Current News

New regulatory protocols have been implemented due to the increasing complexity and growing number of EB-5 proposals at the federal level, where EB-5 regional centers number close to 700. Delays may occur due to the expanded review process, slowing project approvals. Despite significant changes in the federal and state oversight and regulatory process, proposed development plans in Newport and Burke are still on track. AnC Bio Vermont received state approval on March 30 to move forward. Groundbreaking on the 84,000 square foot bio-medical manufacturing and research facility is expected to proceed this spring.

Q Burke Mountain Resort - Construction Updates

Project Highlights - March

FairPoint Communications, Inc (NASDAQ: FRP), a leading northern New England retail and wholesale communications provider and largest telecom in Vermont, has announced the launch of data center services applications for wholesale re-sellers and cloud providers seeking a New England presence.

Growth in Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions will drive cloud providers to use third-party data centers to grow their business, since they often need to scale their solution into regions further away from their primary data center. Satellite data centers reduce latency and improve performance of application servers by moving compute and storage resources closer to customers and off-loading the primary and secondary data centers. In addition, data centers can also be employed as part of a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy.

Ello, the Burlington-based, revolutionary community-supported social network, announced the rollout of Ello Beta V2 today, and simultaneously completed a new $5 million round of financing from Foundry Group, Techstars Ventures, and FreshTracks Capital. "Ello Beta V2 completely redefines the social network experience, with full screen image posting & browsing, and an interface that acts and feels more like an app than a web site," said Ello CEOPaul Budnitz.

New features include full-screen browsing and navigation, expanded search, improved discovery, drag & drop editing, drafts, rich publishing and much more. CodePen integration allows developers and hobbyists to write web apps and embed them right into their Ello posts.

Nina Totenberg, one of the nation’s preeminent legal affairs correspondents, will deliver the University of Vermont’s 2015 commencement address and receive an honorary degree from the university. Seven fellow recipients of this year’s honorary degrees will join her on the podium Sunday, May 17, including alumna and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx.

Totenberg’s award-winning coverage of the Supreme Court and legal affairs across the country airs regularly on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition. She is a frequent panelist and guest on television public affairs programs and has published articles in the New York Times Magazine, the Harvard Law Review, Parade Magazine and New York magazine, among others.

State Senator Bill Doyle (R-Washington) has released his annual Town Meeting Day poll. Town Meeting goers decisively opposed the payroll tax to reduce the cost of Medicaid; weren't too sure over the carbon tax; had a strong, but-split, opinion on the sugary drink tax, and supported a one-day sales tax holiday. There was less support for legalizing marijuana than other polls have shown. Governor Shumlin's approval is low, which is not surprising, but it's lower than other polls have suggested. Doyle's poll, begun in 1969, is not scientific, but it has offered insight into the mind of Vermonters attending Town Meeting. It's also been reflective of what legislation ultimately will follow. Doyle asked 15 questions.

Vermont Business Magazine A new report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) finds in New England overall electric rates went up an average of 9.7 percent last year (January 2014-January 2015) to 17.34 cents per kilowatt hour, the greatest increase in the nation. During that same time, Vermont's overall rate went down 1.6 percent to 14.24 cents/kwh and Green Mountain Power's rates went down 2.46 percent. GMP is Vermont's largest electric company. Vermont was the only state in New England that saw rates fall in 2014.

Vermont has the second lowest rates in New England. Maine is at 14.14 cents/kwh, though its rates went up 2.4 percent. Vermont's neighboring states were all higher. New York's rates are 15.36 cents/kwh; Massachusetts' rates are 17.87 cents/kwh and New Hampshire's are 16.87 cents/kwh. The US average rate is 10.19 cents/kwh, up 0.6 percent. SEE TABLE BELOW FOR ALL STATES AND REGIONS.

The UVM Health Network Board of Trustees voted yesterday to enter into a formal affiliation with Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, NY, and expand its network to include a total of five hospitals in Northern New York and Vermont. Pending due diligence and regulatory approval, Alice Hyde Medical Center will become the fifth hospital in The University of Vermont Health Network joining:

• The University of Vermont Medical Center (Burlington, VT)

• The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center (Berlin, VT)

• The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (Plattsburgh, NY)

• The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown (NY) Community Hospital

by Chuck Ross, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets The clean water bill currently under consideration in the Vermont House of Representatives (House Bill 35, which the House gave preliminary approval to Wedensday evening) is a vital step forward for Vermont’s efforts to address the problem of polluted storm water runoff into our lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. This bill addresses the problem of excess nutrients and sediment that flow off of our parking lots, roofs, roads, driveways, yards and farm fields when the snow melts or the rain falls. As Secretary of Agriculture, as a farmer, as a father, and as someone who takes great pleasure in enjoying swimming, boating and fishing on Lake Champlain, I could not be more pleased with the direction that the legislature is headed with this important piece of legislation. The health of our state’s economy, including our farm economy, depends upon finding a solution to the our water quality chal

The Bullrock Corporation located in Shelburne, Vermont, has announced a joint venture with Deutsche Eco USA Corp. with offices in Hoboken, New Jersey and Shelburne. This joint venture will operate under the name Bullrock - Deutsche Eco Solar Ventures. The new company will be offering an integrated approach to locating potential solar sites, providing land owners a total systems solution, as well as providing power companies an easier, fully-integrated solution to the development, RFP and EPC process.

Köthen Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station in Köthen, Germany. Deutsche Eco AG completed this 52-megawatt project on the grounds of the former military airport in 2011. A large solar farm in Vermont typically is 2.2 MW. Photo: Deutsche Eco AG

The Lake Champlain Basin Program has awarded 68 grants totaling $662,471 to communities and organizations in Vermont and New York that are implementing projects to improve the future of the Lake Champlain watershed. The grants support projects in four categories: Pollution Prevention and Habitat, Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention, Education and Outreach, and Organizational Support.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, whose support was essential in securing the funds for the grants, said, "These grants to scores of communities, watershed groups and other organizations on both sides of the Lake are so important in promoting and protecting our 'Great Lake.' Supporting these crucial efforts at the local level is exactly why it's always among my highest priorities to bring funds to our Lake Champlain work."

City Market in Burlington congratulated their 2014 Co-op Patronage Seedling Grant recipients and offered almost $60,000 in grant funding to local food projects at a recent Grant Celebration that also launched the 2015 Co-op Patronage Seedling Grant process. City Market sent over $968,000 in Patronage Refunds to more than 10,000 Members in November 2014. As part of the Patronage Refund process, the Co-op offers Members the opportunity to donate their checks to strengthen Vermont’s food system. Members who receive Patronage Refunds support these donations by choosing not to cash their checks within the required 90 day time period. This year, uncashed Patronage Refund checks from Members are funding 5 local food projects from community organizations doing amazing work in Vermont.

The Lake Champlain Committee recently received a grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Ecosystem Restoration Program to provide design modifications for a stormwater pond in the Crosby Farms neighborhood of Vergennes. The pond has been identified as needing remediation by a stormwater mapping project conducted by Vermont DEC and in the City of Vergennes Municipal Plan. The existing pond receives stormwater runoff from the area around Bowman Road, Green Meadow Acres, and Booska Court, and can provide improved water quality treatment with some redesign.

The grant will cover initial project planning with the intention of seeking subsequent DEC funding for construction updates to the pond that will improve treatment of stormwater in the neighborhood and better manage local flooding issues. The initial grant of $10,430 will cover the initial design plan. Once that's complete LCC will apply for additional state funds to implement the project.