Monday, June 7, 2021
That's bad news for those who hoped that Koffee Kup's bakeries in Burlington and Brattleboro, which closed abruptly in April, would reopen soon.
"This acquisition brings brands and production capacity in the Northeast, a key growth market for our company," said Ryals McMullian, president and CEO of Flowers Foods. "We have no immediate plans to reopen the bakeries but will be assessing how they may fit our strategic network optimization efforts in the future."
The last-minute change, noted during a remote hearing in Chittenden Superior Court, surprised the previously announced buyer, Blair Hyslop of Mrs. Dunster’s, a Canadian company. Mrs. Dunster's had already started creating new employment contracts with former Koffee Kup workers.
Hyslop said he was planning a Zoom town meeting with employees from both Vermont locations for Monday night. “For now, I will just say that this has come out of left field, and we are shocked and dismayed at the news,” he said.
The struggling 80-year-old Koffee Kup closed its plants in Vermont and Connecticut in April, displacing 500 workers. They included 156 in Burlington and 91 in Brattleboro. Its owners had negotiated unsuccessfully with KeyBank to resolve the company's debt.
Tags: Koffee Kup , layoffs , Mrs. Dunster's , Flowers Foods , Web Only , Image
Friday, June 4, 2021
Michael Goldberg, the receiver, filed the settlement agreement with the firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Friday in U.S. District Court in Southern Florida. The firm provided legal advice to Ariel Quiros, the Miami businessman accused of bilking investors in development projects in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
Goldberg argued that the firm “breached [its] fiduciary duties and aided and abetted the fraud orchestrated by Quiros” and therefore was responsible for the fraud going on as long as it did.
Quiros and his partner, William Stenger, were accused of misusing $200 million of $350 million raised through the state EB-5 program, which financed development projects funded by foreign investors hoping to obtain green cards.
Tags: Jay Peak , fraud , biotech , Quiros , EB-5 , Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp , Web Only , Image
Thursday, June 3, 2021
They'll be given priority for the first 30 days of the new Economic Recovery Bridge Program, which will give them first crack at $10 million of the program's funds and will provide grants of up to $150,000 per business.
“It seems hard to believe, but in 2020 there was a group that wasn’t eligible for our grants, and they were essentially out of luck,” said state Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein. They includes businesses that, because they opened in 2020, couldn’t demonstrate a loss compared to a prior year. “We want them to stay in business. We don’t want them to just close up shop,” she said.
Tags: COVID-19 , business grants , American Rescue Plan Act , Joan Goldstein , Economic Recovery Bridge Program , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 28, 2021
Night owls seeking a drink or some grub will soon have more options: Citing the state's vaccination progress, Gov. Phil Scott has lifted the 10 p.m. curfew for Vermont bars and restaurants, effective Saturday.
The move, which eliminates a monthslong curfew aimed at limiting transmission of the coronavirus, arrives ahead of the typically busy Memorial Day Weekend. Further, the number of Vermonters ages 18 to 29 getting vaccinated continues to climb; just over half that group has received at least one dose, representing a 20 percent jump during the last month.
"We felt there was no reason to keep the limit in place," Scott said at a press conference Friday.
Bars and restaurants must still obey all other COVID-19 mandates — at least for now. Those who aren’t vaccinated must still wear masks when not seated, for example, while establishments must provide six feet of space between tables and monitor capacity limits.
Tags: Bars and Restaurants , Vermont , Curfew , Web Only , Image
Thursday, May 27, 2021
Mrs. Dunster's Bakery — a New Brunswick baked goods distributor — announced its intentions in a press release on Thursday, saying it was facilitating the purchase through the newly-formed North Atlantic Baking Company, which will be based out of Burlington.
"We have been advised that North Atlantic Baking Company is the preferred purchaser of the Koffee Kup assets and we are focused on moving quickly to conclude negotiations which will lead to restarting operations very soon," wrote Blair Hyslop, who co-owns and runs Mrs. Dunster's with his wife, Rosalyn, in the release. VTDigger.org first reported the news.
