Vermont Business Magazine News

The US Small Business Administration named KeyBank the top SBA Large 7(a) Lender of the Year. In a ceremony to launch National Small Business Week, SBA Secretary Karen Mills presented the award – the SBA’s highest recognition – to small businesses, lenders and investment banks that have demonstrated continuing commitment to the growth and expansion of small business.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org  A boost from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and an uptick in state revenues could ease pressure on the state’s budget, officials say.

In a new report, The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report, Vermont and 23 other states scored a five or lower on a set of 10 key indicators of steps states can take to prevent injuries.  Two states, California and

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.org Governor Peter Shumlin touted Vermont’s progress in the renewable energy field with the signing of three bills at a small hydroelectric and solar project last Friday.

YiZRi LLC (www.yizri.com), a Vermont-based software innovator, today unveiled VoiceSee, the world's first hands-free, eyes-free web navigation platform that uses mobile apps to read aloud recipes, digital newspapers and Wikipedia entries for smartphone users.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.org An order this month by the state’s board in charge of health care reform indicates to insurance companies that they will have to rein in costs, or at least be more specific about where their customers’ money is going.

  Secretary of State Jim Condos is honoring the winners of the 2012 Vermont Secretary of State’s Poster and Essay Contest today, Tuesday, May 22, at the State House in Montpelier.

JK Adams Company, the premium supplier of Made in USA wood housewares, announces the appointment of Jon Blatchford as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.  Blatchford joins JK Adams after working for a group of privately held manufacturing companies for the past 20 years.  Most recently he was the Director of Sales & Marketing for New Hampshire Industries.

TJ Donovan has garnered much publicity in his race for Vermont attorney general, but the public appears to still support incumbent Bill Sorrell. A new poll commissioned by Vermont Business Magazine, WCAX-TV and WDEV radio in Waterbury, and executed by the Castleton Polling Institute at Castleton College, shows likely voters in the Democratic primary gave overwhelming support to the eight-term attorney general versus the Chittenden County State’s Attorney, 49.3 percent to 23.2 percent.

Attorney General William Sorrell, together with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation and Merchants Bank, is warning consumers of a resurgence of fraudulent text messages and telephone calls to consumer mobile phone numbers claiming to come from their bank, in this most recent case Merchants Bank, and indicating that the consumer’s debit card has been compromised. These calls are scams and do not originate from the bank.

Students at Williston Central School will get a firsthand look at lawmaking when Governor Shumlin signs a life-saving bill into law at their school on Wednesday, May 23, at 1:30 pm. 

During a ribbon cutting ceremony at the site of the former Saputo cheese plant destroyed by fire in September of 2008,  US Senator Patrick Leahy called Saturday’s grand opening of Vermont Smoke and Cure and Green Mountain Organic Creamery one of the most impressive community-led agricultural redevelopments he has witnessed in his 38 years representing Vermont in the United States Senate.  The two businesses are estimated to employ more than 40 people in the near future, jobs Leahy said would not have been possible without federal job-creating programs that helped facilitate

Following a speech by Governor Shumlin, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz presented the the winners of The Vermont Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. The ceremony was held at the closing of the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsiblity spring conference held at the University of Vermont May 15.

Several Vermont companies were recently recognized for their strong commitment to effective workplace safety at the Annual Vermont Workplace Safety Conference.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Commissittee, issued the following statement today on the resignation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko: 

Late this afternoon, Vermont State Auditor Thomas M Salmon sent editors across Vermont a statement saying he will not run for re-election. The letter suggests he will not seek an elective office this year. Salmon has been elected three times, twice as a Democrat and the last time as a Republican. He was first elected in 2006 in a recount, beating incumbent Randy Brock by 102 votes. 

by Sarah Lyons publicassets.org Vermont’s labor force continued to shrink in April. While there were fewer people officially unemployed—which helped to push down the unemployment rate — the number of Vermonters who had jobs also decreased. Seasonally adjusted employment in April was down slightly from January, but up about 3,500 from April 2011. 

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for April 2012 was 4.6 percent, a decrease of two-tenths of a percent from the revised March rate.  This is the eighth straight month reporting a decline in the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate. However, total dropped by 500 from March. It also marked the second straight month reporting declines to the total labor force. The numbers were dramatic versus a year ago.

Construction of the Center for Art and Education at Shelburne Museum officially got underway Wednesday with a ceremonial groundbreaking held at the construction site on the museum’s 45-acre campus. In attendance were state and local officials as well as representatives from the museum, the architectural firm and the construction company. Shelburne Museum Director Thomas Denenberg announced three major gifts for the project totaling $4.5 million.

by David Coates In September 2010 I wrote to Vermonters outlining my concerns on the path our state was on regarding state and teacher pension and retiree health care costs.

Southern Vermont College will move its nursing and radiologic sciences education operations into a new, downtown Bennington location, the Vermont Mill Properties this summer, according to Acting President James Beckwith. Vermont Mill, located on Benmont Avenue and owned by CEO Jon Goodrich, has leased over 10,000 square feet of space to the College to relocate its Nursing Division and Radiologic Sciences Division administrative offices, classroom space, Simulation Laboratory, fundamentals laboratory and energized laboratory into one centralized area.

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger has announced that all bike path repairs necessary to get the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon back on course have been accomplished and that all other bike path repairs related to the spring 2011 floods would be completed by the end of 2012. The race is this Sunday, May 27.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Governor Peter Shumlin has vetoed his first bill this session. The offending piece of legislation? H.290, a law that would have required a state agency to submit monthly reports on elder abuse to the Legislature. The current reporting requirement is annual. The governor accused lawmakers of wasting taxpayer money, creating unnecessary red tape and distracting the Agency of Human Services from doing its job.

FairPoint Communications, Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell, AARP Vermont and Rutland City Police Department held a press conference today to raise awareness about a telephone scam originating from the Jamaican 876 area code that targets seniors in Vermont and across northern New England. FairPoint also unveiled a Public Service Announcement and expanded website, www.bewareof876.com, with resources to identify and prevent phone scams.

by Alan Panebaker vtdigger.org Vermont’s two largest utilities plan to use a streamlined rate-setting procedure to “blend” their electricity rates.

Governor Peter Shumlin was joined by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) in announcing that Vermont could receive more than $30 million in additional federal funding for Tropical Storm Irene recovery projects.  Shumlin on May 3 asked President Obama to increase the reimbursement rate for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s public assistance program. Leahy, Sanders and Welch wrote to Obama urging the president to grant the state’s request.

The US Postal Service mail-sorting center at White River Junction, Vt. will remain open, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced today. The Postal Service decision to continue operating the White River Junction plant once targeted for closure is part of a new national plan by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. The latest plan was developed after sweeping service cuts he proposed ran into widespread opposition from postal customers, businesses and members of Congress.

Vermont Technology Alliance (vtTA) to better reflect the organization’s expanding membership and its mission to represent and support the state’s growing number of technology companies that are creating high-skilled, high-paying jobs. 

Orange high-voltage XLPE cables used in the automotive industry have historically been unsuitable for exposure to direct sunlight. The need for UV resistant high-voltage power cables has been rapidly increasing in military, construction, mining and agricultural equipment where exposure to direct sunlight is common.