Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont has experienced 41 traffic fatalities so far this year.  Of those killed, 58 percent were not properly restrained with seat belts, and more than 42 percent occurred in crashes involving impaired drivers. As part of the continual and ongoing efforts to reduce deadly and serious injury crashes on Vermont’s roads, the Vermont State Police will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness & Reduction Effort) over the holiday period from Wednesday, Nov. 27, to Sunday, Dec. 1.  Operation C.A.R.E. is a national campaign in which police agencies across the United States join in the effort of reducing fatalities on our highways, particularly during national holidays when there’s an increase in the number of motorists on the roadways.  The Vermont State Police will have zero tolerance for people who make the reckless decision to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Vermont Business Magazine At the annual ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture in San Diego this past week, the American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) presented one of its highest honors, the Landscape Architecture Firm Award, to Heritage Landscapes, LLC headquartered in Charlotte, Vermont.

The ASLA Landscape Architecture Award recognizes the Heritage Landscapes distinguished body of work, with a litany of successful projects addressing landscapes of great historic significance throughout the United States and abroad. In collaboration with ASLA, the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the National Park Service, state and local government agencies, non-profits, and talented colleagues, Heritage Landscapes has had a significant, transformative and beneficial impact on the fields of landscape architecture and historic preservation over a period of 32 years.

by Robert Zulkoski, Social Entrepreneur Can you be in the right place at the right time or do you make your own luck?  Philosophers and scholars have debated this for centuries but to the modern entrepreneur, the distinction makes no difference.  You must do both. Cam MacKugler, founder and CEO of Seedsheet, knows this all too well.  I continue my series of conversations with Vermont entrepreneurs this month by exploring how timing has had an effect on the trajectory of the Vermont company Seedsheet.

Vermont Business Magazine Mary Engisch is the new local host of NPR’s Weekend Edition, which airs on VPR Saturdays and Sundays from 8-10 a.m.Mary began hosting on the weekends in October. She joined VPR in 2011 as a board operator and announcer. From 2014-2018, she also hosted a weekly arts segment and interview with local artists. In addition to hosting and creating on-air content for Weekend Edition, Mary works on VPR's programming team producing specials and promos.

Vermont Business Magazine A critical vote in the nation’s capital has restored funding for Vermont’s transportation infrastructure. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act is a five-year, $305 billion federal bill that provides funding to state transportation agencies from 2015 to 2020. Vermont receives an average of approximately $220 million annually under this bill. This funding represents the primary way in which Vermont funds state transportation projects, and it generally accounts for half the state’s total transportation budget. A $7.5 billion rescission was included in the final year of the bill that would have resulted in Vermont losing $55.5 million in federal funds. The consequences of this rescission would have been severe, with less money to fund transportation projects and a delay in funding planned projects.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan, joined by several stakeholders, announced that his office will be submitting comments in opposition to the Trump Administration’s third proposal in the past year to cut benefits from SNAP, known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT. The latest proposal threatens to cut over $25 million in benefits to Vermonters by changing the way in which utility costs, including heating and cooling, are calculated when determining benefit amounts. The change will result in a benefit reduction for an estimated 68 percent of Vermont households receiving 3SquaresVT.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Supreme Court overturned the Environmental Court’s decision that economic considerations trump environmental factors in setting conditions for Morrisville Water and Light’s (MWL) application for a Water Quality Certificate (WQC) pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). VNRC said the Environmental Court had made the unprecedented ruling that the VWQS protect hydroelectric facilities’ right to operate above the impact that these facilities have on Vermont’s waters, which the Supreme Court has now reversed. 

Vermont Business Magazine Revenue collections for the month of October 2019 released today support a trend in which personal income taxes remain relatively strong, corporate taxes are unpredictable, and the Transportation Fund continues to underperform because of low gasoline receipts and sluggish car sales. Meanwhile, the stalwart rooms & meals taxes, which supported the state’s revenue stream for many years when personal income did not, is not keeping up, despite coming off the fall foliage season. R&M largely reflects tourism activity. The expectations for the R&M have been high because of its strength over the last few years. Despite slipping recently, it is still ahead of year-to-year targets. The sales and use tax, which had been missing targets for several years, is ahead of expectations. This could be because of the state capturing more and more taxes from online sales.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Senate Thursday night passed legislation written and introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to formally charter a National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium (NCPC), which includes Norwich University.
Norwich University is a key player in NCPC, a cooperative effort of universities with expertise in cybersecurity that work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and carry out training and other activities focused on preparedness among state and local governments and first responders for cyber emergencies. The consortium was privately organized to work annually with DHS to fulfill their mission, with Norwich as a founding member, and the new law will allow DHS and NCPC to work together to develop multi-year plans for improving cyber readiness.

Vermont Business Magazine Gardener’s Supply Company, the Burlington, VT-based purveyor of great garden gear, is acquiring a fourth garden center, this time in Hadley, MA. Hadley Garden Center has been supplying gardeners and landscapers with quality products and unparalleled customer service in western Massachusetts for 56 years. The owners are now retiring. In addition to a robust catalog and e-commerce business, Gardener’s Supply Company already has three garden centers located in Burlington and Williston, VT, and in Lebanon, NH.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment rose last week to near 700. After a long period of very low numbers, claims have noticeably increased. They are also breaking a trend by being higher than claims from the same time last year. Meanwhile, the upcoming holidays typically bring with them wild swings in claims, as retailers hire and then fire seasonal workers. Initial claims for the week of November 16, 2019, were 693, up 57 from last week and 64 more than they were at this time last year. Altogether 3,400 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 392 from a week ago, and 90 more than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Public Service Department today announced the winners of the first round of grant funding through the state’s new Broadband Innovation Grant Program. The grants will support three feasibility studies and subsequent business plans for the deployment of broadband in rural, unserved and underserved areas of Vermont. CVFiber will receive $60,000. Newbury REDInet District will receive $34,000. Windham Regional Commission (WRC) will receive $60,000.