Current News

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Last week provided a moment of reprieve as the fire alarm went off during the morning and we were all forced outside to enjoy the sun. Rep. Mari Cordes set up a badminton set—a great reminder to take the occasional moment of fun and levity as we hit the grindstone in the weeks ahead. In preparation for work in the Senate Appropriations Committee on the budget, the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee is looking at the workforce development programs in the House-passed FY 24 budget. The committee has a total of $40 million in one-time funds allocated to workforce development across the state.

The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of a man who had been jailed at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield. The man, a 46-year-old resident of Springfield, was found unresponsive in his cell during a check at 9:27 a.m. Monday, April 17, 2023. Corrections staff provided emergency medical care and called first responders to the prison. Lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, and the inmate was pronounced dead at Southern State at 10:10 a.m. The inmate who died is identified as David Mitchell. He had been in custody since November 2022, when he was detained on a charge of violating probation related to an underlying charge of larceny from a person. He also was being held on a charge of misdemeanor retail theft.

Vermont Business Magazine Workers at the Burlington Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop have formed a union organizing committee and petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election. The workers, who are known as “Scoopers,” have named their organization “Scoopers United”; they have the backing of Workers United Upstate New York & Vermont, the same union that launched the Starbucks Workers United organizing campaign, which became the first Starbucks to unionize in Rochester, NY, in April 2022. In their letter to management, the workers detailed how their unionizing dovetails with Ben & Jerry’s mission. Meanwhile, the iconic Vermont ice cream brand said it will support the union drive.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA), and a bicameral group of colleagues last week to call for an ethics investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas’s failure to disclose luxury travel financed by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. Addressed to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, the letter follows reporting from ProPublica outlining the relationship between Justice Thomas and Mr. Crow, who for 20 years reportedly subsidized trips for Justice Thomas and his wife, paying for the two to use Crow’s private plane, travel on his superyacht, and vacation at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks.

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth was recently honored with two prestigious energy efficiency awards from the U.S. Department of Energy for exceeding the performance criteria for building envelope performance and for energy equity. Laurentide Apartments received both Building Envelope Campaign Awards - the Novel 40 award and the inaugural Energy Equity award - for the newly constructed building located in Burlington, Vermont. Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) co-developed and is a co-owner of Laurentide Apartments in partnership with Evernorth. The US Department of Energy’s Building Envelope Campaign Awards recognize builders, contractors, designers, and owners for innovative designs and improvements to the building enclosure that results in significant reductions in energy consumption.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas has hired Robyn Palmer for the newly created Education and Civic Engagement Coordinator (ECE) position. Palmer is well-known in the non-profit sector in Vermont for her work over the last 10 years as Director of an AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Program based at the Vermont Agency of Human Services. Palmer’s hiring marks a significant step in Secretary Copeland Hanzas’ civic education initiative and the secretary is enthusiastic to ramp up the overall campaign.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Montpelier-based Institute for Sustainable Communities has been selected to serve as an “Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center” (EJ TCTAC) which will each receive at least $10 million to help communities across the United States access funds from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This includes historic investments to advance environmental justice. The Institute for Sustainable Communities is among 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) announced by EPA to receive a total of more than $177 million to remove barriers and improve accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns.

Vermont Business Magazine With the growing number of electric vehicles on the road, the State of Vermont is working proactively to find more locations for charging stations. In partnership with Drive Electric Vermont, the state is seeking to identify property and business owners interested in supporting plug-in electric vehicle (EV) charging or providing services associated with the installation and management of charging. Those interested in partnering with the state can fill out a survey to offer their collaboration. The survey will help identify opportunities for potential charging locations or EV charging services. Survey responses will be shared to facilitate potential partnering discussions between property owners/managers, charging service providers, and installation contractors. 

Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont, in collaboration with the University of Vermont and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), is offering a $5000 loan repayment program to incentivize and retain new graduates from Vermont colleges and universities. The Green Mountain Job and Retention program is open to students who are graduating in the Spring of 2023, are living in Vermont and accept a full-time position, that requires a bachelor’s degree, with a company in Vermont. Accepted applicants are eligible for up to $5,000 in loan repayment: $2,500 after their first year of employment and an additional $2,500 after the second year.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.48 per gallon, up 4.9 cents per gallon from last week's $3.43/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.29/g while the highest was $3.59/g, a difference of 30.0 cents per gallon. In Burlington, average prices have risen 7.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.48/g today, according to GasBuddy's survey of 100 stations in Burlington. Prices in Burlington are 4.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 58.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of gasoline has risen 7.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.65/g today.