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Public Assets Institute The Pew Research Center estimates that there are several thousand undocumented immigrants in Vermont. These workers pay roughly $3 million in taxes annually and support a number of state industries, especially agriculture. And their contributions aren’t just economic: immigrants writ large are an integral part of our families, schools and communities.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Specialty Food Association (VSFA) will host its annual Fall Meeting on Tuesday, November 5th at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort in Stowe, VT. The event features five informative sessions focused on business essentials, including common and complex HR challenges and a panel discussion on cash flow. VSFA invites all food producers, retailers, and business service providers to attend to network, learn, and connect on a shared vision of promoting Vermont's brand and business growth. This year’s schedule has been streamlined to provide more built-in networking opportunities, a benefit that VSFA members and retailers find invaluable.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers increased last week and for the first time in two months exceeded 300 claims, which is still relatively low. Initial claims for the week of October 12, 2019, totaled 3089, up 29 from last week but 64 fewer than they were at this time last year.

Vermont Business Magazine The VT Web Marketing Summit started in 2010 with only 80 attendees and a goal to instill a digital mindset to marketing professionals in the region. For almost a decade now, thousands of marketers have trusted VT Web Marketing Summit to deliver actionable, brand-agnostic tactics. Today, it is recognized as one of the leading conferences that delivers some of the boldest, brightest, and immersive digital trends, strategies, challenges and success stories. A brainchild of Curve Trends Marketing, a digital marketing firm based in Vermont, this year’s summit attempts to address the current state of digital marketing.

by Geoff Robertson Remember Tuesday, July 30, a few months back? It was the hottest day of a record-breaking month – the warmest recorded in the history of the earth. It was also a day when thousands of Vermonters cranked up their air conditioning, resulting in what power companies refer to as “peak demand” for electricity. On that day, and many others throughout the summer, New England’s century old electric grid kicked into overdrive, tapping into reserve generators to meet the spike in demand.

Vermont Business Magazine Cheryl Sullivan was in the woods one warm October day, flicking yet another tick from her leg, “which felt like the tenth of the day,” she says. Lyme-disease bearing deer ticks like the ones climbing on Sullivan, a PhD student in UVM’s Entomology Research Lab, were certainly causing problems for humans, she remembers thinking. But a different species – the winter tick – was an even worse scourge for one of the northern woods' most iconic species, the moose, for whom the parasite was an existential threat. A 2018 study published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology found that winter ticks, also known as moose ticks, were the primary cause of an unprecedented 70 percent death rate among moose calves in northern New England over a three-year period.

Vermont Business Magazine The property that was known as the Mark Skinner Library for nearly 12 decades, located in beautiful Manchester, Vermont, is hitting the auction block on Friday, November 22 at 11 am. The public auction will be held on site at 48 West Road in Manchester Center. An open house will be held on Sunday, November 10 from 11 am to 1 pm for potential buyers to tour the property. The auction is being held by the Thomas Hirchak Company, based in Morrisville, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain Orchards, a family-owned and ecologically managed farm, recently received more than $15,000 from the Vermont Training Program (VTP). Champlain Orchards recently upgraded its inventory management system and VTP monies will be used to train staff in construction, customization, and use of the new system. Champlain Orchards is among the first in its sector to introduce this technology. It will allow Champlain Orchards to track all of its products from tree to shelf, which streamlines business operations, inventory planning, forecasting, and customer service.

Vermont Business Magazine General Fund revenues were sluggish in August, but personal income taxes came roaring back in September to push GF revenues ahead of targets, as well as above year-to-date expectations and now are well over last year's numbers. September 30 marked the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. However, the Transportation Fund didn't keep up, which has been a persistent problem in recent years.

Vermont Business Magazine Exit 4 in Randolph looks like it might get a new hotel after all. After many years of attempts to develop the exit, and recently and unsuccessfully with a vast mixed-use commercial development, a hotel is proposed across Interstate 89 on the southeast corner, on the right as you head up Route 66 toward Randolph Center and Vermont Technical College. The project has received local permits and a sewer authorization. The project began the Act 250 process with a hearing on October 4.

Vermont Business Magazine A Prevention Network Grant of $450,000 has been awarded to Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) from the Vermont Department of Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs. MAHHC is the sole recipient of the grant, whose goals include reducing the prevalence of substance misuse by all ages through building regional prevention infrastructure and capacity.

Vermont Business Magazine Saturday (October 19) is the annual Vermont Women’s Economic Opportunity Conference. Senator Patrick Leahy launched the yearly conference 23 years ago, and he partners with several agencies and organizations to organize the workshops. This year’s keynote speaker is Jen Kimmich, CEO of Alchemist Brewery.  Under Kimmich’s leadership, the Stowe business has become one of Vermont’s most popular tourist destinations and is famous for its Heady Topper brew.