Current News

by Timothy McQuiston You can quickly recognize someone running for governor this year: They’re too tanned. “It’s the parades,” Phil Scott said with a leathery smile. Scott is Vermont’s lieutenant governor and one of five major candidates hoping to succeed Governor Peter Shumlin, who is stepping down. Businessman Bruce Lisman is the other Republican and the Democrats are former Google executive and legislator Matt Dunne, former ambassador and legislator Peter Galbraith and former Transportation Secretary and legislator Sue Minter. 

The other commonality among them: They question the wisdom of the early primary, which will winnow the field down to two on Tuesday, August 9. It adds a wildcard to the race that could benefit the underdogs, or not.

As Galbraith put it: “I think it’s bad for Democracy. Whether it’s good or bad for me, I don’t know.”

by Chris Graff Matt Dunne’s recent mailing – like the candidate himself – makes no bones about it: If you like Bernie Sanders you should vote for Dunne in the Democratic primary for governor. The front page of the glossy brochure shows Dunne standing at a podium at a Sanders’ rally. The title of the brochure is “Matt Dunne’s Step-by-Step Guide to Making Bernie Sanders’ Progressive Vision a Reality in Vermont.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont has the third fewest number of African Americans as a percentage of its population, but has the highest level of college attainment and higher, as a percentage, than white Vermonters. In an article out Thursday, financial news and opinion website 24/7 Wall St. reports that Wisconsin is the worst state in the country for black Americans. The Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of 1965 — ending decades of government-sponsored racial oppression and intended to reverse the effects of hundreds of years of slavery — by no means have resolved racial inequality in the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine More than 100 golfers played under sunny skies at the Brattleboro Country Club on Wednesday, August 3^rd, to help make the Brattleboro Retreat’s 11^th Annual Golf Tournament a record-setting success. With fundraising revenue marking an all-time high in the tournament’s history, the event netted more than $50,000 for the Brattleboro Retreat’s programs for children and adolescents. Tournament proceeds help fund therapeutic, recreational, and educational opportunities for children in five different Retreat programs including residential, inpatient, and school programs. 

Vermont Business Magazine SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY) launched new solar loan program—that will allow many Vermont customers to immediately pay less for solar each month than they previously paid for utility bills and pocket thousands in additional dollars from applicable tax credits. The company has leveraged its installation volume—SolarCity installed more residential solar in 2015 than the next 50 competitors combined—to negotiate extremely favorable terms on behalf of its customers.

by Scott A Giles Vermont students will be heading off to college in a few weeks and that means the first-semester payment is due as well. For most students and families, they will be borrowing to cover part of their education expenses. Education and training after high school is the single-most important investment a person can make in his or her future. Proof in point: of the 11.6 million jobs created since the Great Recession, all but 100,000 went to workers who had at least some college education, according to a new study, “America’s Divided Recovery: College Haves and Have-Nots,” from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Nearly seven out of 10 Vermont students will take loans to finance some of their education expenses; knowing how to compare loans and costs is essential to making college more affordable.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont now has a certified testing center for Intuit and Adobe products. Lyndon State College has opened a new Certiport Authorized Testing Center.  Previously, those wanting to take certification exams in Vermont had to travel to Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or New York. Certiport is the leading provider of value-added, computerized test delivery services that include an expanding network of testing centers worldwide.

Through the Certiport partnership, Lyndon can help prepare Vermonters for future success in technology-driven learning and workforce environments. LSC students will also benefit by earning certification credentials and their degree simultaneously, making them more competitive when they enter the job market. This in-state solution for globally recognized, performance-based certification testing in areas that employers’ value will help students and adult learners advance their careers.

Vermont Business Magazine A new state-by-state analysis released two days before the 23^rd anniversary of the day the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) took effect shows that few states have expanded upon the FMLA’s unpaid leave protections or adopted other supports to assist expecting and new parents who are employed. But Vermont fares well above average and has made significant progress, although the state’s working families still lack some basic protections. Expecting Better: A State-by-State Analysis of Laws That Help Expecting and New Parents is the most comprehensive analysis to date of state laws and regulations governing paid leave and other workplace rights for expecting and new parents in the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine The Phil Scott campaign today filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office because the political advertisement paid for by the American Future Fund Political Action Committee, a pro-Lisman PAC, appears to have violated or abused provisions of Vermont's campaign finance and transparency laws. On Thursday the Scott campaign first pointed out the Lisman PAC appears to be in violation of Vermont’s campaign finance laws requiring disclosure of donors, which were designed so PACs have to disclose where their money comes from and private interests in elections are transparent. Scott and Lisman are Republican candidates for governor. The primary is Tuesday, August 9

Vermont Business Magazine Over the past 72 hours, Lisman for Vermont has been notified by supporters of Bruce Lisman that they received deceitful phone calls in conjunction with the upcoming Republican primary. Scott and Lisman are Republican candidates for governor. The primary is Tuesday, August 9. There is a consistent pattern to the calls, the Lisman campaign said. The individual receiving the call is asked if he/she supports Bruce Lisman for Governor. If the voter says “yes”, the caller offers a series of false and outrageous claims designed to defame Bruce Lisman’s character. If the person receiving the call still indicates support for Bruce Lisman, or seeks to end the call, he/she is told, “Don’t forget to vote in the state primary on August 23.” The August 23 date is two weeks after the actual primary election date.

Vermont Business Magazine As part of a continuing effort to bolster economic development in Northern Vermont, Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), Congressman Peter Welch (D) and Governor Peter Shumlin (D) joined Northern Border Regional Commission Chair Mark Scarano in announcing more than $1.8 million in federal grants on Friday. In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders, and Welch said:  “The grants are as varied and unique as the communities they will help, but they share a common theme.  Each one will grow the economy and have a measurable impact on the lives of Vermonters, and communities across our Northern Counties.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival announced today that New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) will be the festival’s new Presenting Sponsor, beginning a three-year commitment. Discover Jazz will again present 10 days of live music throughout downtown Burlington beginning on June 2, 2017. Next June will mark the 34th anniversary of the festival, which is known for bringing legendary musicians like Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Mavis Staples to the Queen City. The event is one of the state’s most accessible music festivals, offering over 100 hours of free live music, and is a major showcase for musical artists from Vermont and around the region. 

Discover Jazz at Leunig's on Church Street in Burlington.