Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In response to growing demand from Vermont homeowners seeking to invest in energy-efficient upgrades that can help them save money on their heating and electricity bills, Governor Peter Shumlin has announced continued funding of a program that has an outstanding track record for helping homeowners meet their energy efficiency needs. As a result of ongoing discussions with the Governor’s office about how best to support the needs of Vermont communities, Bank of America Merrill Lynch will provide $1.5 million in capital to NeighborWorks of Western Vermont (NWWVT), a nonprofit homeownership organization and community development financial institution (CDFI) that specializes in financing energy efficiency improvements.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin and local officials will join Eli Gould, President of Ironwood & Precraft, for a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday December 21, 2015 at 11:30 to celebrate the completion of the first phase of a prototyping and testing facility for the green building industry. Public and members of the press are invited to attend. The Advanced Practice, Testing, and Integration Shop, or "APTI-Shop" for
short, is the first loan funded from the Windham County Economic Development Program, established upon the closure of Entergy VY. The Windham Region CEDS, completed in 2013, identified green building as a top prospect to replace Entergy jobs with new manufacturing careers in high performance prefab and value added timber and engineering. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) is now accepting proposals from Vermont businesses and organizations for vending and exhibiting space in the Vermont Building at the 2016 Eastern States Exposition (“The Big E”) in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The 2016 fair dates are September 16^th – October 2^nd. Approximately 1 million patrons passed through the Vermont Building during the 2015 Big E, spending nearly $1.7 million on Vermont products. 

Vermont Business Magazine Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. The annual awards recognize resource conservation, environmental protection, pollution prevention, and sustainability efforts taken by Vermonters. Individuals, organizations, educational institutions, public agencies and businesses are all eligible for consideration. The application period for nominating a candidate will close on February 1, 2016. 

For more information about the Awards or the nomination process, or to view a list of previous winners and project examples, visit the Awards web page athttp://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/ead/gap/Index.htm or contact Maura Mancini by phone at 802-522-0218 or email at [email protected] .

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin has released a video previewing the themes of his upcoming State of the State Address, which he will deliver Thursday at 2 pm. In the video, Gov. Shumlin also details one policy proposal he will make tomorrow to help Vermonters stuck in low-paying jobs get back on the academic track and the road to a brighter future. See video below.

The video also can be viewed on the Governor’s State of the State website at www.2016stateofthestate.com/preview.

Vermont Business Magazine Heritage Aviation, based at Burlington International Airport, announced today the transition of the company’s ownership to its employees via the formation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). An ESOP allows employees to earn stock and share in company profits. Company owner Robert Stiller had long expressed a vision that, one day, Heritage Aviation would be employee-owned as a way to reward employees for their years of service and to ensure that the business would stay in the area.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Senate this afternoon voted 20-10 to suspend Senator Norman H McAllister (R-Franklin). McAllister has denied the felony sexual assualt charges against him. The suspension would terminate if he is found not guilty or the charges are dismissed. A trial could start as early as February but will likely not start before March. This is believed to be the first time the Legislature has taken such action. Franklin County and the Senate as a whole will be down one senator. The vote was not partisan. According to vtdigger.org, McAllister himself voted against the suspension. According to the Burlington Free Press, he immediately left the Chamber.

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, a Republican running for governor this year, issued the following statement about the Vermont Senate’s vote Wednesday to suspend McAllister:

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Construction of a power line running for nearly 100 miles under Lake Champlain could begin this year. TDI New England announced today that the New England Clean Power Link has received a Certificate of Public Good from the Vermont Public Service Board. Vermont’s Certificate of Public Good is the comprehensive state siting and environmental regulatory approval that is needed to construct and to operate the project in the state, and details the conditions under which the project can be built and operated. TDI-New England is proposing to construct a 1000 MW transmission line under Lake Champlain and underground from Benson to Ludlow. With this approval, the permitting process remains on track. The current project timeline calls for commencing construction in 2016 and beginning commercial operation in 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine With winter returning to the Eastern half of the US, ski and snowboard areas nationwide are turning their sights to January’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month (LSSM) and especially the industry’s attempt to set a record for the Largest Ski and the Largest Snowboard Lessons. The Guinness Book of World Records attempt - the “unofficial” kick off for LSSM - takes place Friday, January 8, 2016 at 160 plus locations nationwide. All lessons will happen at 10 am in each local time zone. Trained instructors will teach ski and snowboard lessons in separate classes. The lessons are for beginners. Some locations in Utah, Colorado and California are focusing their efforts on school children but most events are for anyone who is a beginner. One lucky individual will win either a pair of skis or a snowboard from RAMP just for participating.

The governor talks about big wind, big health care, opiates, education, technology, successes, Hillary & Bernie and vows to never run for anything again. He gives his final State of the State Address on Thursday.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of the South End Arts and Business Association in Burlington has announced the transition of Arts Alive Vermont under the umbrella of SEABA starting in 2016. For 30 years Art's Alive has worked to fulfill its mission statement by dedicating itself to increasing the awareness of and appreciation of Vermont's Visual Artists. For three decades the organization has produced hundreds of group and individual exhibitions, including the Annual Festival of Fine Art in June featuring Art in the Windows on Church Street in Burlington, a Juried Exhibition in Main Street Landing's Union Station and Chalk Drawing Competition in the City Hall Park. As the community evolved so did Art's Alive.