Current News

Secretary of State Jim Condos has announced the completion of Beta testing and the official public release of the Corporations Division’s new Online Business Service Center, www.vtsosonline.com.

“Most of our business community’s registration and filing functions can now be completed online and in real-time; making it easier to start and maintain your business in Vermont than ever before. New business formations have gone from as much as 3 weeks to less than 30 minutes to obtain, and over 99 percent of our businesses now file their annual reports online.” Condos stated.

The City of Burlington Clerk/Treasurer’s Office has announced that the City’s audited annual financial statements, or Audit Report, for fiscal year 2014 and the accompanying Management Letter are available to City residents on the City’s website, where they were posted on February 10. The Audit Report and Management Letter also will be available for review as part of the City’s Annual Report, copies of which will be located at City Hall, Fletcher Free Library, and the Department of Public Works Pine Street facility beginning Thursday afternoon, February 19. Additionally, the City’s Annual Report will be available on Town Meeting Day at all City polling places.

The FY14 audit was approved by the City Council at its February 9 meeting and includes the City’s first positive General Fund unassigned fund balance since 2009.

Vermont author and activist Bill McKibben spoke Monday at Green Mountain College's Ackley Auditorium, touching on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project and the cold temperatures and snow plaguing New England this winter. His talk "Imagining World Communities" addressed ways in which humans are reassessing traditional approaches to providing food, energy, transportation and governance in response to rapid environmental and economic changes.

McKibben said warmer air around the globe causes more moisture to be held in the atmosphere. When storms occur, this added moisture can fuel heavier precipitation in the form of rain or snow. "What we're seeing this winter is entirely consistent with what climate scientists expect to see," McKibben said.

The University of Vermont is ranked number 7 among medium-sized schools in the Peace Corps’ 2015 rankings of the top volunteer-producing colleges and universities across the country. The ranking recognizes the highest volunteer-producing colleges and universities in the US for small, medium, large and graduate institutions.

UVM currently has 25 alumni serving in Botswana, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. They work in sectors including agriculture, education, environment, health and youth development.

UVM alumnus Jed Glosenger, '12, a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama. UVM photo

Governor Peter Shumlin’s proposal to increase funding to Vermont’s Blueprint for Health is getting a boost from two new reports that show the program is leading national efforts to slow the growth of health care costs – by up to $2,200 per person, per year, according to one study – and contributing to better health outcomes for Vermonters.

“It’s clear that the Blueprint is lowering health care costs for Vermonters, reducing the need for emergency care, and helping Vermonters lead healthier lives,” Shumlin said. “As we work to transition to a health care system that rewards quality of care over quantity of care, the Blueprint will be an important part of Vermont’s health care future.”

Community Bancorp, the holding company for Community National Bank in Derby, Vermont, (OTCQX: CMTV) has qualified to upgrade its common stock to OTCQX, the top financial marketplace for established, global and growth companies operated by OTC Markets Group. The company previously traded on OTCQB, the venture marketplace operated by OTC Markets Group.

The University of Vermont Medical Center has announced it is investing $419,336 in a broad range of non-profit social service and health programs in Chittenden and Franklin counties through its Community Benefit Fund. Seniors needing transportation, children lacking nutritious food, and low income residents seeking medical care will all benefit from this funding. (See list of organizations and grant amounts below).

The grants are part of more than $100 million in community benefits provided by the UVM Medical Center each year, including charity care and approximately $750,000 in Community Benefit Fund grants.

Spruce Peak Realty concluded record sales of the latest addition to Spruce Peak at Stowe, the 19-unit Club Residences, selling out in just six weeks. The luxury condominiums range in size from two- to five- bedrooms (1,300-3,600 square feet), priced from $1,100,000 to $4,000,000. The total sales is valued at $42 million. The Club Residences are being constructed at the heart of the new base village above the Adventure Center, another amenity being added to the 35-acre exclusive ski-in/ski-out community at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort.

“This is one of the most successful ski resort sales programs in the US during the 2014-15 ski season. Spruce Peak at Stowe has found the right product for the market with the Club Residences, offering a limited number of exclusive homes in a great location in this outstanding four season mountain resort community,” said Spruce Peak VP and Director of Real Estate Development Sam Gaines.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) is proud to announce the expansion of its Velocity All-Boys Program for 2015. Velocity is a unique afterschool program designed for middle school boys. Through guided discussions the six-week program addresses common issues that have significance for boys. We pair these conversations with opportunities to try new activities in a non-competitive setting. Past activities include hiking, climbing, break dancing, martial arts, weight training, cooking and more.

Goals of the program include increasing self-esteem, encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle, building confidence, developing communication skills and creating an environment where boys can challenge themselves both physically and mentally.

Velocity is ramping up in 2015 with nine schools from all over Vermont:

Governor Peter Shumlin, House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell will attend a water quality forum on Wednesday, February 18, 2015, at the State House. The “Lake Day” forum was arranged by a coalition of stakeholders to emphasize the critical importance of addressing the state’s water quality issues, including those experienced in Lake Champlain.

“We all agree that we need to make cleaning up Lake Champlain and other Vermont waterways a priority in order to protect and promote Vermont’s economy and special way of life,” Shumlin said, who will speak at the event. “Cleaning up those waterways is going to take all of us working together to make real progress to preserve and protect Vermont’s natural beauty for future generations.”

The local food movement has been capturing media attention all across the country. Vermont, in many ways, is serving as the pace setter for focused, coordinated activity that is driving job and food business creation, economic output, and finding creative ways for all Vermonters to participate in this renaissance of ‘relocalized’ food.

“In 2009, when the Vermont Legislature set the Farm to Plate Initiative in motion, no one really knew what might come of it. As the Chair of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee, I could not be more pleased,” said Carolyn Partridge, a state representative from Windham County. “We’ve seen incredible jobs creation, we’ve seen young people starting new farms, and we’re finding all sorts of creative ways to get fresh, local food onto the dinner table of Vermonters.”

Couchsurfing. CSAs. Neighborhood energy. Local food clusters. Coops. Promising alternative business models are cropping up all around the country. Do they constitute the new economy people have been out in the street demanding—the one that delivers social and financial benefits broadly while restoring the environment? Ecotrust and the E3 Network—a national network of economists focused on equity and environment—deployed researchers around the country to find out. Armed with an analytical framework developed by a prominent national steering committee, these researchers looked deeply into how new business models function, what their impacts are, how scalable they are, and how replicable they are.