Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) begins its second year by welcoming more than 1,700 new degree-seeking students in the Class of 2028 to its campuses last week and reports a strong retention of returning students as well, meeting expectations for all campuses and exceeding projections in many programs. The new class is just over 200 students stronger than the inaugural class in Fall 2023, or 14% year-over-year. Since its unification in 2023, VTSU has worked to realign programs, learning options and course offerings to meet student interest and state economic and workforce needs.

Vermont State Police Paul Lachapelle Jr., the suspect in the 2022 fatal shooting of 38-year-old Justin Gilliam in Springfield, has been returned to Vermont to face charges. Following his arrest in New Hampshire late last month, Lachapelle, 28, of Littleton, New Hampshire, waived extradition and was brought back to Vermont on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. He is currently in the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections and is jailed without bail. His arraignment on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder is pending in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in White River Junction. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont $3.33 per gallon, down 1 cent/g from last week. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.83/g while the highest was $3.49/g, a difference of 66.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 4.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.28/g today. The national average is down 17.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 48.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine If your privately-owned road, driveway, or bridge was damaged or destroyed by Vermont’s storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in July 9-11, 2024, FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) may be able to provide financial assistance for replacement or repairs. If you live in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans, or Washington counties, FEMA may provide funds to repair disaster-damaged privately-owned access roads, driveways, and bridges. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Original Clean Energy, a subsidiary of Clean Royalties, a developer and builder of solar energy and storage systems, has acquired Williston, Vermont-based iSun and its companies SunCommon (Waterbury) and Liberty Electric (Salem, NH). iSun was acquired by Houston-based investment firm Siltstone Capital following approval by the bankruptcy court on August 23. Siltstone acquired iSun (now Original Clean Energy) for $10 million. In its last 2023 financial report iSun stated that its estimated annual revenues were nearly $100 million. This acquisition and leadership transition are part of the company's restructuring plan to restore financial stability and pursue growth in the solar energy business across northern New England and New York state.

Vermont Business Magazine Concerts from Guster, Jason Mraz, Train, and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead got cleaner this summer thanks to NOMAD Transportable Power Systems. One of NOMAD’s 1.3 MWh Voyager units rolled in to power the Shelburne Museum concert series outside Burlington, Vermont this summer, replacing diesel generators with stored clean energy and avoiding almost 4,500 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution. According to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, the NOMAD-powered concerts avoided the carbon dioxide equivalent of a passenger car driving 5,115 miles. That’s nearly the same as driving from NOMAD’s headquarters in Vermont, all the way to the site of KORE Power’s KOREPlex in Arizona – and back.

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Join VBSR, Rebuild by Design, and Vermont leaders (including Vermont's Chief Recovery Officer) for this virtual policy forum exploring the history of Vermont’s federal disaster declarations and recovery funding, the economic impact of climate disasters and recovery, and actions Vermont business and policy leaders can take toward a climate resilient economy. This discussion is open to anyone who is interested in building a climate resilient economy in Vermont

Northeastern Vermont Development Association The MERP Implementation Grant application recently went live. Municipalities designated with high/highest energy burden by Efficiency Vermont's 2019 Report are eligible and must apply by Sept 20. Unfortunately, low and moderate energy burden communities are no longer eligible to apply. The state made this decision in late August in order to expedite the awarding of funds to meet ARPA deadlines. We know this is disappointing news and NVDA is working with the other RPCs around the state to develop resources for communities that have been excluded from MERP funding. 

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ - UNB) today announced the completion of a balance sheet repositioning related to its investment securities portfolio. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Union Bank, executed the sale of $38.8 million in book value of its lower-yielding available-for-sale debt securities for an estimated after-tax realized loss of approximately $1.0 million, which will be recorded in the third quarter of 2024. Proceeds from the sale of the securities were redeployed into higher yielding bonds and funding loans that on a combined basis are expected to yield approximately 341 basis points more than the securities that were sold. The company estimates the loss will be recouped within approximately one year.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine At his weekly press conference today, Governor Phil Scott provided an update on his visit to Caledonia County on August 27 as part of the Capital for a Day tour. Governor Scott and members of the Administration met with local officials, business owners, law enforcement, public health professionals, and mental health professionals to understand what’s working well and where we need to improve to better serve our rural communities. With him at the presser were Commerce Secretary Lindsay Kurrle and Housing Commissioner Alex Farrell, who both discussed "the dire need for more housing," including mobile homes They stated that more housing across the board would reduce the affordable housing problem, help solve the workforce shortage and ease societal issues, including homelessness.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today issued the following statement after the CEO of Steward Health Care, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, refused to appear before the Committee despite a bipartisan subpoena compelling his testimony: "I am disappointed, but not surprised, that Dr. Ralph de la Torre, the CEO of Steward Health Care, who has made hundreds of millions of dollars ripping off patients and health care providers, is refusing to testify in the HELP Committee in defiance of a subpoena. Perhaps more than anyone else in America, Dr. de la Torre is the poster child for the type of outrageous corporate greed that is permeating through our for-profit health care system."

Vermont Business Magazine The Center for Community News at the University of Vermont today announced its third annual cohort of CCN Faculty Champions, a national initiative to support the people running local news reporting programs at U.S. colleges and universities across the country. News-academic partnerships have emerged as a critical contributor to the national news landscape and one solution to the crisis facing local news. “The news coverage that these programs are providing in coordination with their local outlets is helping to meet critical information needs,” said CCN Director Richard Watts. “Most importantly, they offer students a chance to contribute to public life and develop skills that will serve them in journalism and far beyond.”