Vermont Business Magazine News

by Anne Galloway May 13, 2013 vtdigger.org On Monday, legislative leaders capitulated to Governor Peter Shumlin’s wishes for the second time in a week.

by Anne Galloway May 14, 2013 www.vtdigger.org The final budget deal was set on Monday after 10 days of negotiations between House and Senate leaders. The chairs of the two Appropriations Committees pieced together $10 million in savings as part of an agreement with the Shumlin administration. Legislative leaders agreed to rescrub the budget in lieu of raising new General Fund taxes.

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced $1.8 million in grants from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development to help three communities replace municipal buildings damaged by flood waters.  The funding comes from $21.6 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funds ACCD received from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to help the state recover from Tropical Storm Irene and the spring floods of 2011.   

by Alicia Freese May 13, 2013 vtdigger.org The marijuana decriminalization bill is headed to Governor Peter Shumlin’s desk to be signed into law. The House agreed Monday to accept the changes made to the bill on the Senate side, marking an end to legislative work on the bill.

A Vermont National Guard outreach effort will receive $1.8 million this year for the pioneering program that informs veterans and their families about benefits they have earned, Vermont’s congressional delegation announced Monday.  The award is Vermont’s share of $20 million for eight states that have adopted the Vermont outreach program model and a new effort to expand the program to National Guard and Reserve units nationwide. 

At the Saint Michael's College 106th Commencement exercises on May 12, some 470 students earned bachelor’s degrees, 47 earned master’s degrees and 4 earned honorary doctoral degrees. The honorary degree recipients were lauded with citations, excerpts from which follow: 

Fletcher Allen Health Care’s Stroke Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s “Get With The Guidelines” Silver Achievement award for its success in providing excellent care for stroke patients according to evidence-based guidelines. 

The Shumlin Administration and Vermont Troopers’ Association (VTA) announced today that the administration and the VTA have reached a tentative agreement on a new two year labor contract, subject to ratification by the VTA membership. The existing contract is scheduled to end on June 30 of this year.    

World Learning announced today thatDonald Steinberg, deputy administrator for the US Agency for International Development and a former ambassador, will be the organization's next president and CEO.

Valener Inc (Valener) (TSX: VNR), the public investment vehicle in Gaz Métro Limited Partnership, is today announcing its financial results for the second quarter ended March 31, 2013. Gaz Métro is the owner of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas Systems. Highlights: Valener

Thanks to state funding approved by the Vermont legislature, providing $230,000 to expand marketing efforts, the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia; these are the first campaigns launched in these regions in nine years.  

The Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Convention Bureau, and GBIC announced Monday that they will host the Eighth Annual Taste of Vermont Reception in Washington, DC, with honored guest Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Thursday, May 16, 2013. 

Green Mountain College shook off the threat of rain and awarded diplomas to 24 graduate students and 124 undergraduates during its 176th commencement ceremony Saturday morning. Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, a national and international leader in environmental sustainability, corporate responsibility and social justice, addressed the graduates and received an honorary doctor of laws degree from GMC. "This stage is so crowded – my mother and my father are here in spirit, and my grandparents are here,” she said.

by Anne Galloway May 10, 2013 vtdigger.org Legislative leaders announced Friday that they do not have a budget and tax agreement with the Shumlin administration. John Campbell, left, and Shap Smith. vtdigger.org photo

by Nat Rudarakanchana May 12, 2013 vermontbiz.com The Vermont House voted on three minor legislative changes before breaking for the weekend; they’ll return to wrap up business on Monday and Tuesday.

The US Small Business Administration and KeyBank will host “Bank on SBA” events at four Vermont KeyBank branches throughout May. At each “Bank on SBA” event, representatives will be available to discuss various SBA loans available to current and aspiring business owners.

Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding released the April 2013 General Fund (GF) Revenue results today. General Fund revenues totaled $216.66 million for April 2013, and were +$26.95 million or +14.21% above the $189.71 million consensus revenue forecast for the month. Year to date, General Fund revenues were $1,103.74 million, and +$26.73 million or +2.48% ahead of the cumulative target of $1,077.01 million. April is the tenth month of fiscal year (FY) 2013.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Friday announced that General Electric Aviation of Rutland has been awarded an additional $2.6 million for a US Navy contract for the development and production of fighter engines for the EA-18G Growler aircraft.

New unemployment claims in Vermont fell again last week to below 1,000. For the week of May 4, 2013, there were 922 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is a decrease of 127 from the previous week's total, and 208 more than they were a year ago.

by Andrew Stein May 10, 2013 vtdigger.org The Vermont House this week became the first legislative body in the country to pass a law that would require the labeling of foods derived from genetically modified organisms.

Vermont Hard Cider Company, LLC – maker of Woodchuck Hard Cider -- is happy to announce that construction is underway on a state-of-the-art cidery in Middlebury, Vermont.  The $30 million project is being built less than a mile from the current Middlebury facility.  The new cidery will provide 100,000 square feet of production, warehouse, and office space.  A post and beam barn will also welcome visitors to Woodchuck, with a gift shop, tastings, and tours.

MVP Health Care and Hudson Health Plan (Hudson) announced today that they have signed an agreement under which Hudson, a Tarrytown-based Medicaid managed care organization, will join the MVP family of companies. Both Hudson and MVP are nationally recognized not-for-profit health plans. Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

The nonprofit Windham Foundation, parent company of the historic Grafton Inn, announced the appointment of Donald Bruce as Innkeeper, who started his position on May 6. A native Vermonter with hometown roots just 15 miles from Grafton and nearly 30 years in hospitality, Bruce will oversee all management, operations, sales and marketing of the inn. 

by Anne Galloway May 10, 2013 vtdigger.org The legislative Democratic leadership has given the two tax-writing committees the go ahead to pursue a change to the income tax code in the waning days of the session. Shap Smith and John Campbell, right. vtdigger photos.

by Alicia Freese May 9, 2013 vtdigger.org How diverse can a “miscellaneous” bill be? That was more or less the question that squashed an attempt in the Senate on Thursday to allow child-care workers to unionize.

Governor Peter Shumlin and the Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) has announced the awarding of $135,000 of federal Workforce Investment Act funds to 12 organizations in Vermont to administer the Summer Employment Opportunity (SEO) programs.  The purpose of the SEO program is to provide young Vermonters with meaningful work experiences to increase their employment, academic and personal skills and confidence.

by Anne Galloway May 9, 2013 vtdigger.org On Tuesday, Governor Peter Shumlin and legislative leaders agreed to eliminate any new General Fund taxes this year, effectively killing a number of provisions in the miscellaneous tax bill, H.528.

The parent company of Berkshire Bank, Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), held its annual meeting of shareholders Thursday in 

Vermont had the third highest residential electric rates in the nation in February at 18.41 cents per kilowatt hour and the seventh highest for all sectors at 14.57 cents/KWH, according to the federal government. Vermont was 2.58 cents higher than the average New England residential rate and 0.2 cents lower overall. The US average was 11.61 and 9.77 respectively. Both the Vermont and US rates were higher than for February 2012. For residential, New York and Hawaii were higher. Overall, in addition to New York and Hawaii, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Alaska were higher.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, on a bipartisan voice vote, Thursday approved legislation authored by Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and cosponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) that blocks the creation of a land-border crossing fee.