Current News

Leonine Public Affairs As the work day drew to a close late on Tuesday afternoon the members of the House Judiciary Committee filed into the House chamber to take testimony from supporters and opponents on H.610. The bill would require alleged domestic abusers who have been served with a restraining order to relinquish their firearms. At the same time people from all over Vermont poured into the statehouse to weigh in at the public hearing. Additional security staff began segregating the opposing sides into two lines up the spiral stairways to the chamber.

Vermont Business Magazine The Scott Administration will be in Essex County on Monday, February 24 for its Capitol for a Day initiative, a 14-county tour launched by the Governor in 2018. Capitol for a Day gives local constituents, municipal government leaders and other partners the opportunity to connect directly with state leadership and staff.

“I’m really looking forward to visiting Essex County again, as it’s a top example of why we’ve undertaken this initiative,” said Governor Scott. “Capitol for a Day is about listening to those we don’t get to hear from every day in Montpelier. We need to understand how policies impact Essex, Orleans, Bennington and other counties differently than they do in Chittenden or Washington counties.”

Follow along on social media using the #VTCapitol4aDay hashtag.

WHEN: Monday, February 24

Vermont Business Magazine When Richard Schneider took over as Norwich University president in 1992 he knew he needed to make cuts to get the university back on solid financial ground. The college was $3 million in the red on what was only a $30 million budget. But he acknowledges now that those cuts were a mistake. Not because he made them, but because he did not make them deep enough.

The cuts to programs and, painfully to staff, eventually put the nation’s oldest private military college back on track (see story). But it took too long to get there. He says you must fully do what needs to be done because you’ll only get one good crack at it. Going back will be even more painful with a less efficient result.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southern Vermont Economic Summit, day-long event will be held on Thursday, May 28th at the Grand Summit Resort at Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont. Registration can be found at www.SoVermontZone.com. The theme is “Power in Numbers”. The 2020 Summit will feature two outstanding keynote speakers.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims, which had shown a steady decline since the beginning of the year, increased slightly last week. Initial claims for the week of February 15, 2020, were 543, up 68. Claims were 64 more than they were at this time last year.

Vermont Business Magazine Springfield Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) has launched the new Springfield Area Revolving Loan Fund, which is a source of debt financing for small and medium-size companies in Southern Windsor County, as well as those looking to start a business. The Springfield Area Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) utilizes funds from the Economic Development Administration to complement other funding sources in helping area companies to create and retain jobs as well as stimulate the creation and relocation of new businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine Two Vermont National Guard Soldiers leave Saturday to assist in developing two potential natural disaster scenarios, with their focus on planning and logistical issues faced in a real-world crisis. The development process will occur next week, with subsequent supporting events scheduled over the year.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine State tax collections were solid last month as corporate taxes and motor vehicle receipts bounced back from December results and exceeded expectations. The sales tax, however, slumped against expectations. Vermont’s revenue results for January 2020 show that the General and Transportation Funds were above their target for the month while Education Funds were slightly lower than their respective target, with the sales tax being the principal culprit. General Fund revenues collected for the month totaled $178.71 million, 2.39% or $4.18 million above the monthly consensus revenue target.

Vermont Business Magazine With interest growing in local food systems as a community development tool, scholars and practitioners are looking for methods to count progress toward benchmarks. A new article, Counting Local Food Consumption: Longitudinal Data and Lessons from Vermont, released by the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD) reports on efforts to count local food consumption as part of Vermont’s statewide strategic plan for food systems development.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont House approved H.688, the Global Warming Solutions Act, on a vote of 105-37. The bill establishes greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements and deadlines for action. H.688 creates a roadmap to a coordinated, coherent strategy for Vermont to build more resilient communities and reduce our greenhouse gas pollution.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today announced a settlement with three Genesis Healthcare subsidiary-operated nursing homes in Vermont – Burlington Health & Rehab, St Johnsbury Health & Rehab, and Berlin Health & Rehab – resolving allegations of neglect that resulted in serious injury to three residents and the death of a fourth. Each of these incidents was related to inadequate staff training and orientation, the use of visiting or third-party contractors, and the failure to adequately document and monitor the delivery of resident care services. The settlement requires the Centers to pay $740,143 in damages and penalties to the State of Vermont, create a new Patient Care Coordinator position, and engage the services of an independent monitor to review the quality of care provided by each facility.