Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) on Thursday fought back against Republican attacks on students and families in her first Budget Committee hearing. Balint focused on education funding to ensure our schools and communities receive the funding they need to tackle our nation’s mental health crisis. She asked Director Shalanda Young what American families can expect in the President’s budget that will address how the federal government chooses to fund schools and support students. This follows the Republican Majority’s decision to advance a bill (HR5) that would insert the federal government between parents and schools and threatens trans youth.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) today announced the support of 29 municipal planning projects totaling $598,997 dollars. Municipal Planning Grants support a range of projects around the state intended to stimulate economic development, grow housing opportunities, and ensure adequate public infrastructure. “Municipal Planning Grants help communities connect the dots by funding the tools and resources they use to plan ahead,” said Governor Scott. “From data gathering to outreach and design, planning is an essential component for infrastructure investments we need to make.”

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor reported the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had fallen one-tenth to 2.8% in February 2023. The rate has fallen the last two months, after the annual revision reset the 2022 data upwards. The revision in particular indicated more growth in the Labor Force than originally reported. The Labor Force is up 900 from January and up 5,090 from a year ago. The number of Employed also grew by 1,169 from January, while the number Unemployed fell by 269, indicating that all the major metrics showed improvement. The civilian labor force participation rate was 63.6 percent in February, an increase of two-tenths of one percentage point from the prior month. The comparable United States jobless rate was 3.6 percent, an increase of two-tenths of one percentage point from the revised January estimate. Vermont is tied for the 12th lowest rate in the nation. North and South Dakota are tied for the lowest at 2.1% and Nevada has the highest at 5.5%.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Entrepreneurial Legal Laboratory (VLSell) helps Vermont’s small businesses find legal support to launch, transition, and grow. As part of the Small Business Administration’s Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP), VLSell received grant funding to provide education and legal services to Vermont small businesses owned by traditionally disadvantaged individuals – BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, veteran, rural, and women. Since the program launched in December 2021, VLSELL has helped over 60 Vermont small businesses learn about the law, and find a lawyer to help them with their legal needs.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Jose Alvarez, 31, of Trenton, NJ, was sentenced to 14 months of imprisonment today in United States District Court by United States District Judge Christina Reiss. Alvarez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport foreign nationals in furtherance of their illegal entry into the United States. Judge Reiss also ordered that Alvarez serve three years of supervised release after he serves his term of imprisonment. According to court records, at about 3 am on September 25, 2022, Alvarez was arrested near East Berkshire, Vermont after he had picked up four Guatemalan citizens who had just entered the United States illegally. Three of the foreign nationals stated each expected to pay $2000 to $3000 to Alvarez or his associates as a fee to be smuggled into the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Senate gave final approval to S73, a bill that would strengthen workers compensation coverage for all firefighters by expanding the types of cancer presumed to be a result of on-duty exposures. Cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters and research shows that firefighters are at higher risk of developing certain types of cancers when compared to the general population. By expanding the types of cancer included in the presumption, we are demonstrating a commitment to supporting all firefighters by decreasing the likelihood their workers' compensation claims will be denied.

Vermont Business Magazine The housing market has been on a rollercoaster ride, and it just took another big turn. For the first time in more than a decade, year-over-year home prices in the US fell in February. Amid such an unpredictable housing market (and a hike in mortgage rates), national mortgage broker SmartAsset presented the results of their annual survey today and maintains that it is increasingly important to buy a home in a place that is both poised for long-term growth and stability. The Burlington metro area ranked 17th best, out of 400 nationally, and was the only metro area in the Eastern Time Zone. Burlington metro home prices have grown 192.8 percent over the last 25 years with no historic loss in value.

Vermont Business Magazine The Future of Vermont Action Team is launching a statewide Youth Opportunity Initiative, facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development, to embark on a deep engagement process to draw input from youth, community members, parents, advocates, municipal leaders, educators, school administrators, business owners, policy experts, and more to identify strategies and action to advance youth opportunity, aspiration, and community connection. In 2021, the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) built The Vermont Proposition which outlines a bold proposal to set our state on a trajectory toward success, vitality, and prosperity for the next 30 years based on input from thousands of Vermonters. A diverse group of 20 leaders convened and facilitated by VCRD, known as the Future of Vermont Action Team, have been further defining and implementing the ten elements of the Vermont Proposition.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) on Wednesday questioned Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation hearing. The hearing was convened in response to the February 3rd derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals through East Palestine, Ohio. The derailment resulted in substantial air, water, and soil contamination, damaging the local environment, and putting the people of East Palestine at risk of adverse health effects. During the hearing, Welch urged Shaw to take responsibility for the derailment and make a substantive pledge to avoid future derailments.