Current News

In a ceremony held at Camp Johnson, Gov. Peter Shumlin today presented a check for $70,500 to the Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation, money raised as part of the Governor’s inaugural celebration that will be used to assist the families of Vermont Guard troops.
‘I am proud to make this donation to help the Vermont Guard men and women who are serving our state and their country, and support their families,’ the Governor said. The funds are used to help Guard families meet the financial challenges they face, particularly during a deployment.
‘This recession has been hard on all Vermont families, but particularly difficult for those who lost one income while the husband or wife was serving overseas,’ Gov. Shumlin said. ‘I hope that in making this donation, these families and our Guard troops understand how important their service and their families are to our state.’
Mary Powell, CEO of Green Mountain Power Corp. and Inaugural Chairwoman, agreed.

by Tom Pelham. True or False? State budgets have been cut during the current recession, including deep cuts in human services. Your answer? Now, here’s the record.

Total State Budget Fiscal 2008 Fiscal 2011 Budget Growth Growth Rate
All Funds $4.544 billion $5.203 billion $658.9 million 4.62%
General Funds + ARRA Funds $1.200 billion $1.428 billion $227.9 million 5.96%

Agency of Human Services
All Funds $1.608 billion $1.945 billion $336.3 million 6.53%
General Funds + ARRA Funds $497.7 million $609.9 million $112.2 million 7.01%

Homeowners, businesses, and renewable energy manufacturers, installers and developers met today to call for the expansion of Vermont’s net-metering program.
At a State House press conference, members of Renewable Energy Vermont (REV), the state’s leading trade association for the renewable energy industry joined Vermont home and business owners and leadership from the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee to discuss the role of Vermont’s net-metering law in creating jobs and deploying home-grown renewable energy to Vermonters.
Afterward, the group testified before the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee.
‘Net metering has been a cornerstone program for Vermonters growing locally produced, renewable power,’ says REV Board Chair and VERA V.P. Martha Staskus. ‘Expanding the program will spur the development of new renewable energy systems, produce additional economic growth, and create more jobs at no cost to the state.’

Dealer.com (www.dealer.com), the global leader in online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, today announced that it has acquired selected assets of EpikOne, Inc., a Burlington-based digital consultancy specializing in metrics strategies, media measurement and user experience optimization. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Sam Cutting, IV, President of Dakin Farm, was honored with the coveted ‘2010 Maple Person of the Year Award,’ on January 25, 2010. The Vermont Maple Industry Council-- a group of industry leaders who protect and promote the branding of pure Vermont Maple products -- presents this annual award each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to Vermont’s Maple industry.
Cutting has been a high-profile member of Vermont’s Maple industry for over ten years. A former treasurer and marketing consultant to the Vermont Maple Foundation, he currently serves as vice chairman of the Vermont Maple Industry Council and has recently been elected to the Vermont Agricultural Development Board. Additionally, for the past four years, Cutting has been chairman of Operation Vermont Maple Sweetness; a campaign to send as much as 8,000 pints of syrup to American troops stationed overseas, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010.

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced that 18 Vermont communities will receive a combined $2.9 million for transportation enhancements projects.
In keeping with Legislative intent that priority be given to pedestrian and bicycle facilities, the lion’s share of this year’s awards went to sidewalks, bike paths and scoping studies for future pedestrian and bicycle improvements. Additional awards were given for the restoration of an historic covered bridge, enhancement of the state’s welcome centers, and studies to determine the feasibility of future projects.
A full list of the awards is provided below.

A new tax credit becomes available this year to eligible Vermont businesses for research and development investments made in Vermont starting Jan. 1, 2011.
The tax credit was enacted by the Vermont General Assembly in 2009, but became effective for R&D expenditures made on or after Jan. 1, 2011. Availability of the tax credit relied on an extension the federal R&D tax credit, which occurred in December 2010 when President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. The federal R&D Tax Credit will be extended through December 2011.

Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce have named the top twenty Best Places to Work in Vermont 2011. The awards program was created in 2006 and is presented in partnership with the Vermont Department of Labor and the Vermont Department of Economic Development and Best Companies Group.
This statewide survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Vermont, benefiting the state's economy, its workforce and businesses.
2011 Best Places to work in Vermont winners in alphabetical order are:

Small/Medium Size Companies
(15-149 employees)

ASIC North, Inc.

Champlain Dental Laboratory, Inc

Fuse Marketing

Heritage Aviation

HUBER+SUHNER, Inc.

Resource Systems Group Inc.

Seventh Generation

TPW Management

Vermont Electric Power Company, (VELCO)

Wells River Savings Bank

Wild Apple Graphics, Ltd.

NBT Bancorp President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Dietrich today announced that former Vermont Governor James H Douglas has been appointed to the company’s board of directors. NBT Bancorp entered the Vermont market in 2009 with the opening of its NBT Bank Vermont Regional Headquarters in Burlington under the direction of Regional President Matthew Durkee. Today, NBT Bank operates two branches in Vermont ‘ one at its regional headquarters and a second that recently opened in Williston.
‘I share with NBT Bancorp a common interest in creating a bright future for our local communities,’ said former Governor Douglas. ‘I am looking forward to contributing to the company’s overall growth and development while offering support specific to NBT’s efforts to expand the banking and financial services it offers to the Vermont marketplace.’

Homeowners, businesses, and renewable energy manufacturers, installers and developers will discuss the role of Vermont’s net-metering law in creating jobs and deploying home-grown renewable energy to Vermonters at a State House press conference Friday.
Renewable Energy Vermont (REV), the state’s leading trade association for the renewable energy industry, will be holding a press conference on Friday with House Natural Resources and Energy Committee leadership to address expanding Vermont’s successful net-metering program.
Afterward, the group will testify before the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee at 1:00 p.m.
The testimony will address how expanding Vermont’s successful net metering program will create jobs and support renewable energy generation statewide at no cost to state government.
WHAT: Press conference with legislators, homeowners, businesses and Vermont renewable energy leaders on expanding net metering laws

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced that Karen Marshall, a Chittenden County business executive and community leader, will take the position of Chief of Connect VT. Marshall will be responsible for implementing Gov. Shumlin’s plan to achieve universal availability of broadband and mobile phone service.
‘Connect VT is one of the most important initiatives of my administration,’ the Governor said. ‘It is vital that the telecommunication highway is in place for Vermonters by the end of 2013. It will connect our economic engines to the global marketplace, and enable our health care providers to be at the forefront of innovative, cost effective delivery and administration of health care.’

Governor Peter Shumlin today applauded a decision by Wal-Mart to abandon plans to build a new store in Virginia on the site of a Civil War battlefield where there were more than 1,200 Vermont casualties and nearly 400 lost their lives in one of the bloodiest battles of that war. Walmart said today that it would abandon that location 60 miles from Washington, DC, and seek another location. A civil case on the matter was scheduled to go to court Thursday.
‘Vermont paid a terrible toll on that site on May 5 and 6, 1864, losing so many of our young men in the Battle of the Wilderness,’ the Governor said. ‘Our brave soldiers gave their lives to keep the country together and end slavery. It would have been an awful loss to have that battlefield covered in the shadow of a Walmart store.’
The store would have been located near a monument donated by the state and the land on which the 1st Vermont Brigade fought. Remnants of their entrenchment can still be seen at the site.