Current News

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.

Vermont Business Magazine Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) today announced the introduction of his bipartisan legislation encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to make their treatment preferences known to families and providers should they be unable to make their own decisions due to a debilitating or terminal illness.  The announcement took place at the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Adult Primary Care facility in South Burlington.

Welch was joined at the announcement by Cathy Frank, former chair of Vermont Ethics Network, Dr. Bob Macauley, Director of Clinical Ethics at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine, and Asaad Trina, a third year UVM medical student. The legislation has been endorsed by a broad coalition, including the American College of Physicians, the National Right to Life Committee, the American Nurses Association, and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care.

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast said today that it is seeking candidates to fill more than 30 new "customer-facing" jobs in Vermont over the coming months, in addition to the 20 already recently added across the state. These new positions, which include customer care representatives and supervisors based in the company’s South Burlington call center, are part of Comcast’s multi-year effort to transform the customer experience and to create a culture focused on exceeding customers’ expectations, at all levels of the company. “Comcast is continuing to invest in processes, tools and, most importantly, employees to ensure that our customers have the best possible experience," said Michael Parker, Senior Vice President for Comcast in Vermont. "We’re excited for these new hires to join our existing 200 Vermont employees in our efforts to deliver great service, and we’re thrilled to be growing our workforce in the Green Mountain State.”