Current News

by Tom Brown vtdigger.org Vermonters will no longer be able to talk on hand-held cellphones while driving if the Senate agrees with a compromise reached Wednesday. House members voted 129-6 to accept a conference committee agreement on S.314, a department of motor vehicles bill that included the ban. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure Thursday, where it is likely to pass, several lawmakers said. Governor Peter Shumlin, who has opposed the bill from the beginning, now intends to sign it, a spokeswoman for the administration said Wednesday.

Vermont Business Magazine Keurig Green Mountain, Inc, (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas and other beverages based in Waterbury, Vermont, reported after trading ended on Wednesday its results for the 13 weeks ended March 29, 2014. It also announced an expanded agreement with Folgers-maker JM Smucker and a stock repurchase valued at $1 billion. Shares of GMCR were up immediately over $6 per share in after-hours trading to over $98; by Thursday morning it was just over $97, or $2 ahead of Wednesday's opening.

Performance Highlights

Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) and The JM Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) have entered into a multiyear agreement that provides for the expansion of their successful partnership for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and sale of the Smucker family of coffee brands, including the Folgers, Folgers Gourmet Selections, Café Bustelo and Millstone brands, into Keurig portion packs formats that work with new Keurig consumer and commercial brewing systems. Smucker and Keurig first entered into a partnership in February 2010. Wednesday's announcement recognizes the tremendous success of the Keurig and Smucker strategic relationship, and both companies' desire to broaden, deepen and extend their partnership in a variety of channels throughout the United States and Canada.

Keurig also announced on Wednesday its second quarter 2014 results.

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced that Vermont has received nearly $1.2 million in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). These grants will support 110 AmeriCorps members across the state to serve with over 75 organizations.

AmeriCorps members will tackle critical challenges in Vermont, including supporting veterans and military families, preserving the environment, assisting low-income Vermonters in securing and maintaining safe, affordable housing, increasing cultural competence and inclusion, and providing early childhood education.

“National service is an essential part of the solution to many of the challenges facing our state,” said Gov. Shumlin. “These AmeriCorps members will meet important local needs and strengthen communities as they develop civic and leadership skills to last a lifetime. I congratulate these outstanding organizations and thank all those who serve their communities through AmeriCorps.”

The captive insurance community is mourning the loss of Edward “Ed” Meehan, who passed away Sunday at his home in North Fort Myers, FL, after a prolonged illness. He was 73. Meehan was hired by Commissioner of Banking and Insurance George Chaffee during the Richard Snelling administration and served with distinction in Vermont’s captive division during the formative years of the growth of the captive insurance industry here in Vermont.

Governor Peter Shumlin said Meehan’s tireless dedication to the state of Vermont has not been forgotten.

“Ed was one of the first people who worked to make Vermont the gold standard of domiciles,” Shumlin said. “His legacy of dedication and professionalism continues to provide valued contributions to Vermont’s economic prosperity and will be felt for generations to come.”

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), co-chairs of the Senate National Guard Caucus, are leading a bipartisan group of 19 senators in introducing the National Commission on the Future of the Army Act, to establish an independent panel that will be responsible for analyzing the major changes to the US Army proposed in the president’s budget.

It wasn’t long after the first fire call came in that Christopher and Angela LaFlamme were notified that their Bennington furniture store, LaFlamme’s Furniture at the intersection of Northside Drive and Vermont Route 7A, was engulfed in flames. This was back in January, which seems like a lifetime ago according to Angela LaFlamme, “So much has happened between now and then. We’ve received so much love and support from the community over the past five months that it made it easy to decide to stay in Bennington.”

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org A real estate deal at the heart of the planned marina and conference center on Lake Memphremagog in downtown Newport, on the Canadian border, could collapse if the developer does not come up with a substantial downpayment for the property soon. The high end development at the site was part of a sweeping Northeast Kingdom Economic Development Initiative set of projects unveiled by Jay Peak investors Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros in September 2012. The initiative is largely funded through the federal EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org After gathering testimony from dozens of witnesses and spending hours crafting a bill in several committees starting in January, the Legislature’s primary piece of health care legislation this session is likely going nowhere. The bill, S252, went before a committee of conference between the two chambers on Tuesday. Senator Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, told the other members of the committee that the timeframe for adjournment, which is expected to be Saturday, would not allow for the Senate and House versions to be reconciled.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Late night sessions can be dangerous fuel, especially when it comes to controversial legislation, and such was the case Monday when the Vermont House became more of a tinderbox than usual. The issue that inflamed lawmakers was a highly combustible labor bill — legislation that prohibits businesses from discriminating against employees who use paid sick time.

The trouble is, the Legislature is targeting one business — Sodexho, a company that provides meals at local colleges and other institutions, and which has been accused of unfairly pressuring workers to continue working even when they are sick.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org Child care unionization got a final green light from the House Tuesday afternoon. The bill now goes to Governor Peter Shumlin, who is expected to sign it. By a vote of 78-59, the House agreed to give small, independent providers the option to collectively bargain for state subsidies they receive on behalf of children from low-income families. Because the payments flow from state coffers, the child care providers cannot unionize without the state’s permission.

Brandthropology announced the creation of a tech & arts hive called “The Benefactory.” The space will host various groups that benefit the community within the firm’s offices in the Soda Plant on Pine Street. Initial tenants include Laboratory B and the Vermont Technology Alliance.

“We’ve been inspired by the creative community that surrounds us on Pine Street, within Burlington and the greater Vermont community,” said Matthew Dodds, Chief Brandthropologist and the company’s founder. “We’ve been excited to see the maker space movement grow locally, and are launching a new hybrid, one that takes a tech/arts/marketing angle, all wrapped up in a ‘maker difference’ theme. Imagine MacGyver meets Matisse meets Madmen meets Mother Theresa.”