Vermont Business Magazine News

Governor Peter Shumlin, EPA New England Brownfields Director Carol Tucker and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, along with representatives from Vermont’s congressional delegation, launched a new program today that will advance the redevelopment of brownfields, former industrial or commercial properties that are contaminated from historical uses making it difficult or impossible to put them to new uses. In addition, six Vermont organizations redeveloping brownfields were awarded funding for that work from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Governor Peter Shumlin was joined by administration officials, legislators, and mental health advocates today as he marked the completion of the Middlesex Therapeutic Community Residence. The facility will open Wednesday and will be Vermont’s first secure recovery residence designed to serve mental health patients who do not require long-term hospitalization or acute care but who may present a danger to themselves or others.

The RE/MAX of New England May Monthly Housing Report indicates that the Vermont median home price dipped slightly -2.3 percent year-over-year but experienced a boost in total transactions, up 7.9 percent. Across the region house sales are up both month-over-month and yea

by Andrew Stein June 17, 2013 vtdigger.org The Vermont Public Service Board on Monday kicked off what’s expected to be the final two weeks of hearings on whether it’s in the public’s best interest for Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to obtain a new state operating permit.

ASK-intTag, the US-based subsidiary of ASK, a leading provider contactless technology, has delivered TAP-compatible contactless paper tickets for Metrolink riders to transfer seamlessly to the Metro Rail Lines in Los Angeles. The tickets are produced at its facility located at the IBM campus in Essex Junction.

A new analysis from HealthPocket, Inc of early health insurance rate filings finds that the least expensive plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have higher out-of-pocket costs

US Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and US Representative Peter Welch Tuesday announced the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) has been awarded a $27,000 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development grant to help attract snowmobilers to Vermont.

by Anne Galloway June 17, 2013 vtdigger.org The board of the state workers’ union voted Monday to reinstate Mark Mitchell as executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, pending an investigation. Mitchell will be placed on paid administrative leave until the probe, which could last as long as a month, is completed.

UTC Aerospace Systems has been selected by Airbus to supply a common fuel gauging system for its single-aisle aircraft. The system was designed and will be produced by the Sensors & Integrated Systems team in Vergennes, Vermont (formerly Goodrich). UTC Aerospace Systems currently provides the full fuel gauging system for the Airbus A321 aircraft. This selection adds the A319, A320 and A320neo platforms.

When we say North Country Hospital is the place where “caring runs deep” we really mean it! Not only do we give our best in caring for our patients, we care about the food they eat and their over-all health.

MVP Health Care has announced that it has selected sales automation technology company Connecture, Inc to facilitate an online shopping, enrollment, retention and billing platform for its Individual and Group products. Connecture's InsureAdvantage is a modular offering designed to integrate seamlessly with health plan websites and business processes. It will enable MVP's members to select and enroll online in the right health plan for them.

As part of its continuing effort to assist families and individuals with their housing needs and to prevent future foreclosures, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced $37,810.00 in housing counseling grants to two local Vermont organizations: Central Vermont Community Action Council, Inc. of Barre and Bennington-Rutland Opportunity Council, Inc of Rutland. 

A new Vermont company, Touch ‘Em All, just announced that it has launched a crowd-source funding effort to bring baseball manufacturing back to Haiti.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Québec Premier Pauline Marois today unveiled the first sites of the Vermont-Québec Electric Charging Corridor. The corridor is the result of an agreement between Drive Electric Vermont and the Québec-based Electric Circuit. 

The US Small Business Administration announced today that certain Private Non-Profit Organizations in Vermont that do not provide critical services of a governmental nature may be eligible to apply for low interest rate disaster loans.  These loans are available as a result of a Presidential disaster declaration for Public Assistance resulting from damages caused by the severe storms and flooding on

Logic Supply, a South Burlington-based industrial computer company, has been initially approved for a Vermont Employment Growth Incentive by the Vermont Economic Progress Council. The Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) is an economic incentive program for Vermont business growth and expansion. VEGI provides cash payments based on the return generated to the State by job creation and capital investments, to businesses that have been authorized to earn the incentive and meet performance requirements.

Vermont Woods Studios online fine furniture to be awarded a $100,000 working lands Grant Award. The Vermont Woods Studios was selected to receive a $100,000 grant to be used to complete the construction and landscaping of Stonehurst, their Vermont made furniture showroom.  Once a rural farm property and former ski area, Stonehurst is being transformed into a destination furniture gallery featuring exclusively Vermont made hardwood furniture. 

Governor Peter Shumlin today signed into law three bills that will improve access to energy efficiency and clean energy for Vermonters. The legislative package will provide new financing options through VEDA and the Treasurer’s Office for projects meeting state energy goals, make improvements to the state’s thermal efficiency programs, and streamline the permitting process for farm digester projects.

by Hilary Niles June 14, 2013 vtdigger.org Vermont’s public housing authorities are being forced to spend down their Section 8 reserves in order to keep rental subsidy programs alive in response to a protracted cycle of defunding. Most are also choosing to admit fewer low-income Vermonters into the program in the near-term, rather than face the prospect of taking the benefit away down the road.

Joined Friday by sportsmen and women at the Barre Fish and Game Club, Governor Peter Shumlin signed the Sportsmen’s Act of 2013, legislation spearheaded by the Fish & Wildlife Department in coordination with members of the Legislature and many hunting, fishing, trapping, and other traditional interest groups.   

by Anne Galloway June 16, 2013 vtdigger.org Unions exist to protect members from management excesses and unfair labor practices. That’s why the news that the Vermont State Employees Association summarily fired its executive director on Wednesday without a cited cause, without an opportunity to refute accusations and without severance pay has perplexed union members and led to questions about whether Mark Mitchell’s ouster was a “palace coup.”

Fitch Ratings has placed Vermont Student Assistance Corp. (VSAC) - 1995 Bond Resolution on Rating Watch Evolving, as a result of a the pending restructuring of the trust in conjunction with VSAC's 2013-1 Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) issuance.

The Vermont Department of Labor will be hosting the first of its Rapid Response sessions to assist the employees from IBM that have been separated and/or notified of their separation from their positions. 

by Alicia Freese June 14, 2013 vtdigger.org The Vermont Progressive Party isn’t champing at the bit to make a run for the governor’s seat in 2014, but party leaders say their displeasure with Governor Peter Shumlin might leave them no choice.

New unemployment claims increased in Vermont last week, but remain well below the April spike. For the week of June 8, 2013, there were 646 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 162 from the previous week's total, and 59 more than they were a year ago.

Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources, have announced the launch of their new joint effort, the VBR/EPR Business Conditions Survey. The announcement was made during the Summer Membership Meeting of the Roundtable, which was held at Basin Harbor Club. The Vermont Business Roundtable membership includes some of the key economic drivers of our region. The quarterly survey will initiate on July 1st, 2013. 

by Alicia Freese June 13, 2013 vtdigger.org The Vermont State Employees Association board fired its executive director Wednesday, in a move that caught some members off-guard. The board of trustees voted 10-5 to oust Mark Mitchell after an executive session that spanned the better part of the day. Board President John Reese, who supports Mitchell, said he was “blindsided” by the action, and Sheila Coniff, a board member who also backs Mitchell, said it “came completely out of the blue.” 

by Hilary Niles June 13, 2013 vtdigger.org Hiring decisions need not be intentionally discriminatory in order to be punishable, a federal judge ruled in a landmark Vermont case Wednesday.