead author of the study, which is based on an online survey of 1,450 members of VAST, the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, in November and December of 2015.

Vermont Business Magazine iSystems, LLC, the company behind Evolution HCM, has recently moved its corporate office to 800 Hinesburg Road in South Burlington, Vermont; just a few miles away from its previous location in Colchester. iSystems has more than doubled its staff in the past two years and has continued to experience steady market share growth.  With this kind of growth comes opportunities in the form of more tech job opportunities for the state of Vermont and the need for a larger building for iSystems to accommodate its expanding workforce.

Vermont Business Magazine One of the state’s premier wildlife watching opportunities is happening right now in Vermont. The steelhead rainbow trout have started their upstream migration, leaping up waterfalls in a spectacular display of determination on their way to their spawning grounds. The best place to spot steelhead is at Willoughby Falls just outside downtown Orleans in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

Vermont Business Magazine Redevelopment would create and preserve hundreds of downtown jobs and homes and completely rebuild and modernize mall’s downtown retail; Agreement commits owner to restoring public streets lost during Urban Renewal, paying construction workers livable wages, developing more than 50 permanently affordable homes; City will build up to $21.89 million of long-sought public infrastructure improvements using future property tax revenue generated by the project; Agreement carefully protects City from financial risks; Agreement is product of 18 months of public process and negotiation; City Council approval sought at May 2, 2016 meeting

Vermont Business Magazine A year after establishing a commitment to end family homelessness in Vermont by 2020, Governor Peter Shumlin today announced a 28 percent decline in homelessness in the last year and issued a new Executive Order to increase access to affordable housing. The Order calls for owners of housing that receive state funds to make available at least 15 percent of their portfolio of housing units to Vermonters experiencing homelessness. By aligning supportive services, rental subsidies, and state investments in affordable housing, the State and private partners are working to ensure a continued focus on assisting vulnerable Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine Robert (Bob) W Allen, President and CEO of The Windham Foundation of Grafton, and an experienced leader of academic and business institutions, has been named the eighth President of Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont. He will succeed Dr. Paul Fonteyn, the College’s president for the past eight years, who is retiring. Allen will assume the presidency on July 1. Windham Foundation Board Chair Elizabeth Bankowski will serve as that organization's interim president.

Bob Allen. Above, the GMC campus.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on Wednesday hailed the House Judiciary Committee for overwhelmingly approving his legislation to reauthorize the lifesaving Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, a federal grant program whose charter has long been expired and needs to be renewed. Following the committee’s action on Wednesday, Leahy called for the full House to quickly pass the bill so that it can be sent to the President for signature.  The Senate passed the bipartisan measure, coauthored with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), last year.

Vermont Business Magazine A $100,000 grant to COTS from the National Life Group Foundation will support the state’s largest homeless agency as it redevelops its flagship building in Burlington and continues to expand its services. The Committee on Temporary Shelter’s construction project at 95 North Avenue in Burlington will offer 14 affordable apartments when it’s completed, along with a new permanent home for the COTS Daystation program. COTS will also move its administrative offices and program space for family services and homelessness prevention back into the building.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, April 21, Norwich University will kick off a celebration and symposium marking 100 years of Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). As the birthplace of ROTC, Norwich University will celebrate ROTC’s centennial anniversary with the “ROTC Centennial Symposium: Preparing the Next Generation Leaders in a Complex World” April 21-23, 2016. The symposium kicks off on Thursday, April 21, at the Vermont Statehouse with a morning event and reading of a State of Vermont proclamation by Governor Peter Shumlin marking the milestone. That evening U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley will deliver a keynote Todd Lecture at 7 p.m., which is free and open to the public.

by Tom Pelham Just two months following Governor Shumlin’s first inauguration, I penned this scenario in a commentary: “For Shumlin, a perfect storm hits the Fifth Floor, should he allow the Legislature to raise taxes rather than trim spending; to raise property taxes rather than contain education spending; and to pass and commit Vermonters to a “trust me now, I’ll bill you later” approach to health care reform. Shumlin need look no further than recent history as to the probable outcome.”

Vermont Business Magazine According to a statement released Monday by the Town of Essex, on April 7 & 8, 2016, an unknown person sent fraudulent emails to the Town of Essex, pretending to be an Essex Town Official. This email requested payroll records for all Essex Town personnel. Mistakenly, town staff did not confirm the identity of the sender and sent the requested payroll records in response to the fraudulent emails. On April 12, 2016, the Town discovered this fraud when several Town employees tried to file their taxes and found their accounts had been compromised. On April 13, 2016 the Town confirmed that the suspect emails were indeed fraudulent and that the records provided contained PII (personally identifying information) of 262 current and past staff members.