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Vermont Business Magazine Kinney Drugs has earned special recognition for 2019 as the #2 fundraiser in the country from the American Heart Association. Kinney raised $41,000 through a month-long in-store National Wear Red Day fundraising campaign. Wear Red Day, the first Friday in February, is the American Heart Association’s campaign that encourages employees in businesses across the U.S. to wear red and donate $5 to help fight heart disease in women. For its 2019 campaign, Kinney employees, customers, partners, vendors and its general community all donated critical funds for research and for people living with heart disease and stroke.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott Monday evening vetoed S.23, a bill that would have mandated an increase to Vermont’s minimum wage. The governor already this year vetoed a mandatory paid leave bill, which was sustained by a single vote in a contentious House action at the end of last week.

Vermont Business Magazine A second high ranking member of the Burlington Police Department has stepped down as part of the fallout from the resignation of former police chief Brandon Del Pozo over misuse of a social media account. Deputy Chief Jan Wright had at first been appointed by Mayor Miro Weinberger as acting chief in December after Del Pozo had resigned for creating a fake Twitter account in order to taunt a frequent critic of his and the department's.

But Wright then admitted to her own fake Facebook account that first led to her suspension and eventually to Monday evening's forced resignation, when her anonymous social media use turned out to be more widespread than she initially admitted to.

In response to the resignation of Wright, Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement Monday evening:

Senator Patrick Leahy For the fourth year in a row, President Trump has sent Congress a reckless and cynical budget proposal that is divorced from reality and, if implemented, would do more harm than good. The President continues his attack on affordable health care, proposing cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, which millions of American’s rely on to ensure they can see a doctor when they need one.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont 211 will celebrate its fifteenth anniversary February 11, 2020, with a Joint Legislative Proclamation and an afternoon coffee break from 1:30 pm–3 pm in the Vermont State House cafeteria. February 11 also is celebrated internationally every year as 211 Day. As a free, 24/7 information and referral service, 211 provides unmatched, critical services. Every day, Vermonters contact 211 for confidential help to access crisis and emergency counseling, disaster assistance, food, health care and insurance assistance, stable housing and utilities payment assistance, employment services, veteran services, and childcare and family services.

Vermont Business Magazine An update of Vermont Solar Pathways Report shows that solar progress in Vermont has declined steadily over the last three years. The current annual installation rate would not be sufficient to reach the 20 percent by 2025 Solar Pathways target.

“The update sends a mixed message,” said the study’s lead author, David Hill, PhD. “On one hand the growth rates required to meet the target are attainable, and have been demonstrated in the period from 2014 to 2019 in both Vermont and national markets. During the last three years Vermont’s solar market has seen declines that if not corrected will fall well short of the solar pathway potential.”

Vermont Business Magazine Everyone needs to eat. Simple, right? Food, a basic necessity, seems so straightforward, but for many Vermonters, getting affordable and nutritious food can be difficult. From children to older Vermonters, the difficulties in getting enough food that is affordable and nutritious are many. The Vermont Farm to Plate Network recently launched a Local Planning for Food Access Toolkit, a free resource focused on improving food access through municipal and regional plans.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University officials announced today that the five-year $100 million bicentennial campaign, “Forging the Future,” concluded at the end of 2019 and far exceeded the goal, raising $121,239,000. The campaign was launched at Homecoming in 2014 and its end was timed to coincide with the university’s bicentennial, which was celebrated all throughout 2019 with special events on campus, in Vermont and across the country with alumni clubs. The campaign’s original goal of $100 million was exceeded a year early, so in January 2019 trustees raised the goal to $110 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Kalow Technologies has added the following services and upgrades and is expanding to Rutland. Kalow continues to grow and integrate its’ over 30+ year custom contract manufacturing, engineering and sheet metal fabrication services, currently in North Clarendon. They are adding high quality powder coating – and – a brand new, state of the art sand blast process to their offerings. They are currently upgrading and renovating 86,000 square feet at 155 Seward Road in Rutland, VT, for a well-executed move anticipated to take place over the next few months.

Leonine Public Affairs Advocates and legislators on the left worked to keep the 51 votes needed to sustain the veto. These groups felt the bill was fundamentally flawed because it did not guarantee paid leave for one’s own illness or injury, and created a privately administered program. Also pushing to sustain the veto were House Republicans and Governor Phil Scott’s staff. They opposed the bill because it raised $29 million in new payroll taxes. This was one of those issues that makes for strange bedfellows.

Vermont Business Magazine On February 5, New Breed became a member of the newly-announced Elite tier of HubSpot's Solutions Partner Program. New Breed is one of only six partners to achieve this program level. The new invite-only Elite tier is for partners who are true extensions of the HubSpot team. To reach this level, Partners must have proven their mastery of maximizing the value customers gain from the HubSpot platform.