Current News

Cynthia Stuart has been named deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation’s Banking Division, Commissioner Susan L Donegan announced today. Stuart has more than 18 years of experience in both the retail and community aspects of banking and brings to the job a wealth of knowledge of current operations and senior management.

Stuart has worked at several federal community banks in New Hampshire and Vermont, including Connecticut River Bank NA in Littleton, NH, where she was senior vice president of Retail Banking and Deposit Operations and most recently Ledyard National Bank in Hanover, NH, where she was senior vice president and senior retail banking officer.

Donegan said she is pleased to welcome Stuart to the department and is delighted to have someone of her high caliber join the staff.

Vermont will receive $90,000 from Main Street Power Mail, Inc, of Sheridan, Indiana, which generated leads for insurance agents by sending direct mailings to Vermonters, many of them elderly, asking for personal information without explaining how the information would be used. Such activity is a violation of state and federal law. Under the settlement, Main Street Power Mail will pay the State $90,000 and be required to clearly disclose the purpose of its mailings in the future.

According to Attorney General William Sorrell, the settlement is the second in the past three months that imposes sanctions on companies that used Vermonters’ personal information for commercial reasons without their informed consent. “We will not tolerate businesses using deception to obtain consumers’ private information,” he said.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised the US Standards for Grades of Maple Syrup. The revision defines quality factors and establishes new color determinations for Grade A. The grade of syrup will be determined based on flavor, odor, damage, and turbidity or cloudiness. Further, the spelling of the product in the standard was changed from “sirup” to “syrup.” The four new categories will be more descriptive. Vermont revised its grading system last year and the USDA likewise wants to standardize it across the nation.

The maple sugar industry in Vermont was worth nearly $50 million in 2013 and in 2014 Vermont produced 41 percent of all the syrup produced in the US. SEE TABLES BELOW

The Addison County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC) has approved financing that will allow Middlebury-based start-up Stonecutter Spirits, based in Middlebury, to begin production. Robin Scheu, Executive Director of ACEDC, confirmed her organization will use its revolving loan funds to lend $100,000 to the local gin and whiskey manufacturer. This financing is part of a $500,000 project with additional funding coming from Opportunities Credit Union and the National Bank of Middlebury. As a result of this investment, Stonecutter Spirits expects to create 7-12 full time jobs as well as 6 part time positions over the next three years.

by Rob Roper The Vermont legislature has long been bent on saving the planet through government micromanagement of energy policy. The big issue this year appears to be passing a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that would require utilities to sell a set percentage renewable power (and thereby forcing customers buy the more expensive product). The other issue, likely debated but not moved on this year, is a Carbon Tax designed to make fossil fuel use artificially expensive.

According to a recent report by Ross Koningstein and David Fork, engineers at Google who worked on the company’s groundbreaking renewable energy project RE

Senate Republicans today shot down a proposal by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) to help install up to 10 million solar power systems for homes and businesses in the coming decade. Rebates for solar systems would have been authorized by a Sanders amendment to a Keystone XL oil pipeline bill now before the Senate.

“The scientific community tells us very clearly if we're going to reverse climate change and the great dangers it poses for the planet we must move aggressively to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Sanders said.

His amendment called for a 15 percent rebate to homeowners and businesses that install solar power. The new solar power generated would have been enough to replace one-fifth of the nation’s dirty, coal-fired power plants. The measure also would create new jobs.

by Ron Miller The Vermont Council on Rural Development is holding a major statewide conference, “Creating Prosperity & Opportunity Confronting Climate Change,” in Randolph on February 18. The gathering will launch VCRD’s new Climate Change Economy initiative, which aims to stimulate the growth of small businesses that can prosper by addressing various aspects of the climate change scenario.

VCRD’s goal is to “ally business, policy and community leadership to advance policies and investments to grow jobs and nurture innovative business development in sectors ranging from clean energy to recycling, transportation systems, and thermal efficiency.” Vermont is poised to become a national leader in this area, and the Feb. 18 event could trigger an outburst of creative energy and purposeful investment.

Image Outfitters, an advertising specialties company has implemented a new product portal on their website that makes it easy for companies to make responsible choices when searching for branded merchandise that is ‘Sustainable’, ‘Recycled’ or ‘Made in the USA’. Image Outfitters is the first and only advertising specialties company in the United States to become a certified B Corporation and has been championing social responsibility through their iShare Charitable Donations Program. In the past two years since the program’s inception, Image Outfitters has donated 10 percent of each new sale to a nonprofit of the client’s choosing – giving to over 60 different charities so far!

Doppler on Wheels (DOW) returns to the Lyndon State College campus for a three-week stint beginning January 29. It’s rare for the DOW to make a return trip to a campus; this is the third visit in five years. The DOW, containing a state-of-the-art weather radar system, will be used as an experiential learning tool by the students and faculty in the college’s Atmospheric Sciences (ATM) department. Students in the Remote Sensing class will receive hands-on training in the theory, interpretation, and collection of Doppler radar data including how weather radar works, how to collect good data, and how to find the ideal site for measuring precipitation.

by Deb Markowitz, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources This past month, Governor Shumlin opened the legislative session with an unprecedented focus on the environment. Understanding that global climate change threatens our way of life, the Governor announced new initiatives aimed at continuing to expand our renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors; creating jobs, saving Vermonters money and doing our part to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. He also talked at length about our Clean Water Initiative and Lake Champlain restoration plan.

Gaz Métro inc (GMi) has announced it has entered into a first supplemental agreement to the credit agreement it entered into onMarch 2, 2012 with its bank syndicate providing for an increase of the initial revolving credit facility amount committed by the lenders from $600 million to $800 million and an extension of the maturity date to March 2, 2020. The First Supplemental Agreement is guaranteed by Gaz Métro Limited Partnership (Gaz Métro). Besides the $200 million increase in the size of the facility and the extended maturity, the terms of the original credit agreement remain unchanged by the First Supplemental Agreement. The credit facility is also secured by collateral security backed by the assets of GMi and Gaz Métro.

Gaz Metro is the parent company of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas Systems.

Vermont Business Magazine The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) panel assigned to review the State of Vermont petition regarding the preservation of the Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has denied the petition in a 2-1 decision. (The ASLB is a quasi-judicial arm of the NRC that handles hearing requests and petitions and conducts hearings.) The ASLB panel states in the decision that ERDS, which provides a direct electronic data link from plants to the NRC and allows the agency to monitor critical plant parameters during an emergency, is only required for plants with operating reactors under existing regulations. Vermont Yankee went off-line in December. There is a dissenting opinion from one member of the three-member panel. The state has 25 days to appeal the decision.