Current News

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS There’s a saying in negotiations along the lines of “a good compromise leaves everyone unhappy.” Last week was full of tense negotiations, particularly around the health care reform bill, S.285. While everyone is walking away from that bill sufficiently unhappy, I was struck by what a joy it was to sit in-person around a table for the first time in over two years to hash things out. We’ve accomplished amazing things remotely, but nothing quite compares to the flow of ideas that happens when you’re face-to-face. In process legislation included health care workforce, including help for nurses, and health care reform.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets is pleased to announce $300,000 in sub-awards to five regional nonprofit food hubs as part of a 2021 Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) award. NBRC is a Federal-State partnership to advance economic development and infrastructure in economically distressed counties across Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. In Vermont, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) serves as the State-side of this partnership, identifying those opportunities for NBRC investment that will strengthen the local economy and quality of life for all Vermonters.

by Annette Smith If you have heard of the Clean Heat Standard, the messaging is: it will save you money, reduce fossil fuel consumption and reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions to comply with the Global Warming Solutions Act. Without it, the State of Vermont will be sued! CHS, H.715, is complicated legislation from the House Energy & Technology Committee, the same committee that birthed the GWSA that created the Vermont Climate Council. The proposal places the burden of reducing Vermont consumers’ fossil fuel consumption on “obligated parties:” fuel dealers.

by Janice St Onge “Our mission hasn’t changed,” said Greg Georgaklis, founder of Farmers To You, “but the world has.” Launched in 2009, Farmers To You connects farmers and food producers in Vermont to customers in the Boston area. Similar to a CSA, the platform allows people to buy groceries directly from farmers and small food producers in Vermont, but differs in that customers can order items a-la-carte and pause deliveries as needed. The mission back in 2009 was to create a regional food system—something in between hyper-local and large-scale industrial—that would allow families and farmers to feed and support each other.

Vermont Business Magazine CSX Corp (NASDAQ: CSX) announced April 14 that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved CSX’s application to acquire Pan Am Railways, Inc. CSX will move forward with the acquisition with a planned closing date of June 1, 2022, at which time CSX will acquire control of Pan Am. The rail lines include the Vermont Railway link in Bellows Falls and part of the Amtrak line along the Connecticut River in Vermont. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Vermont Business Magazine Jonathan Goldsmith, best known for his role as The Most Interesting Man in the World in Dos Equis ads, and Tom Bodett, known for his Motel 6 radio commercials and also as a panelist on NPR's "Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me", came together to create a video to support Make-A-Wish. It's part of PajamaGram's effort to raise money for Make-A-Wish chapters around the country through the sale of newly designed Wish Pajamas. The ad, narrated by Bodett, pays tribute to Goldsmith's 50-year career in stage, film, and television while poking a little fun at his most famous and most interesting role in advertising.

Vermont Business Magazine Make-A-Wish Vermont announced Friday that the Hoehl Family Foundation of South Burlington, Vermont, has granted the organization $150,000 to be paid out over the next three years. This is the third grant the Hoehl Family Foundation has gifted Make-A-Wish Vermont. In 2021, funding provided by the Hoehl Family Foundation played a significant role in Noah Ziefrus of Springfield’s wish to resurface his hometown basketball court. Noah’s wish was for future generations to be able to play basketball in his community many years to come.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Student Assistance Corp is offering a free online webinar on how to appeal your financial aid offer, on Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. Students and families can participate via Zoom or by visiting VSAC’s Facebook page. The event also will be recorded and available for viewing later. Appealing financial aid offers for college is not new. Every year, students and families experience unexpected circumstances that impact their original financial aid award package. A loss of a job. An increase in family size. Unanticipated medical expenses and other one-time events.

TruexCullins. April 12, 2022. It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of our co-founder, mentor, and dear friend William H Truex Jr, FAIA. Bill passed away peacefully in his Burlington home on April 10 at the age of 85, with his devoted wife Jill Williams at his side. Bill was a citizen architect in every sense of the word. In 1968 he joined Gene Alexander and founded a new architecture firm, which would merge 4 years later with Bill DeGroot and Tom Cullins. From the very beginning, the firm was focused on urban planning and the design of buildings that serve a public purpose.

by Ena Backus & Dustin Degree Here in the Green Mountain State and across the country, more nurses have left their jobs in the past two years than at any other time in recent history. Chief among the lessons we have learned from this once in a century global health crisis is that we must invest in Vermont’s health care workforce if we are going to manage the avalanche of needs of our aging population and the growing mental health challenges for our communities. Governor Phil Scott’s budget proposal supports nurses living, working, and teaching in Vermont. It includes $3 million in scholarships for prospective nurses, $2 million to assist nurses with loan repayments, and a $1,000 income tax credit for those working and living here as a nurse or nurse educator.

by Rob Roper On the morning of April 15, after weeks of discussion and just hours before they voted 4-1 to advance legislation that would saddle Vermonters with a radical, economy transforming “clean heat standard” for home heating fuels, senators on the Natural Resources & Energy Committee asked a remarkable question: “What do you get to do with a [clean heat] credit when you buy them?” They did not know. They could not really explain.

Leonine Public Affairs Governor Phil Scott drew a not-so-surprising line in the sand this week on both the FY2023 budget and the plan to reform the state’s pension program. On Tuesday the governor issued statements criticizing both bills, saying the legislature focused too much on growing government in the budget and that his input was not considered in formulating S.286, the pension bill. He did not use the word “veto”, but the implication was clear - he will veto both bills if his concerns are not addressed before they reach his desk.