Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine State economists this week added over $11 million to expected General Fund tax revenues for the current fiscal year. They also added nearly a million to the Transportation Fund and $1.6 million to the Education Fund. With the exception of a small decline in next year's Transportation revenues, they're expecting taxes to be up again next fiscal year. Typically, a report with such positive news would be treated as great news by the Emergency Board. Instead, the economists and the elected officials were simply cautious in their reaction.

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry's number one fan favorite flavor in the world, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, will soon have company on freezer shelves. Ben & Jerry's has come out with three new cookie dough flavors with the biggest gobs of cookie dough running right down the middle of the pint. The 2019 flavors feature a tantalizing trio of bowl-licking favorites.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Original, LLC, the 120-year-old Vermont manufacturer of the Bag Balm line of skin care and moisturizing products based in Lyndonville, has announced it has brought aboard VaynerX’s new agency, the Sasha Group, as its new strategic media agency of record. The Shasha Group specifically caters to entrepreneurs and small and mid-sized businesses.

Vermont’s Original President, Reid Greenberg states, “I view Bag Balm as a 120-year-old startup, and there is no better group in existence than Gary Vaynerchuk’s the Sasha Group to partner with. We have tremendous opportunity to unlock growth for this amazing brand and connect with a new wave of consumers who are seeking out products with fewer, simpler ingredients, that have a rich, authentic history and stand for something other than just big CPG.”

Vermont Business Magazine A nonprofit that provides free legal help to thousands of Vermonters each year has changed its name. Legal Services Law Line of Vermont, Inc. will now be called “Legal Services Vermont.” 

Vermont Business Magazine As part of the ongoing approach to make sure all Vermonters have safe drinking water, the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is proposing to adopt the Vermont Health Advisory as the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) at 20 parts per trillion for fiveper- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Over the next 30 days, the State will conduct pre-rulemaking stakeholder engagement to gather additional comments on the approach.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center CEO Dr John Brumsted today announced that president Eileen Whalen, MHA, RN will retire in June after four years at UVM Medical Center and 35 years in health care. Dr Stephen Leffler will take on the role of interim president. Brumsted turned over the role of president to Whalen as the UVM Health Network, of which he leads, has grown into a multi-hospital organization in Vermont and the north country of New York.

Whalen was the face of the hospital during the bitter nurses strike last year, often emphasizing that she too is a nurse. The nurses strike was the first such action in the hospital's history.

Senator Patrick Leahy For 35 days, President Trump has robbed hundreds of thousands of American families of their paychecks, forcing dedicated public servants to turn to foodbanks and unemployment benefits to feed and support their families.  For 35 days, President Trump denied millions of taxpaying Americans access to public services. For 35 days, President Trump has inflicted pain on the American people and compromised our national security.

Vermont Business Magazine Community College of Vermont (CCV) has been awarded $17,750 from the Vermont Community Foundation to support ReSET VT, a prison-to-career initiative that offers college classes to male inmates at the Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport. The funding includes a $15,000 Regional & Local Impact (RALI) grant from the Community Foundation alongside $2,750 in support from donor advised funds at the Foundation. This is in addition to $25,000 awarded each year for the past two years by the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation—a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2019 State Historic Preservation Grants. The grants totaling $212,982 were awarded to 14 municipalities and non-profit organizations, in 13 Vermont communities to repair and rehabilitate important historic buildings.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the state’s plans to enter an alliance with Microsoft to improve access to digital skills programing and computer science education and to promote rural broadband access, with the organizational support of Microsoft technology experts and partners.

Vermont Business Magazine The Addison County Chamber of Commerce welcomes eighteen new members in less than three months. The Addison County Chamber has been a flurry of activity with a surge of new members at the end of 2018 (see full list below). This surge is due in part to the ability to offer special health insurance plans to its members through VACEplus.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that emergency rules have been filed to resolve any ambiguity in Vermont state law as to whether or not government employees working indefinitely without pay are unemployed for the purposes of Vermont’s unemployment insurance eligibility. “This emergency rule clarifies and codifies our interpretation of existing law, and the Department of Labor’s ability to extend unemployment insurance eligibility to all government employees who are being required to work, but who are not being paid during a federal shutdown,” said Department of Labor Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle.