Current News

Historic meeting houses, churches and libraries are among a list of community buildings across 17 Vermont towns receiving preservation grants in 2014. The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation recently awarded matching grants totaling $257,404 to help restore and maintain Vermont’s historic buildings.
‘Vermont’s architectural heritage is important not only to understanding our past, but to the current and future economic vitality of our state,’ said Noelle MacKay, Commissioner of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. ‘Protecting and maintaining these historic buildings ensures that we honor our past as we look to the future.’ The efforts of this year’s grant recipients to preserve important civic community buildings demonstrates their commitment to a vibrant Vermont economy.’

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has settled a lawsuit alleging that VerMints, Inc, violated the law by labeling its flavored mints as ‘Vermont’ products when in fact they were made in Canada largely from out-of-state ingredients. The settlement requires VerMints and its President, Gary Rinkus of Braintree, Massachusetts, to donate $35,000 to the Vermont Foodbank, pay the State of Vermont $30,000, and add corrective labeling to its products for 18 months.
‘Use of the term ‘Vermont’ has great economic value,’ said Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell, ‘and many businesses go to the expense of sourcing their ingredients and processing within the state in order to market their products as Vermont products.’
‘We need to maintain a level playing field when it comes to claims of geographic origin, and to ensure that consumers who care about where their food comes from get accurate information in the marketplace,’ he added.

The Fletcher Allen Partners’ Board of Trustees has announced changes to the structure of the Board, most significantly, a reduction in the number of board members from 27 to 19 to improve operational effectiveness. Fifteen Board members have been elected from the Boards of the four affiliated hospitals. Upon expiration of their terms, replacements will be elected by the Partners Board and do not need to be trustees of any subsidiary board.
Two seats are for ex officio members -- the president and chief executive officer of Fletcher Allen Partners, and the dean of the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Two seats are vacant and reserved for possible future affiliations.

Montpelier Mayor John Hollar has announced he will seek a second term. Montpelier has a city manager and the position of mayor is to lead the city council. Hollar is also a partner with the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin. His statement announcing his re-election bid is below. He previously ran uncontested.
Announcement of Plan to Seek Re-election
Someone asked me recently if I appreciated being mayor of Montpelier because, he said, this is an extraordinary town. He wanted to make sure that I knew what a privilege it is to serve as mayor of this great community.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Governor Peter Shumlin will dominate headlines this week with his budget address at 2 pm Wednesday. The governor is expected to roll out a spending agenda that will address the $70 million budget gap, pay for new opiate treatment programs and partially resolve the ongoing erosion of the teachers’ retirement fund.
The furor over the speech Shumlin gave last Wednesday ‘ his State of the State address ‘ hasn’t died down yet. The governor’s focus on the ‘opiate epidemic’ in Vermont stirred a national debate about the pervasiveness of the problem. If idyllic Vermont has a heroin problem, then what state doesn’t? Stories about Shumlin’s speech appeared in the New York Times, Al-Jazeera, and the Daily Beast. The governor was interviewed on the PBS ‘Newshour,’ and he’ll be on Tom Ashbrook’s hourlong program ‘On Point’ at 10 am on Monday.

Governor Peter Shumlin presented Vermont’s ‘Oscar of Teaching’ to Katie Sedore from Spaulding High School today
All of Spaulding High School in Barre, Vermont, was abuzz as it prepared for a special assembly featuring more than a dozen special guests including Governor Peter Shumlin, Vermont’s Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe, former Secretary of Education Armando Vilaseca and Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon. Yet only a handful of people ‘ and not even the school principal ‘ knew that one of the outstanding teachers at Spaulding was about to receive a major national award.

Per order of Governor Peter Shumlin flags to be lowered at half staff in honor of State Senator Sally Fox, who died early Friday.’
Where the flags will be lowered: The Vermont State House, all Federal and State Facilities around the state and public buildings and grounds around the state.’
Which flags will be lowered: The U.S flag, Vermont State flag, POW flags, and any other flags.’
Date the flags are to be lowered: (at sunrise):
Sunday, January 12, 2014’
Date flags are to return to full staff: (at sunset):
Tuesday, January 14, 2014’
Name of person being honored/Reason to Lower Flag:’
State Senator Sally Fox of Chittenden County passed away Friday, January 10, 2014. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 12, 2014 at the Temple Sinai on Dorset Street in South Burlington.’

Vermont's largest company is considering changing its name and will ask shareholders for approval at its annual meeting in March. In the shareholder proxy statement filed today and signed by CEO Brian Kelly, GMCR is proposing to change its name to Keurig Green Mountain,’ Inc.
The Keurig brand of the business, with its signature single cup coffee servers and brewers, has driven the company to be one of the premier coffee brands in the US and Canada, along with Starbucks and Dunkin Brands. GMCR, based in Waterbury, Vermont, is now a $4.4 billion company with a $12 billion market cap.
GMCR's tremendous growth over the last 25 years has hardly abated. In Vermont Business Magazine's list of fastest growing companies, released earlier this month, GMCR was second fastest over the last five years, third over the last 10, and first over the last 15, 20, and 25 years, which is a remarkable achievement for a company so large.

Green Mountain College (GMC) students can now complete a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor degree in six years as opposed to the usual seven, or an accelerated bachelor’s and master’s degree in four years instead of the usual five, thanks to three new dual-degree programs offered by GMC and Vermont Law School.’
Academically qualified students may save time and money by matriculating into the J.D., Masters of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), or Masters of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL) programs at Vermont Law School after their junior year at GMC. The programs are designed for students who want to combine their broad-based environmental liberal arts undergraduate experience at GMC with a focused graduate course of study from VLS.’

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org State Senator Sally Fox, (D-South Burlington), died in the early morning hours Friday surrounded by her family. She was 62. She had struggled with lung cancer for two years. An audible gasp went up from lawmakers when House Speaker Shap Smith made the announcement in the House Chamber Friday morning. Senators wandered around in the downstairs lobby, crying and hugging one another, unable to talk about their colleague and friend.’

Champlain College announced today that Donald J Laackman, president of Harold Washington College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, will become the College’s eighth president succeeding President David F Finney who is retiring after nine years on June 30, 2014. ‘
Laackman (pronounced ‘Lock-man’) and his wife, Allyson, were formally introduced to the campus community today by Champlain College Search Committee Chair and Trustee Scott Carpenter and Chair of the Board of Trustees Mary Powell. He will begin as President of Champlain College, located in Burlington, Vermont, on July 1, 2014.

Dear Editor, vermontbiz.com: I am delighted to see the Vermont Country Store has decided to follow the community service example set by Dan & Whit's General Store in Norwich, VT.’ www.danandwhits.com’ The participation of every able business and individual is vital if we are to truly fight hunger in Vermont. For this, I of course applaud the Vermont Country Store. The most important consideration here is feeding hungry people and in the end that is the truest bottom line. But because this journal is about business in Vermont, I was surprised your article, "Vermont Country Store Fights Hunger with $20,000 and a Challenge to Other Businesses" never once mentioned the genesis of this campaign actually began in November of 2013 a little further north- in Norwich, Vermont- and by another country store icon, Dan & Whit's General Store.