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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont legislative leaders today pledged action to help blunt negative impacts of the federal government shutdown. House Speaker Mitzi Johnson and Senate Pro Tempore Tim Ashe highlighted community and financial resources available to citizens and businesses in need, as citizen concerns mount amid fears the shutdown could last long enough to strain Vermont citizens and businesses.

“In Vermont we take care of one another and help neighbors through challenging times,” said Speaker Mitzi Johnson and Pro Tem Ashe. “The Vermont General Assembly is closely monitoring the federal shutdown to understand its impact on Vermont. We are committed to working collaboratively with Treasurer Pearce, community service and financial service providers, and other partners to develop proposals, where necessary, to protect Vermont from damages caused by the federal shutdown.”

Vermont Business Magazine Timing is everything. A strong early season, rock-solid reservation numbers and a snowstorm looming in the forecast could add up to record business at Vermont ski areas over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Meteorologists are predicting that up to 20-plus inches of fresh snow could hit the Green Mountains over the weekend, with timing seemingly tailor-made for ski areas: Late enough to not adversely impact travel, but right on time to deliver ideal powder conditions for holiday guests.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Public Service has created an interactive map that shows the results of a drive test of mobile wireless coverage in the state. After reviewing providers’ maps that purport to show the extent of their coverage, the Department undertook a drive test of all major roads in the state to collect data and assess where mobile wireless service is actually available from a consumer perspective. The interactive map shows considerably less service than providers claim, which could result in more money for carriers to expand service in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ - UNB), based in Morrisville, announced Wednesday after markets closed results for the three and 12 months ended December 31, 2018, and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend. A reduction in net earnings of $3.7 million occurred during 2018 due to one-time charges related to the termination of the Company's defined benefit pension plan, of which, $3.2 million was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018.  As a result, the Company reported a consolidated net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2018 of $(436) thousand, or $(0.10) per share, and consolidated net income for the 12 months then ended of $7.1 million, or $1.58 per share. Consolidated earnings of $1.9 million, or $0.43 per share and $8.4 million, or $1.89 per share were reported for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2017, respectively.

Vermont Business Magazine Fat Toad Farm is excited to announce that they received a 2019 Good Food Award for their Vanilla Bean Goat's Milk Caramel Sauce. The nation's leading food producers, grocers, chefs, journalists and activists united in San Francisco on Friday, January 11th to honor the 220 Good Food Award winners. An annual awards ceremony now in its ninth year, the Good Food Awards recognizes American food and drink creators who demonstrate a commitment to creating tasty, authentic and responsibly made products and in doing so, better the nation's food system. Each of the 2019 winners demonstrates both a mastery of their craft and a commitment to maintaining exceptionally high social and environmental standards in their work.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, the Special Olympics Vermont Board of Directors announced on its Web site that they have selected Melissa "Missy" Siner Shea to be the new President & CEO of Special Olympics Vermont, effective February 1, 2019. Shea comes to Special Olympics Vermont after four years as the Executive Director of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association. Prior to her time at Wellesley she worked as the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid for the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Connecticut.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) was appointed today by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the federal government’s seventeen intelligence agencies and offices, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the intelligence functions of the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, State and Energy. The committee is also investigating Russia’s attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep Bobby Scott (D-VA), chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, joined House and Senate leadership Wednesday to introduce the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. The bill would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2024, index future minimum wage increases to median wage growth and ensure all workers are paid at least the full federal minimum wage by phasing out the subminimum wages for tipped workers, youth workers and workers with disabilities.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Governor Phil Scott and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu today detailed their Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan, a bi-state voluntary paid family and medical leave program, in a press conference at Schilling Beer Company in Littleton, NH. The governors’ plan creates an insurance product that is not currently offered in either state. It will be available to all businesses, as well as individuals, and will be anchored by the state employee workforce of both states - a combined 18,500 employees.

Governor Scott Facebook image of press conference. Click image for video.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington-based weekly Seven Days has launched a year-long reporting project chronicling the opioid epidemic in Vermont and efforts to address it. The designated writer of “Hooked: Stories and Solutions From Vermont’s Opioid Crisis” is Kate O’Neill, who has personal experience with the crisis: Her sister, Burlington mom Madelyn Linsenmeir, died last October after years battling addiction.

O’Neill described her sister’s struggles in a heartbreaking obituary published locally in Seven Days (see below). It spread quickly on social media, shared by national reporters and celebrities — even Ivanka Trump. Millions of people worldwide read it, and more than 1,000 left online comments describing their own experiences with addiction.

Vermont Business Magazine In Vermont, approximately 1,700 eviction cases are filed every year. The number one cause of eviction is falling behind on rent. In most cases, families lose their housing, leading to increased rates of homelessness, unemployment, mental and physical illness, and financial and housing instability. Half of eviction cases were begun for $2,000 or less owed; 90 percent of them were for less than $5,000.

Vermont Business Magazine Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) will celebrate getting out into Vermont’s beautiful winter by hosting four Snow Days events in 2019. Snow Days feature free access to cross-country skiing and/or snowshoeing trails, and free rentals on a first-come, first-served basis in an effort to encourage physical activity during the winter months. BCBSVT will also provide healthy snacks and hot cocoa. The first 50 attendees at each location will receive a free Snow Days fleece hat.

In 2019, BCBSVT will host Snow Days at the following locations: