Current News

Vermont Business Magazine This week, Foley Distributing launches Foley for Food, a new customer program established to help the Vermont Foodbank provide nutritious food to Vermonters in need. For every new customer who enrolls in the Foley for Food Program, Foley Distributing will donate 1% of all sales to the Vermont Foodbank.

“At Foley, our mission since 1879 is to give back to the communities we serve,” says John King, Vice President at Foley Distributing. “We know that partnering with our customers to support the Vermont Foodbank will make a difference in the lives of Vermonters in need all over the state.”

With winter approaching, 153,000 Vermonters are facing tough tradeoffs to keep food on the table. Businesses can help by sourcing janitorial, sanitary and food service products through Foley Distributing’s Foley for Food Program. Every $1 donated to the Vermont Foodbank will provide three nutritious meals.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Headlined by the announcement earlier in the day that the business school will receive a single donation of $20 million, University of Vermont President Tom Sullivan Friday said the university's largest and most ambitious fundraising campaign already has reached nearly half its $500 million goal. Sullivan said the initiative will transform and reshape the 224-year-old public research university. Sullivan emphasized that this campaign would benefit everyone from students and faculty to the community and the state's economy.

Vermont Business Magazine After the largest individual gift in the history of the University of Vermont, the UVM school of business has been renamed in honor of the donor, Steven Grossman, a 1961 graduate and a long-time supporter of the school. "We have renamed the business school The Grossman School of Business," said UVM president Tom Sullivan, "in tribute to Steven Grossman's visionary philanthropy on behalf of the business school and the University. This is the kind of gift that can transform a school or college and elevate it significantly on the national stage."

by Mike Faher vtdigger.org Entergy can eliminate a direct emergency data link between Vermont Yankee and the federal government, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided. By unanimous vote on Thursday, NRC commissioners denied Vermont’s appeal of Entergy’s deactivation of the Emergency Response Data System – also known as the ERDS – at the Vernon plant. While state officials argued that the system is important given the risk of radiological accidents from spent fuel stored at the plant, the NRC says the data system is required only at facilities with operating reactors. Vermont Yankee ceased producing power December 29.

Recchia: Entergy's deal with New Hampshire over emergency funding a way to 'put a stick in our eye'

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Brattleboro If Entergy has its way, Vermont Yankee’s emergency programs — and the funding that goes with them — are due for a major downsizing in the first half of next year. At a September 24 meeting in Brattleboro, several state officials argued that the company’s emergency commitments to surrounding towns and to the state should continue at least for the next several years. Those programs are necessary, they say, to protect public health and the environment around the Vernon plant, where most spent nuclear fuel is stored in a pool in the reactor building.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont last week fell below 300 for the first time in memory. Claims are running at their lowest levels since 1999. The graph below shows total August claims since 1977 (historic weekly data not available). The graph also indicates how severe the two major recessions were during this period, with the recession of the early 1980s far exceeding in Vermont the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The worst months during this 38-year period were December 1981 with 9,369 initial claims and December 1982, with 9,592. The next worst was December 2001, with 9,173 claims, following the downturn caused by the 9/11 attacks. The worst month during the Great Recession was 8,636 in December 2008. December 2014 had 6,637 claims.

Vermont Business Magazine Al Gore, the 45^th vice president of the United States, chairman of the Climate Reality Project, cofounder and chairman of Generation Investment Management and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, will speak at the University of Vermont’s Ira Allen Chapel on Tuesday, October 6 at 10:15 am. Gore will present “The Climate Crisis and the Case for Hope,” his slideshow presentation discussing the urgency of the climate crisis and the solutions we have available to meet this challenge. This event is hosted by Seventh Generation and The Energy Action Seminar/Clean Energy Fund at the University of Vermont.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc (Nasdaq: NXST) announced today that Craig Marrs has been named Vice President and General Manager of WFFF-TV (FOX) and associated digital and mobile services of MyChamplainValley.com, which serves the Burlington, VT and Plattsburg, NY markets (DMA #98). He will also oversee WVNY-TV (ABC) through a joint operating agreement with Mission Broadcasting. Mr. Marrs will assume his new responsibilities immediately and will report to Theresa Underwood, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Nexstar Broadcasting.

Vermont Business Magazine NBT Bank, based in New York with branches in Vermont, announced today that it has acquired Third Party Administrators, Inc, a retirement plan services company located in Bedford, NH. The business provides administrative services for 401(k), profit sharing and defined benefit plans for over 700 businesses as well as Section 125 administration. TPA, Inc will operate as a stand-alone business, retaining its staff, business name and location. Neil Tullis will continue in his role as president of TPA, Inc.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced that the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will partner with the City of Burlington on an 18-month engagement to improve conditions for entrepreneurs in Burlington and study the results of this effort. In collaboration with the City’s Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO) and other community partners supporting Burlington's entrepreneurial growth, the Kauffman Foundation will bring a combination of up to $500,000 in Burlington-specific grants, technical assistance, and research to strengthen the City’s capacity to support entrepreneurs who are starting and growing employer companies in our community.

Vermont Business Magazine With Diaper Need Awareness Week (Sept. 28 - Oct. 4) under way, Seventh Generation, a leading household and personal care company, today celebrated the culmination of its successful diaper promotion with Whole Foods Market and Baby Buggy. For every pack of Seventh Generation Free & Clear diapers purchased at Whole Foods Market between May 1 - September 30, 2015, Seventh Generation donated a pack of its newborn or size one diapers to Baby Buggy, a national nonprofit that provides families with children in need across the country with essential gear, clothing, products and services. Over the past five months, a total of 2.5 million diapers have been dispersed nationwide to families in need through Baby Buggy and Good360.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Public Service Department announces the launch of a new website to help Vermont home owners learn about and access the Department’s Heat Saver Loan. More than $1 million of energy saving projects have been financed using Heat Saver Loans since the program officially launched in October 2014. The Public Service Department, Efficiency Vermont, Opportunities Credit Union and VSECU are working together to help Vermonters prepare for the upcoming heating season. As Vermonters prepare to button up their homes and replace or improve their heating systems, the recently launched HeatSaverLoan.com website has all the program details to help homeowners learn how to finance qualified home energy projects.