Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Five towns in the Rutland Region successfully secured funding through the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Program for scoping studies and construction. Killington received $30,000 (including the local match) for a scoping study for pedestrian crossing/connectivity and bus stop locations; Middletown Springs received $38,500 (including the local match) for a scoping study for a shared use, unpaved path providing access to the village center; Pittsford received $187,000 (total including 10% local match) to design and construct 2400 feet of sidewalk running along Arch Street and Pleasant Street; Rutland City received $70,000 (including the local match) in additional funding for construction of Rutland Creek Path Segment 4 from Monsignor Park to River Street; and West Rutland received $821,000 (total including 10% local share) to design and construct 3305 feet of sidewalk along Campbell, Thrall, Clarendon, Ross and Fairview Streets.

Vermont Business Magazine PeakCM Construction has been named a Grand Prize winner of Wolverine’s Project Bootstrap. The nationwide contest run by the premiere work footwear manufacturer asked construction workers to nominate job sites that used creative construction techniques, adhered to rigorous safety protocols, and had a positive impact on its workers and surrounding community. More than 500 nominations were submitted from 25 states. Winooski-based PeakCM won one of only three Grand Prizes, a Site Crash from the Wolverine team.

The Site Crash involves Wolverine executives driving from the company’s headquarters in Rockford, Michigan to Q Burke Mountain Resort, the PeakCM site in East Burke, VT that won the grand prize. Once at Burke, the Wolverine team will give out more than 125 pairs of the company’s new state-of-the-art, safety-toe work boots. They will also provide the entire site with a catered lunch, as well as Wolverine gear.

Vermont State Police On August 20, 2015, Passumpsic Bank Officials from the St Johnsbury Center Branch reported to the Vermont State Police that an employee, Janet Katalina, embezzled money from the Bank’s own accounts (not a customer’s account). Katalina held the position of Accounting Analyst and Payroll Specialist. Katalina was terminated from the bank on August 19, 2015.

Bank Officials determined and the investigation confirmed that Katalina first embezzled $734.00 on December 19, 2014 by cashing in her annual leave without actually adjusting her annual leave balance. Katalina was the inputter for this data as the payroll specialist. Investigation revealed that Katalina took steps to hide what she had done to include not filing certain forms with the Bank’s Human Resource Office.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center and the University of Vermont Medical Group recently announced the appointment of Rick Vincent to the position of vice president, Finance, and chief financial officer. The University of Vermont Medical Group includes approximately 600 physicians who are jointly employed by the medical center and the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Vincent has served as vice president, Finance, for the UVM Medical Group since 2011. He was named interim vice president, Finance, for the UVM Medical Center in 2104. Prior to these roles, Vincent held several other finance and operational positions in the organization, including director, Orthopedics and Cancer Services. He has been with the medical center since 1994.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General William Sorrell has opened an investigation into the disclosure by Volkswagen that some of its diesel vehicles carried software designed to produce false emissions test results – violating clear air regulations and deceiving consumers. Attorney General Sorrell said that, “Volkswagen should be held accountable for any evasion of environmental laws and emissions standards, deception of consumers, and violation of the public trust.”

The AG's office is working with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and also collaborating with other attorneys general in the investigation.

RELATED: Vermonters sue Volkswagen over emissions testing deceit

by Adam Grinold, Executive Director, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation On October 6, Southern Vermont will host the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Regional Public Forum on Advancing Vermont’s Climate Change Economy. It takes place at the Latchis Theater from 7-9pm. I encourage everyone to participate in this timely discussion which will directly impact the recommendations that will be presented to the Governor and Legislature in February.

The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is leading the Vermont Climate Change Economy Initiative with the premise that confronting climate change through innovative economic development can be a competitive strategy, one that will build national reputation, create jobs and attract youth and entrepreneurism.

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Brattleboro In a town hit hard by the shutdown of Vermont Yankee, officials say a natural-gas plant — with development costs estimated at $750 million — may be in the works. The optimism in Vernon is carefully qualified, however. For one thing, the plant is far from a sure bet, and it’s not yet been disclosed which sites are under consideration. Also, there have been a few recent hints of opposition from the general public, though the town government has been generally supportive of the concept so far.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today joined with the Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) to highlight survey results focused on the perception of Vermont’s economy and job market by recent graduates and incoming seniors at St Michael’s College in Colchester. One concerning finding from the survey is that almost 40 percent of students who left or plan to leave Vermont following graduation cited a “reported lack of job availability,” contradicting the fact that Vermont has thousands of job openings and the nation’s fourth lowest unemployment rate.

Vermont Business Magazine State Agency officials, representatives from the Vermont Foodbank, and local grocers joined together Tuesday at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf to recognize the contribution of food rescue to hunger relief. Since July 2015, when requirements for food diversion took effect for medium-sized institutions under Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law, the Vermont Foodbank has seen a 24% increase in food donations from retailers over last year. Food shelves are fuller, and less waste is going to the landfill.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation approved a new plan to improve water quality in Lake Champlain. The Northern Lake Champlain Direct Drainages Tactical Basin Plan Plan compiles over two years of work focused on the health of the basin and development of targeted actions to remediate and protect surface waters. High levels of sediment and pollutants, invasive aquatic species and potentially toxic algal blooms threaten many lakes, rivers, and streams in the Lake Champlain Basin. The new tactical basin plan, one of many water quality improvement plans throughout the state, addresses the smaller watersheds that drain directly to the northern half of Lake Champlain, but excludes the larger northern watersheds such as the Missisquoi, Lamoille, and Winooski Rivers.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has approved a new plan to improve water quality and acquatic habitat in the Stevens, Wells, Waits, and Ompompanoosuc river watersheds, as well as those of several direct tributaries to the middle Connecticut River. The Tactical Water Management Plan was presents the recommendations of ANR in collaboration with other State and Federal resource agencies, watershed partner organizations, regional planning commissions, municipalities, and individual citizens.

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Brattleboro Not surprisingly, most scrutiny of the Vermont Yankee site in Vernon revolves around radiological concerns. But, as indicated by a recent, months-long process of violation notices and responses, state officials also are deeply interested in what plant owner Entergy is doing with its non-radiological waste — so much so that the state has threatened a civil complaint and associated, unspecified penalties in connection with an inspection earlier this year.