Current News

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute The Legislature is actually looking at two big changes to education funding this session. There are misconceptions about each, but both, if done right, can strengthen the school funding system and make it fairer. The change that has generated the most attention and discussion is a plan to provide more money to students who require additional resources, such as English-language learners, kids from poor families, and those attending small, rural schools. The money isn’t really the sticking point, although there are questions about the latest cost estimate for teaching English as a second language. The main point of disagreement is how to distribute additional resources to the districts that need them.

Vermont Business Magazine In advance of Town Meeting Day, Burlington School District (BSD) has published a number of resources designed to help voters have all the information they need to vote on the School District’s proposed budget. BSD’s 2021 Annual Report is now available online along with a budget one-pager that explains next year’s proposed budget, and a line-item budget. All the documents are available at www.bsdvt.org.

Vermont Business Magazine In light of ongoing developments related to the current geopolitical tensions involving the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and its impact on US financial markets, the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) is reminding investors in Vermont to have patience and use caution. The S&P 500, NASDAQ Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average have each lost more than 5% of their value over the last week, and while every investor must be prepared to live with a certain amount of risk and uncertainty, financial upheavals can be emotionally distressing. Our recommendation is to maintain your long-term financial strategy.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 206 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday. This is down 62 from yesterday and below the 7-day average of 220. There were no additional COVID-related deaths, which remain at 593 statewide. While cases and hospitalizations have been falling, the fatality rate has remained relatively high. Health Commissioner Dr Mark Levine said Tuesday that fatalities seem to be finally falling, as they lag behind the other metrics.

Vermont Business Magazine In collaboration with UVM Extension, the Champlain Housing Trust will initiate a new farmworker housing repair program using State funds allocated by the Legislature to the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board. The loan funds may be used for various health and safety repairs and improvements to farmworker housing, including for wastewater systems, air sealing and insulation, plumbing upgrades, mold remediation, roof replacements, electrical upgrades, food prep area and storage improvements, sound insulation, and to relieve overcrowding.

by Eric Howe is the Director of the Lake Champlain Basin Program January felt COLD at the LCBP office in Grand Isle. Will Lake Champlain freeze over this year? That is one of the big questions bouncing around the LCBP office, and among enquiring visitors to the LCBP Resource Room at ECHO Leahy Center. If you missed it, we forecasted—based on a century of trend data—in our 2021 State of the Lake Report that by the year 2050, the Lake may freeze fully just once per decade. We shall see what Mother Nature has in store for us for the rest of the winter!

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Thursday issued the following statement after Russia invaded Ukraine: “The Russian invasion of Ukraine that the world is witnessing today is a blatant violation of international law and of basic human decency. It may well kill thousands and displace millions. It could plunge Europe into long-term economic and political instability."

Senator Patrick Leahy Marcelle and I are praying for the people of Ukraine, an independent country with a democratically elected government that has not threatened Russia. The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin is based on his twisted interpretation of world history and current affairs. Because he refused any of the numerous off-ramps offered by President Biden and the rest of the nations of the world toward diplomatically resolving whatever concerns he claims are motivating his actions, the Ukrainian people are facing the grievous suffering and devastating losses inevitable from war.

Vermont Business Magazine World crude oil prices have topped $100 a barrel as Russia invades Ukraine. Vermont gasoline prices have risen 22 cents over the last month as tensions rose in Europe. Prices are expected to continue to increase. In Vermont today, the average price of gasoline is $3.60 per gallon. This is also $1.02 higher than one year ago. The highest price in Vermont is $3.89 in Killington and the lowest is $3.34 in Brattleboro.

Jonathan Dowds, Renewable Energy Vermont, Deputy Director In her recent piece, “The role of merchant power in Vermont’s energy picture,” Annette Smith mischaracterizes the net-metering program that for decades has helped make installing solar power more affordable by allowing Vermonters to send any excess solar electricity they generate back to the grid in exchange for a credit on their electric bill. Net-metering has made Vermont a solar energy leader – one of the top 5 states in the share of electricity coming from solar. Vermont solar installers range in size from family operations with one or two people to companies that employ dozens but they share a common goal: to make solar power a convenient, reliable and affordable option for all Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine FreshTracks Capital announces the return of Peak Pitch, a start-up business pitch event on the slopes, scheduled for Tuesday March 22. Now in its sixteenth year, Peak Pitch brings aspiring entrepreneurs and investors together for a unique version of the classic "elevator pitch." At Peak Pitch, a shared chairlift ride gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business plans to venture capitalists, individual investors, commercial lenders and other entrepreneurial advisors during a day of skiing and snowboarding at Sugarbush.

Vermont Business Magazine A broad coalition of supporters is urging Burlington voters to stand up for equity, safety, and dignity by voting affirmatively on question #5 on Town Meeting Day 2022. Question #5 asks whether to strike discriminatory and archaic language from the Burlington city charter. The current Burlington charter mandate to “restrain and suppress houses of ill fame and disorderly houses, and to punish common prostitutes and persons consorting therewith” is not only immensely archaic and dehumanizing, it does nothing to support the health and wellbeing of the citizens of Burlington.