Current News

Northern Power Systems Corp (TSX:NPS), a next generation renewable energy technology company based in Barre and known for its remote wind energy systems, today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2015. Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2015 were $8.3 million, compared to $13.8 million in the first quarter of 2014. GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2015 was $4.1 million, compared to a net loss of $3.1 million in the prior year first quarter. Order backlog at the end of Q1 was $43 million, an increase of $2 million during the quarter.

The State of Vermont has named the Shelburne Craft School the latest Vermont State Craft Center, a distinction designed to promote Vermont’s high-quality craft galleries and craft schools, as well as its craftspeople. The well-known Shelburne Craft School joins the Vermont Woodworking School in Fairfax and the Fletcher Farm School as Vermont’s official State Craft Education Centers. Designated State Craft Center Galleries include Frog Hollow Craft Center in Burlington, Artisans Hand in Montpelier, the Gallery at the VAULT in Springfield, and the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild in St. Johnsbury.

Galleries and education centers that apply for state designation are judged on a variety of measures, including the diversity and quality of work displayed in galleries and the breadth and quality of class offerings at educational organizations.

Citizens Bank is marking Small Business Month by offering eight simple small business cash flow tips. In many cases, with business owners focused primarily on day-to-day operations, cash flow is only a focal point when there is a problem. But business owners who establish proactive strategies for cash management are able to avoid those problems and create new growth opportunities through reinvestment by making their capital work better for them.

“Managing cash flow is one of the most important yet under-appreciated challenges faced by small businesses,” said Quincy Miller, President of Business Banking for Citizens. “Companies that have accelerated their receivables, streamlined their payroll and established more-advantageous payment terms and processes with their vendors, suppliers and customers have a definite competitive advantage in today’s marketplace, no matter their business.”

Consider the following tips to improve cash flow:

On May 13, more than 6,000 KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) employees will participate in the bank’s 25th annual Neighbors Make the Difference Day, a day of volunteerism supported by paid time off. Employees will spend the afternoon volunteering on more than 700 service projects in 13 states across the nation, from Maine to Alaska, donating 24,000 hours of time. In Vermont, employees will volunteer at 11 organizations, including the Vermont Respite House and the Rutland Housing Authority.

Burlington: Key employees will volunteer for various jobs at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelter, Sara Holbrook Center, Community Health Center and Champlain Housing Trust

Barre: Key employees will be helping with a mailing at the Vermont Historical Society

Middlebury: Key employees will be helping with spring cleanup projects at the Counseling Service of Addison County

Lyndon State College has been named one of America’s 100 Most Affordable Small Colleges by Best Value Schools. Lyndon landed at 55 on the list; it is ranked as the most afforadable of the three Vermont schools listed. Best Value Schools is an online guide for aspiring college students who are seeking the best value in their college education. The Best Small College’s list focuses on traditional four-year colleges — not community colleges, graduate schools, or specialty schools. For this list, “small college” was defined as a school with fewer than 4,000 students.

Vermont Tent Company, based in South Burlington, has been in business since 1975, with John Crabbe, Jr at the helm since it’s early beginnings as Vermont Tent & Catering Services with one tent and a few tables and chairs. As the company grew into one of the highest regarded event rental providers in the area, three key employees had devoted years of their time to gain the knowledge and experience needed to become the trusted and professional leadership group to take over the reigns and ownership of the company.

It will be a seamless transition for Mike Lubas, CEO, Lon Finkelstein, CFO and Mike Solomon, COO who are now equal partners that will continue the strong Vermont Tent Company legacy. There will be no other changes, as the location and all employees will remain the same.

by Lisa Ventriss, President, Vermont Business Roundtable The good news is that Vermonters have had a very robust dialogue on education reform this year, which has moved us farther than previous years in terms of understanding of and agreement on the need for system-wide change. This is due primarily to the tremendous work of Vermont’s Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe who, in a very brief period of time, has created a database of “current state” information on every school in Vermont. The bad news is that so much of our school data is suppressed because of micro-sized schools, but the available data tell a very troubling tale of the students currently in our PreK-12 education system. The worse news is that we have an even more challenging population coming into the system and we are not prepared for them.

The results of Vermont Electric Cooperative’s (VEC) annual election were announced at the Annual Meeting of the Membership on Saturday, May 9, 2015, at Jay Peak Resort. A total of 2,972 members cast their ballots for five ballot items and four director seats. Two bylaw changes passed, one encouraging all eligible members to run for the Board of Directors and the other allowing directors to participate in board meetings by videoconference. A bylaw change that would have placed term limits on directors was voted down by the membership.

A ballot item approving VEC’s participation in a 2.5 megawatt solar project also passed, as did a Capacity Purchase and Sale Agreement with nuclear power producer NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC.

Four positions on the VEC Board of Directors were up for election. In total, eight candidates vied for these director seats.

In District 1, incumbent Don Worth of Island Pond ran unopposed and received 379 votes.

The Vermont House of Representatives today passed a wide ranging economic development bill (S138) that offers new support for both employers and employees in an effort to strengthen Vermont's economy. Highlights of the bill include: assistance for first time homebuyers; bolstering Vermont's VEGI program; creating more access to capital for small businesses; funding for economic development marketing; strengthening career technical education and workforce training; and better integration of disabled workers in the workforce.

House Speaker Shap Smith offered the following statement: "Thank you to Chairman Botzow, Vice Chair Marcotte and the Commerce and Economic Development Committee for their hard work in taking these significant steps to make Vermont's economy even stronger.”

The bill includes:

Today, the Vermont House passed S29, which allows all eligible Vermonters the opportunity to register to vote up until as well as on Election Day. The current law has a registration deadline of the Wednesday before the election.

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos released the following statement:

"I am very grateful to the House (and specifically to Speaker Shap Smith, Reps. Donna Sweaney, Linda Martin, and Jill Krowinski) for bringing Senate passed S.29 forward and passing Election Day Voter Registration. The House’s endorsement indicates that they appreciate that this is simply a voter rights issue.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell announced today that his Consumer Protection Division — along with the Attorneys General of the other 49 States and the District of Columbia, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Communications Commission — reached settlements with Sprint Corporation and Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, that include $158 million in payments, and that resolve allegations that Sprint and Verizon placed charges for third-party services on consumers’ mobile telephone bills that were not authorized by the consumers, a practice known as “mobile cramming.” The State of Vermont will receive more than $ 1.6 million for its leadership of the multistate investigation culminating in these settlements.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to invoke emergency powers to make expensive hepatitis C drugs available at affordable prices to treat tens of thousands of veterans now being denied the most effective care. The VA recently stopped enrolling veterans in successful new treatments for the often deadly liver disease because the department already had spent the more than $400 million it had budgeted for the costly drugs.

The high-profit hepatitis C drugs are among the most expensive medications on the market. Gilead Sciences makes two of the new blockbuster medications and charges $1,000 per pill. That adds up to $84,000 over the course of caring for a single patient. Even with a discount, the large VA health care system still drained its budget for treating hepatitis C.