Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Secretary of State’s Office has announced the 2016 Vermont Public Service Awards. Every five years, this program honors individuals who have served as elected or appointed local officials, or as fire or police service, for 20 or more years. First established in 1999, this honorary program has recognized thousands of deserving Vermonters. The goal of the program is to highlight the vital role of public servants in the ongoing success of our cities and towns and to provide these valuable public servants the recognition they deserve. We hope it also serves to encourage all citizens to take a more active role in their local community.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont House of Representatives voted 139-3 to advance a bill (H.865) to spur the development of workforce housing for middle income Vermonters. In addition to creating a pilot program to help develop infrastructure for housing, the bill extends a successful first-time home buyer down payment assistance program that was first passed in 2015.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today provided an update on the state’s response to the detection of the chemical PFOA in southern Vermont and provided information on additional testing that will be conducted around the state. These additional tests are not a result of specific concerns for drinking water safety. Rather, they are being conducted at sites where the state believes PFOA may have been used in certain manufacturing processes. The State will ensure testing in the vicinity of 11 sites around the state, including IBM (Essex), Phoenix Wire (South Hero), Champlain Cable (Colchester), Harbour Industries and unaffiliated former Harbour Industries sites (Shelburne, Colchester), SuperTemp (South Burlington, Winooski), Belden Wire & Cable (Essex, Williston), Pittsford Fire Academy, and National Guard Air Force Base.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Mayors Coalition on Tuesday honored AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and other service members and highlighted the value of their national service to their communities through a joint proclamation and during events in Burlington and Montpelier. Vermont’s eight mayors, represented by Montpelier Mayor Hollar and Barre Mayor Lauzon at an event in Montpelier and represented by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger at a Burlington waterfront clean-up service event, joined more than 3,100 officials from around the nation offering similar recognition of their cities’ service members during the fourth annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service (see proclamation below) , a nationwide bipartisan effort to:

·         Recognize the positive and lasting impact of national service on our cities;

·         Thank AmeriCorps and Senior Corps participants who serve; and

Vermont Business Magazine Bill Maris ’97, founder and CEO of Google Ventures – recently renamed GV – will speak at Middlebury on April 11 at 7 pm in Wilson Hall. In a talk titled “Vermont, Silicon Valley, and the Future,” Maris will reflect on a career path that took him from Vermont to Silicon Valley, and discuss how innovation and entrepreneurs will shape the future. The talk will be live streamed. Maris, who graduated from Middlebury in 1997 with a degree in neuroscience, leads Google Ventures (GV), the venture capital arm of Alphabet, Inc, the newly formed parent company of Google.

Vermont Business Magazine Retailers, grocers, and industry members are invited to attend the state’s most comprehensive trade show featuring the latest food and retail products, business services, exciting networking opportunities, and informational seminars to improve business practices. The Vermont Retail & Grocers Association will be hosting the VRGA 2016 Convention & Expo at the Hilton Burlington on Friday, April 29^th and Saturday, April 30^th.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin, House Speaker Shap Smith, and Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell today announced the formation of the Vermont Hydropower Working Group, which will assess the partial or full acquisition of hydropower assets on the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers currently for sale by TransCanada. The Working Group will thoroughly but expeditiously consider the potential acquisition of these assets in the coming weeks.

Public Assets Institute The House passed its fiscal 2017 budget along with tax and fee bills raising approximately $49 million in new revenue to support it. The House budget came in at $5.81 billion, approximately $1 million above the governor’s recommendation. Overall, the House made minor changes to the governor’s spending plan.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today invited PayPal to locate a planned expansion that would create 400 jobs in Vermont after the company announced it would cancel prior expansion plans in North Carolina over disagreements with that state’s anti-LGBT law. In a letter to PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, the Governor invited the company to locate in Vermont given the state’s proud history of non-discrimination and protecting the rights of all citizens. The Governor also cited Vermont’s burgeoning tech industry in his pitch. Shumlin has banned official travel to both North Carolina and Mississippi because of anti-LGBT laws recently enacted in those states.

Vermont Business Magazine A day after the Shumlin Administration said that the E911 board issued a false statement concerning E911 service, administration officials met today with the Chair and Vice Chair of the E911 Board as well as the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety to discuss budgetary issues around 911 service raised by the Board and the Department yesterday. Participants in the meeting included Secretary of Administration Justin Johnson, Chief of Staff Darren Springer, Finance Commissioner Andy Pallito, E911 Board Chair Gary Taylor, E911 Vice Chair Roger Marcoux, Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn, and Deputy Commissioner Joe Flynn. The group collectively agreed to a further deliberative process before pursuing any changes to 911 service.

E911 Board Chair Gary Taylor and Vice Chair Roger Marcoux, and Secretary Johnson and Commissioner Flynn issued the following joint statement:

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich is honored to announce that former Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno will deliver the university’s 2016 Commencement address to graduating seniors on Saturday, May 14. A decorated officer and distinguished leader, Odierno served as the 38th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 2011 to 2015. His previous posts include assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he served as the primary military advisor to US Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry's fans around the world can mark April 12th on their calendars as the 2016 Ben & Jerriest day of the year; Free Cone Day! For the past 37 years, Ben & Jerry's has opened scoop shop doors to dish out free ice cream to fans, thanking them for being so uniquely awesome. The tradition has continued to grow, beginning in the small state of Vermont, USA, and now reaching across the globe. Fans are invited to their local scoop shop to join in on the company's long-time tradition of thanking fans for their commitment and ongoing support.