The likely new owners say they are now negotiating a lease with a court-appointed receiver and hope to have it completed within the next few days. They said they plan to resume operations at Koffee Kup's two Vermont bakeries while they try to sell off a third facility in Connecticut.
"The lease agreement will allow us to quickly get employees back to work and products back on the shelves while we work through the formal transferring of assets, the details of which have been largely agreed to," Hyslop wrote.
Tags: Koffee Kup , Mrs. Dunster's , layoffs , Vermont Employment Growth Incentive , Web Only , Image
Monday, May 24, 2021
The bill is part of a larger measure aimed at improving the quality of long-term rental housing and setting up a professional health and safety inspection system to replace the one that is now largely staffed by volunteer town health officers.
“We’ve been trying to get something like this across for essentially 12 years,” said Rep. Tom Stevens (D-Waterbury), a longtime housing advocate who is chair of the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs. He said the bill was rejected by many Republicans who saw the proposed registry as government overreach.
Thursday, May 20, 2021
The House on Wednesday voted unanimously in favor of a bill that includes $630,000 for the program. The bill has been sent to the governor for his signature.
The Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs had proposed this year to make the popular program permanent, and to spend $1 million annually to reimburse workers who were new to the state up to $5,000 for moving expenses. That amount could rise to $7,500 for someone who moved to an area with a higher-than-average unemployment rate or lower-than-average annual wages.
Tags: remote worker program , Vermont legislature , study , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Using its plant in Essex Junction, GlobalFoundries will partner with Raytheon Technologies to develop and commercialize new semiconductor technology for mobile and wireless uses.
“This makes it ideal to handle 5G and 6G wireless signals, which require higher performance levels than legacy wireless systems," the prepared statement said.
Semiconductor chips are used in an array of electronic devices and are big business globally. The Semiconductor Industry Association said the industry employs more than 277,000 people in the U.S. Its members are pushing for a $50 billion federal investment program to incentivize domestic semiconductor manufacturing and raise the country's share of global semiconductor manufacturing.
The New York-based GlobalFoundries, which has plants in the U.S., Europe and Asia, said it employs about 2,000 people at its Vermont plant. A company spokesperson said the new agreement will not create more local jobs nor will it require changes to the workspace at what is known as the "Fab 9" plant.
Raytheon, based in Waltham, Mass., is a major weapons and aerospace manufacturer. GlobalFoundries, owned by the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, Mubadala Investment Company, is the third-largest chip manufacturer in the world.
Tags: GlobalFoundries , Raytheon , Essex Junction , plant , Fab 9 , semiconductor , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Electric aviation startup Beta Technologies plans to build a 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at the Burlington International Airport that will employ up to 500 people, the company said Tuesday.
Beta, which is headquartered in a hangar near the main terminal, announced the expansion plan at the same time the company closed a $368 million fundraising round that attracted investment from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, among others.
Proceeds will bankroll the new assembly facility for its Alia electric aircraft, according to a Beta press release. The company hopes to break ground this fall.
The total amount of new funding exceeded the $333 million Beta had sought to raise, according to SEC disclosures first reported by Seven Days last week in a cover story on the company. Beta founder and CEO Kyle Clark told Seven Days in an interview for that story that he hoped to continue expanding the startup, which has tripled in size over the last year to more than 230 employees, in his home state of Vermont.
Tags: Beta Technologies , Burlington International Airport , Burlington , South Burlington , Electric Aircraft , Vermont Business , Amazon Climate Fund , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
The Vermont State Housing Authority plans to start publicizing the grant program on May 17, but renters can apply now on VSHA’s website. About 1,590 renters have already applied for about $8.2 million after learning about the program, said VSHA executive director Richard Williams. The money is sent directly to property owners.
The $100 million comes from a bill that the U.S. Congress passed December 27. States then spent several months studying the U.S. Treasury’s rules, which are markedly different from those for the $25 million rental assistance program that Vermont operated last year.
The money can be used for up to 18 months of back rent, future rent, or for moving to a better living situation, said Williams — including a security deposit and some relocation assistance.
Tags: COVID-19 , rental assistance , housing , Vermont , Web Only , Image