Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today recommended using $1 million from the Vermont Enterprise Fund to support the continued growth of GlobalFoundries. The Emergency Board approved the recommendation at a meeting this morning. GlobalFoundries will be investing $72 million dollars in capital expenditures as well as converting 100 temporary jobs to full time permanent jobs at higher wages and with better benefits. This commitment further solidifies GlobalFoundries’ presence in Vermont. The Enterprise Funds will be used to make investments in efficiencies at the Essex facility.

Vermont Business Magazine Bill Shouldice, CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear and Chair of the Vermont Chamber Foundation, announced the launch of the Vermont Futures Project at the Vermont Economic Summit held today. “The Vermont Futures Project is a data-driven initiative to secure Vermont’s long-term economic health and provide opportunity for Vermonters,” Shouldice said in his remarks to the 200 business leaders and policy makers attending the conference. “It builds upon the dedication and strategic thinking of a diverse range of stakeholders that have contemplated what Vermont can and should be.”

Vermont Business Magazine A new federal financing program will provide loans to Vermont individuals, small businesses and town governments to support a broad range of energy improvement projects. Senator Patrick Leahy, Governor Peter Shumlin and representatives of Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch were joined by United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Burlington Friday to announce the $46 million federal loan program to bolster investments in energy efficiency and renewable power projects across the Vermont, which will be administered by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Vermont program the largest of its kind in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Composites BHS, a Sherbrooke-based manufacturer, has selected St Johnsbury, Vermont for its expansion into the United States. This new investment will facilitate the creation of approximately 75 new jobs over the next several years. The company will locate in the St Johnsbury-Lyndonville Industrial Park in an existing building. Governor Peter Shumlin recommended using $200,000 award from the Vermont Enterprise Fund, which was established to help the state move quickly to seize opportunities and encourage the creation of jobs. That funding was approved unanimously Thursday by the Emergency Board. Composites BHS also received initial approval of a Vermont Employment Growth Incentive award totaling approximately $695,00 and support from the Vermont Training Program.

Vermont Business Magazine The Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, a division of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, has announced the relaunch of its website, goadirondack.com, the official tourism website for Clinton County. The bilingual site features a new look and navigation, as well as richer content highlighting outdoor recreation, history, agriculture, events, lodging, dining and other local offerings. Kristy Kennedy, VP of Marketing for the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and North Country Chamber of Commerce, said, “The upgrades to goadirondack.com are designed to deliver a richer user experience and help our visitors find information easily and quickly. The development of this website also focused on understanding how search engines (i.e Google) interact with websites. We want to ensure that goadirondack.com is consistently served as a leading source of information on our region.

Vermont Business Magazine Hal Curtis, age 64, of Rutland, Vermont, was convicted on January 5, 2016, in Vermont Superior Court, Windsor Criminal Division, on six misdemeanor counts of False Pretenses. The convictions stemmed from Curtis’ submission of false timesheets in order to obtain payment for services that were not provided to a recipient of benefits under the Developmental Services waiver program, a Vermont Medicaid program. Specifically, the State alleged that Curtis filed timesheets purporting to show that he had delivered community support services in the middle of the night and small hours of the morning while the recipient of benefits was sleeping.

Vermont Business Magazine Several individuals and organizations weighed in on Governor Peter Shumlin's sixth and final State of the State Address Thursday afternoon. Among them was Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, who is a leading Republican running to fill the seat Shumlin is leaving one-year from now. Scott was also Tweeting during the speech. He issued the following statement.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The governor may have buried the lede in his sixth and final State of the State Address. After talking about the successes of the last five years (job growth, expansion of health insurance coverage, recovery from Tropical Storm Irene), Governor Peter Shumlin dedicated the last part of his speech to the humanity of Vermonters and the human side of government. He spoke about slain social worker Lara Sobel and the need to give better and more support to social services, he spoke about the opiate addiction problem and its ramifications on this and every state, and he spoke of the need for Vermonters to reach out to Syrian refugees as Vermonters historically have done to help people in need.

Vermont Business Magazine Like most Americans, Vermonters should enjoy continued savings at the pump. Two years ago, gasoline prices in the state were pushing $4 per gallon, but in the summer of 2014 they began a deep dive which has driven them all the way down to nearly $2 per gallon. As of Thursday morning, gas prices in Vermont stood at an average of $2.09, with a low of $1.94 in southern and central Vermont. A national rating service says gas prices are going to remain low through the rest of 2016. Overall, US motorists will spend $17 billion less compared to 2015 as the national yearly sags for a fourth straight year to $2.28 a gallon, according to GasBuddy’s 2016 Fuel Price Outlook. Meanwhile, diesel, which had been running significantly higher than gasoline, will fall even greater to a national average of $2.16.

Aside from a national average that’s forecast to be lower than 2015, highlights include:

Vermont Business Magazine An innovative project developed at the University of Vermont has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for research aimed at making the electric grid better able to accommodate power generated from renewable energy sources. The grant, one of only 12 awarded nationally, is part of ARPA-E’s newest program, called Network Optimized Distributed Energy Systems, or NODES.

Vermont Business Magazine The boarded-up building and neglected property alongside the Whetstone Brook at 11 Arch Street in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, got a new lease on life on December 11, when the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) acquired it from Green Mountain Power. BMAC Director Danny Lichtenfeld said the museum intends to rehabilitate the property and expand the museum's operations in downtown Brattleboro. BMAC's plans for the new facility have yet to be finalized but may include artist housing or studios, gallery or event space, classrooms, and a terrace overlooking the brook. "Bringing the Arch Street property back into productive use, from its current state of abandonment and neglect, will be no small task, but the museum's trustees, staff, and I look forward to the challenge," said Lichtenfeld. "Brattleboro deserves something great in that location, and that's what we intend to bring about."

Vermont Business Magazine ECFiber and its operations contractor ValleyNet have announced a shift in leadership. Carole Monroe, the current General Manager will be taking on the CEO role from outgoing CEO Stan Williams, who will remain as Chief Financial Officer. Williams noted, “I will continue to help keep ECFiber financially self-sustaining, but have also refocused my efforts towards accessing the required investment capital to complete our buildout.” In other developments, the organization announced that it had reached the 1200 customer milestone.

Monroe said, “Thank you to all of our loyal subscribers for spreading the word to their neighbors and maintaining our internal growth.”