Current News

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.

Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center’s Safe Recovery Program received a $25,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation. Safe Recovery is a full-time, professionally-staffed recovery center for people living with addiction to opioids. Specifically, the grant will enable the program to provide additional drug treatment options counseling sessions and increased outreach to veterans. The award comes at a crucial time as Safe Recovery has recently been forced to lay off staff, even while the demand for recovery services increases.

“We are very proud to support Howard Center and the essential work they are doing to provide drug treatment options,” said Jason Klipa Walmart Director of Public Affairs. “Through its Safe Recovery program, Howard Center is keeping individuals safe during their counseling and treatment. Their work will help save lives.”

Vermont Business Magazine Community College of Vermont (CCV) is partnering with G.S. Precision to offer a Certified Production Technician (CPT) course in Brattleboro, beginning May 18. This course is the first step in establishing a manufacturing pathway to help G.S. Precision close a skills gap at its Brattleboro facility, and to help workers receive the necessary training to fill open positions. Courses like the CPT help workers advance their careers by developing specialized skills that G.S. Precision and other Vermont manufacturers are looking for in their new employees.

“GS Precision is excited to work with CCV to provide the local community opportunities to build careers in the Precision Machining Field,” said G.S. Precision President and CEO Norm Schneeberger.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today announced two positive developments in the State’s continued response to PFOA contamination in Southern Vermont. The potentially-responsible party for the former Warren Wire manufacturing facility in Pownal, APU, has agreed to step forward and cover costs related to releases from that facility, including costs for drinking water sampling, bottled water, a filtration system for the impacted municipal water supply (Fire District #2), and point-of-entry water filtration systems on private wells impacted by PFOA. The governor also announced today that test results from South Hero municipal water supply show no PFOA contamination. That well was tested as part of the expanded statewide testing announced earlier in April.

by Patrick Leahy Years ago when I began working to reform the national EB-5 program, the problems we saw seemed far removed from the many promising EB-5 development projects in Vermont. It is heartbreaking, and it is maddening, to see such problems here at home. It is now painfully clear to all Vermonters that the EB-5 Regional Center program is flawed. The program once promised to transform the Northeast Kingdom and other underserved communities through millions of dollars of investment at no cost to taxpayers. Yet it has become mired in fraud and abuse across the country, and unfortunately such allegations have now reached our state.

Vermont Business Magazine Lake Sunapee Bank Group (NASDAQ: LSBG), the holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb, today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2016. Consolidated net income for the first quarter of 2016 was $2.5 million, or $0.29 per diluted common share, compared to $2.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted common share, for the same period in 2015 and $2.2 million, or $0.26 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2015. The bank operates 30 offices in New Hampshire in Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack and Sullivan counties and 15 offices in Vermont in Orange, Rutland and Windsor counties.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer today released a report on the success by the Vermont Department of Taxes on collecting unpaid personal income taxes. In 2013 and 2014, there was a total of $22.5 million in uncollected taxes (25,478 cases), of which VDT collected 57 percent, or $12.9 million. Delinquent personal income taxes comprised about 41 percent ($7.2 million) of delinquent taxes due to the State as of June 30, 2015. Hoffer said that based on his analysis that the state could increase the amount by starting the collection process sooner, especially for the smaller ("low dollar") collection amounts.

by Bill Schubart There are many actors in the Jay Peak/Q-Burke tragedy playing out on our Northern Vermont stage. The unfortunate investors whose investments were by law “at risk,” have been clearly deceived and may never see their promised green cards or any return on their investments. For some, the half-million-dollars will be missed but well worth the cost of entry to the U.S. for them and their families. Others will be badly hurt by the financial loss. Hopefully, the appointed “recovery attorney” will be able to recover some of their losses.

Then there are the business principals, Bill Stenger – liked by those who know him, including this observer – and the mysterious Ariel Quiros, whom few know. The stinging civil charges brought by Vermont’s Attorney General and the S.E.C. against the two are pervasive and well documented. Naiveté will not play as a defense, even as both are innocent until proven otherwise.

Vermont Business Magazine Our biggest hit is back! Last year, just when consumers thought a burrito couldn't get any better, Ben & Jerry's delivered the BRRR-ito: a chewy crepe-like wrap surrounding your choice of ice cream flavors, drizzled in hot fudge and topped with cookie crumbles. Beginning on April 20th, the scoop shop fan favorite, BRRR-ito, will return, but hurry as it is only making a limited appearance at participating scoop shops.