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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is one of the least expensive places to raise a family, placing 15th among all states, according national financial firm. New Hampshire was next best in New England at 20th. Meanwhile, Hawaii and New York are the most expensive states to raise a family, while Tennessee and Utah are the cheapest, according to a new ranking released today by GOBankingRates.com. The leading personal finance website reports on the impact geography has on costs associated with raising a family and scores each state on factors that most contribute to a family's financial well-being:

by Tom Pelham As Vermont turns toward winter, cold winds blow over more than just our beloved landscape. The holes in our state budget are now open windows not easily shut against cold realities. Despite last year’s $30 million general fund tax increase, we once again face another year of general fund over-budgeting ranging from $90 million to $130 million. By the time we get to January and the start of the next legislative session, both those who rely upon government services and taxpayers who fund government services will feel the chilling squeeze of the fiscal vice our statehouse leaders have crafted.

by Governor Peter Shumlin Those who grew up in Vermont likely experienced a childhood with adventures through snowy woods, discoveries in neighborhood brooks, and foot races through grassy fields. In Vermont we’re so fortunate to be surrounded by a natural world that offers so much. It truly is nature’s playground that we all get to enjoy. For many, it is what ties them to our state. For others, it is what draws them to put down roots here. And for our state as a whole, it’s a big part of the identity and quality of life we all share.

Vermnont Business Magazine Vermont moose hunters had a successful hunting season according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. A record bull was taken in the October 1-7 archery moose hunt, and the regular moose hunting season was October 17-22. “A preliminary count shows that by October 26 the department had received official reports of 8 moose being taken by 42 hunters in the archery season and 107 moose taken by 230 hunters in the regular season,” said Cedric Alexander, Vermont’s moose project leader. He said a few additional reports may still be sent in from other reporting agents.

Tammy Miller with record bull moose. Courtesy F&W.

Vermont Business Magazine Keurig Green Mountain, Inc, (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a personal beverage system company that has revolutionized the way consumers create and enjoy beverages, today announced the launch of Green Mountain Coffee® Coffeehouse, a new collection of beverages featuring café-inspired cappuccinos, lattes, and macchiatos. The specialty line of products draws upon the Green Mountain Coffee® heritage as a small-batch roaster and coffee shop combined with the ease and simplicity of the Keurig hot brewing system.

Vermont Business Magazine After fighting off a potential proxy challenge earlier in the week, shareholders on Friday easily re-elected the slate of director nominees supported by Casella Waste Systems, Inc's current board. Rutland-based Casella (Nasdaq:CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company, announced that based on a preliminary vote count provided by Casella’s proxy solicitor, all three of Casella’s director nominees were overwhelmingly re-elected by wide margins to the Casella Board of Directors at the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held Friday morning in Chittenden, Vermont. Final certified voting results are expected to be made publicly available next week.

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by Elizabeth Hewitt vtdigger.org Social workers with the Department for Children and Families will soon have a new office in Barre. Secretary of the Administration Justin Johnson announced Friday that some 30 employees of the family services division will move to office space on the fourth floor of the courthouse — two buildings up Barre’s main street from their current location. The move comes three months after social worker Lara Sobel was shot and killed while leaving her DCF office in City Place in Barre. Sobel’s accused killer, Jody Herring, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to Sobel’s killing and the deaths of three of Herring’s relatives.

Vermont Business Magazine “Farm in nature’s image” was the takeaway message shared by Ray Archuleta, Conservation Agronomist at the USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) and keynote speaker at the fifth annual Farm to Plate Annual Gathering. Held annually at the end of October, the Gathering is the one time each year when the entire Farm to Plate Network comes together to reflect on what has been accomplished and plan for the challenges that lie ahead implementing Vermont’s food system plan.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Bristol Police Department are warning Vermont businesses about an out of state company operating a scam that solicits local businesses to donate money to support their area school. The scam company hires a salesperson to ask local businesses to pay for an advertisement that will be placed on an educational folder, typically on a subject like drug prevention, that it says will be provided to students free of charge. This is a scheme that allows the out of state company to collect money from local businesses far in excess of the cost of the “folders” that it may actually deliver to the school. Businesses are advised not to contribute to this type of promotional scheme.

Vermont Business Magazine President Obama rejected the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline today. The extension of the existing Keystone Pipeline was intended to bring Canadian tar sands oil from Alberta to gasoline refineries in Texas. See statements from President Obama, Senator Leahy and Governor Shumlin below. Opposition has come from those who say the building of the pipeline itself would do environmental harm, while others say that tar sands oil is an especially dirty form of oil and its excavation also creates unnecessary carbon emissions. Proponents have urged its construction saying that it will lower energy costs and reduce the need for petroleum products from outside North America.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General William H Sorrell, the Department of Public Service, and two utilities filed a Petition Wednesday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), asking the NRC to undertake a comprehensive review of Entergy’s planned uses of the Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund. Under NRC regulations, the Vermont Yankee trust fund can be used only for decommissioning expenses. “This trust fund is for cleaning up the Vermont Yankee site,” said Attorney General Sorrell. “We think the NRC needs to hold Entergy to that promise. The NRC should look at withdrawals from the fund holistically and with public participation in the decision-making process. This trust fund must be protected to ensure the site is cleaned up.”

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The general contractor in charge of building a resort hotel in the Northeast Kingdom said he’s caught in the crossfire between the project’s developers and state regulators, resulting in payment delays that might force him to abandon the $120 million project. Jerry Davis, president of PeakCM, the construction firm managing the 180,000-square-foot development at Q Burke Resort, blames the state. “I’m at my breaking point,” Davis says. “I’m thinking of stopping the job. It’s delayed the hotel because when subs don’t get paid they slow down."

“Ninety percent of the issue is caused by the state’s inability to manage the (payment) approvals,” Davis says. “We don’t want to shut it down. All we want to do is finish the project under budget and on schedule.”