Current News

Vermont Business Magazine New unemployment claims in Vermont have increased but are still at a relatively low level. Claims are typically low this time of year. They tend to rise in the transition from summer to back-to-school in early September. Levels this year have been running consistently lower than those of last year. For the week of August 9, 2014, there were 432 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 79 from the previous week's total, and 93 fewer than they were a year ago.

Norwich University will welcome some 546 first-year students for the Corps of Cadets Rook Orientation and move in day on Sunday, August 17, 2014. First-year students entering into the Norwich University Corps of Cadets, called rooks, will be welcomed by President Schneider and the Norwich University leadership at 1:30 p.m. in Kreitzberg Arena and will then have seven minutes with their families before marching to the Upper Parade Ground to start their physical and leadership training in the Corps of Cadets. Rook Orientation, commonly called Rook Week, is a seven-day period of training prior to the start of classes on the Northfield, Vermont, campus.

Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR), announced today a price increase of up to 9 percent on all portion packs sold by Keurig for use in its Keurig brewing systems and on all its traditional bagged, fractional packs, and bulk coffee products. This price increase will be effective beginning November 3, 2014. This price increase is in direct response to several factors affecting the cost environment in the coffee and consumer packaged goods industries, generally, including a sustained increase in the price of green coffee and cocoa, along with increases in packaging materials, energy, and transportation costs. Over the past year, green coffee prices, alone, have increased approximately fifty-five percent.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org A legislative panel has come to an agreement with the Shumlin administration on $31.28 million in cuts to the state budget. Two senators voted against the proposal. Lawmakers, after initially voting against the cuts, ultimately approved a rescission that will remove a 1.6 percent increase in Medicaid reimbursements for health care providers. That move alone saves the state about $10 million. The $4.5 million Vermont Enterprise Fund, which is seen as a job-retention tool, was cut a million to $3.5 million.

Governor Peter Shumlin told reporters that revenues were up this year over last, it’s just that they’re up “less than we were hoping.”

by Laura Krantz vtdigger.org Despite the state’s battle against opiate addiction and its resolve to provide better supports for the children of needy families, those sectors of state government were not spared Wednesday when lawmakers finalized $31 million in budget cuts. Alcohol and drug abuse programs will lose $673,000. The budget for the Department for Children and Families was reduced by $3.8 million largely because of a lower-than-anticipated caseload for the state’s welfare program known as Reach Up. Perhaps the most widely felt cut for alcohol and drug treatment programs will be the elimination of a promised 1.6 percent increase to organizations that accept Medicaid patients.

Green Mountain Power today announced in a statement that the latest sound monitoring report finds Kingdom Community Wind on Lowell Mountain continues to meet the standards set by state regulators. The report is part of an ongoing comprehensive compliance monitoring program and the results are filed with the Vermont Public Service Board.

“We are so pleased to share this information with Vermonters,” said Dorothy Schnure, GMP’s spokesperson. “Kingdom Community Wind is important for our customers because it provides reliable power at a stable price and we are committed to operating this facility in a manner that is consistent with regulatory standards.”

Lowell wind turbines in 2013. vtdigger.org photo.

Goddard College announced today the addition of five new members of the board: Lucinda Garthwaite, Caleb Pitkin, Richard Schramm, Goddard student Kelly Bowen, and faculty member Nicola Morris. "We are building a board of trustees that can guide Goddard through ever-changing times while maintaining its commitment to progressive education and to helping students make our world a better place,” said Board Chair Avram Patt.

“Caleb, Lucinda, Richard, Kelly and Nicola, each in his or her own way, bring to the Board strong past and present connections to Goddard College, as well as the kind of forward-thinking and thoughtfulness we need. We are glad that they have each agreed to join the Board," he said.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org The latest strike against the F-35 fighter jet will land in the state’s highest court. F-35 opponents last week filed an appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court, claiming the city of Burlington must obtain a state land use and development permit to account for expected retrofits and noise impacts of the new jets’ anticipated arrival in 2020. The lawsuit marks the latest skirmish in an ongoing battle waged by a group of residents who are opposed to the basing of the military aircraft at the airport. The US Air Force last year decided to base 18 F-35s with the Vermont Air National Guard. The F-35 has the support of Vermont’s congressional delegation, Governor Peter Shumlin and the city of Burlington.

Berlin Pond will be closed to motor boats, but will remain open to most other recreational activities. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (a department of the Agency of Natural Resources) announced its decision today to grant the City of Montpelier’s petition to restrict use of Berlin Pond, in part, and to deny the Citizens to Protect Berlin Pond petition. The Department found that all internal combustion motors should be prohibited from use on the pond because of the risks these activities can pose to Montpelier’s drinking water.

“Berlin Pond is a gem in Central Vermont, easily accessible and yet remote, so I am pleased to announce that Vermonters will be able to continue to access and enjoy the pond for an appropriate, protected set of uses without threatening Montpelier’s drinking water, water that I drink every day,” said Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears.

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Orleans County is leading the state in job creation, according to a recently released report by the Vermont Department of Labor. Never in Vermont’s 223-year history has this been the case. State economist Tom Kavet, in his July 24 report to the state’s Joint Fiscal Committee, cited Jay Peak’s EB-5 projects as the driver of growth in Orleans County.

“This kind of success is a great example of what happens when private business works with state policy makers to create jobs,” said Jay Peak president Bill Stenger. “Seven or eight years ago, we had approximately 250 people or so working at Jay Peak. Today that number’s over 1,500. That type of job creation would not have happened were it not for the EB-5 program and the vision of our state and federal officials, as well as the investment of our EB-5 partners.”

Union Bank, headquartered in Morrisville, announced today the opening of its new commercial loan office in Newport effective August 18, 2014. The new loan production office, located at 325 East Main Street, offers a convenient location for the bank’s current business loan customers, and potential customers in Orleans and Essex Counties.

Union Bank has served Northern Vermont since 1891 and has been consistently recognized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for outstanding performance meeting the credit needs of local communities as measured under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). In particular, the FDIC stated that Union Bank’s community development performance demonstrates “an excellent responsiveness to the community development needs of its combined assessment area, through the provision of community development loans, qualified investments and community development services.”

Vermont Business Magazine TDI New England has scheduled six open house meetings in Vermont at locations along the proposed overland route of the New England Clean Power Link transmission project to meet with community members and provide more information on the project. The New England Clean Power Link is a proposed 154-mile underwater and underground transmission line that would deliver 1,000 MW of hydroelectricity to the New England market. The line is being developed with private sector financing by TDI New England and would originate at the Vermont-Quebec border and travel underwater down Lake Champlain to Benson, Vermont, and through existing road rights-of-ways to a new converter station that would be built in Ludlow. The estimated cost is $1.2 billion and would be completed in 2019.