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Vermont Business Magazine Rachel Siegel, Executive Director of Peace & Justice Center in Burlington, Vermont will step down in June after seven years leading the organization, the board announced today.

by Representative Jill Krowinski, House Majority Leader Last week, Vermonters from all corners of the state returned to the State House for the 2020 legislative session. The Speaker kicked off the first day with her vision to create an economy that works for everyone, not just a select few. Vermont faces its share of challenges and opportunities. We have a plan of action to give all Vermonters a fair shot and ensure a strong Vermont future.

Vermont Business Magazine A popular excursion boat on Lake Champlain owned by Mesa Leasing, Ltd, is receiving an upgrade to reduce its environmental impact. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Diesel Emissions Reduction Program awarded $268,073 to Mesa Leasing, Ltd. to replace four unregulated, heavily polluting diesel engines powering the Spirit of Ethan Allen III. This grant is the single largest Vermont Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant ever awarded. The project will improve air quality along the Burlington waterfront, protect public health, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont licensed twenty-two new captive insurance companies in 2019, according to data released by the Department of Financial Regulation. The Department has licensed a total of 1,159 captive insurance companies since the 1980s and now regulates 585 licensed captives, making Vermont the largest U.S. domicile for captive insurance by a wide margin and third largest domicile in the world. In 2019, the Legislature passed, and Governor Phil Scott signed new legislation to modernize and strengthen captive insurance regulations.

Vermont Business Magazine US Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) announced today that his long-time chief of staff, Bob Rogan, will retire at the end of February. Replacing Rogan as chief of staff will be Patrick Satalin, Welch’s deputy chief of staff. Satalin first joined Welch’s staff in 2011 and has served in various roles since, including legislative director, before being promoted in 2015 to deputy chief of staff. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, he worked for the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration and for a national accounting firm. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School and a bachelor of arts degree in media and communications studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Vermont Business Magazine On Monday morning, Rebecca Holcombe’s campaign for governor issued a list of 15 initial endorsements, including 13 current legislators representing districts in 10 of Vermont’s 14 counties.

Vermont Business Magazine The Google Open Source Programs Office, a division of Google that manages Google’s use and release of open source software and promotes open source programming, has provided the University of Vermont (UVM) Complex Systems Center a $1 million unrestricted gift to support open source research. The goal of the UVM project is to deepen understanding of how people, teams and organizations thrive in technology-rich settings, especially in open-source projects and communities. The Google award will establish a collaboration between the Google Open Source team and UVM to begin building a community-oriented body of research focused on understanding how open source platforms are used and what makes technology-rich environments thrive.

Vermont Business Magazine Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman early Monday sent an email announcing that he would run for governor. Several media outlets said last week that he would do so. The formal announcement, Zuckerman said, will come via his campaign Facebook page at 11 am.

Progressive Zuckerman, from Hinesburg, is a two-term lieutenant governor. Democrat Rebecca Holcombe previously announced her candidacy. Republican Governor Phil Scott is expected to seek a third term but has not made a formal announcement.

As part of the fallout from Zuckerman's decision is that Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe said he would run for lieutenant governor, as Zuckerman seeks to move up the ladder.

No incumbent governor has lost re-election in 60 years.

Leonine Public Affairs The 2020 legislative session started with a bang. The second year of the biennium usually ramps up faster than the first year - committees are already appointed and many bills are already introduced and on the schedule for consideration - but week one of 2020 was all about the November election. On Tuesday reports came out that Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman intends to run for governor. That news alone creates a huge dynamic shift in the legislature. That shift was magnified by the prospect of an open seat in the lieutenant governor’s office, which prompted an announcement by Senate President Tim Ashe that he intends to run to succeed Zuckerman. The ripple effect (and the speculation about who is running for what) was immediate.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) has negotiated an extension to the construction schedule for the North Hero – Grand Isle Drawbridge to address the unanticipated soil contamination that has been encountered while also ensuring a high-quality final product.

Vermont Business Magazine The Hoehl Family Foundation has awarded $75,000 to End of Life Services in support of their mission to provide compassionate care for those at the end of life. End of Life Services believes that every person should be able to die in comfort and with dignity. In partnership with the community, End of Life Services supports patients, families, friends, and caregivers before, during and after the dying process. End of Life Services advocates for compassionate end of life care by providing volunteers, bereavement support, music and other therapeutic practices, education for the community, training for the providers, and options for those who are unable to complete their lives in their own home.

Vermont Business Magazine Social Security phone scammers go to great lengths to trick people out of their personal information and money. They might use robocalls or live callers and in a new twist, they are now sending fake documents by email to convince people to comply with their demands.