Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The US Supreme Court Friday issued an opinion in Carpenter v. U.S., holding that the Fourth Amendment generally requires the government to obtain a warrant to obtain geolocation information through cell-site location information. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a leading member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the lead sponsor of the bipartisan Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) Modernization Act (S.1657), released the following comment:

by Maia Segura Vermont Business Magazine Let’s face it. Most economic development conferences tend to be a bit of a snooze. The same players regurgitate the same content. Everyone goes away a little better networked, but not very inspired. Not so for the 2nd Annual Southern Vermont Economic Development Summit at Mount Snow’s Grand Lodge on May 30, where attendees were surprised by optimism.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced changes to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program starting July 1, 2018 that will ultimately reduce the cost of UI taxes for employers for the second year in a row.

by Bruce Edwards Vermont Business Magazine Revision Military is bullish on its future and its Vermont operation. The maker of ballistic helmets and eyewear for the military and law enforcement recently announced it was expanding its operations, opening its US headquarters in Portsmouth, NH. Greg Maguire, senior director, government and legal affairs, said expanding to the Pease International Tradeport is part of the company’s overall growth strategy.

by Lisa M Ventriss, MPA, President Vermont Business Roundtable While disappointing, the recent announcement that Revision Military had decided to move its official US headquarters to Portsmouth, New Hampshire was not shocking. As a worldwide leader in the manufacture of protective military and law enforcement gear, Revision’s demand for its products means it needs access to a larger talent pool. So proximity to Boston and Pease AFB’s cluster of military tech businesses made great business sense. And there are other examples of companies that have found they cannot expand in Vermont for lack of human capital, and are considering expanding into other regional markets.

Vermont Business Magazine TruexCullins Architecture + Interior Design is celebrating its 50^th anniversary, which was recognized with a reception and design exhibit honoring the firm’s achievements of the past 50 years. The exhibit chronicles the firm’s work from 1968 until the present and is open to the public during business hours at the firm’s design studio at 209 Battery Street in Burlington.

The reception was attended by principal emeriti Bill Truex and Tom Cullins, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, past and present employees, clients, and friends of the firm. “TruexCullins was built on a foundation of creativity and a commitment to design excellence,” said Managing Principal David Epstein, “and we are honored to continue that tradition with the talented and dedicated team we work with today.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently awarded VT Human Resource Association its prestigious EXCEL Platinum Award for the Chapter’s accomplishments in 2017. The award aligns individual chapters’ and state councils’ activities with SHRM’s aspirations for the HR profession. The award recognizes accomplishments and strategic activities and initiatives that enhance the human resource profession.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Public Radio has won two 2018 national Edward R. Murrow Awards for a Brave Little State podcast exploring the history of Vermont’s whiteness and a VPR News story about immigrants seeking asylum in Canada. The Murrow Awards are presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Thursday applauded the FDA decision to review comments in response to its proposed guidance that would require maple syrup, honey and other single-ingredient natural products to carry an ‘added sugar’ label. Welch, joined by Leahy, Sanders, and 18 of their colleagues sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Gottlieb earlier this month asking the FDA to extend the comment period on the proposed labeling and noting that “The simplest, most commonsense solution to this issue would be to exempt single ingredient maple and honey products from the added sugars disclosure requirement because they do not, in fact, contain any added sugars.”

Vermont Business Magazine The bill provides $54.418 billion in discretionary budget authority, including $8 billion in OCO. The allocation is $12.2 billion above the President’s request as scored by CBO, and $400 million above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level.

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, said:

“This bill is an example of the Congress rejecting the divisive, reckless approach to governing of the Trump White House. As in the past, Subcommittee Chairman Graham and I have worked together to respond to the input of Members of both parties in drafting a bill that aims to protect U.S. national interests and preserve U.S. global leadership.

Vermont Business Magazine Community Bank N.A. recently presented The Veterans’ Place with a $500 donation to support the organization’s mission of helping as many veterans as possible get back to a life of independence. Founded in 2010, The Veterans’ Place is a substance-free transitional home that serves homeless veterans. It provides a variety of services, including laundry facilities, transportation, meals, housing, individual weekly case management and assistance with applications for disability. Since its inception, The Veterans’ Place has served more than 240 veterans and has a 73 percent success rate of transitioning homeless veterans to independent living.

Try out camping for free, gear included

Vermont State Parks is excited to launch the new First Time Happy Campers Program at five parks during the months of July and August. Created in partnership with the Outdoor Gear Exchange, this program provides free camping for new campers, whose names will be chosen at random when they register through https://www.vtstateparks.com/happy-camper.html.