Current News
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine In a statement issued today, the Vermont Regional Center (VRC) will pursue a motion for reconsideration with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding its September 25, 2019 decision affirming the closure of the VRC. The decision to seek a motion for reconsideration was made after consultation with the VRC’s EB-5 counsel and the impacted VRC projects. The VRC plans to file the motion on October 25, 2019 and will make the motion publicly available at that time, the statement said.
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Vermont Business Magazine Efficiency Vermont and Vermont Technical College (VTC) are launching a new partnership to help grow Vermont’s weatherization workforce. This week, contractors from around the state will gather at VTC to participate in the Building Performance Institute's (BPI) Building Analyst Certification training free of charge. Successfully completing this course will allow these contractors to become partners in Efficiency Vermont's Home Performance with EnergyStar weatherization program.
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New non-profit subsidiary to provide malpractice insurance across the network
Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network has completed the process of relocating its captive insurance company to Vermont. The VMC Indemnity Company, LTD, board of directors voted unanimously in 2017 to relocate the health network subsidiary that provides medical malpractice insurance coverage for its medical providers. The decision came after a thorough analysis conducted by the health network that showed the UVM Health Network could continue to provide cost-effective coverage to our providers while locating it in Vermont.
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Path forward recommends public-private partnership
Vermont Business Magazine The College of St Joseph, Vermont Works, Vermont Innovation Commons and its partners have concluded a feasibility study for the College of St Joseph, and have identified an opportunity for a reimagined College and campus to move forward. The recommendation of the study is to form a public-private partnership to invest in and renovate a campus and establish programs to support businesses and entrepreneurs while leveraging the federally recognized Opportunity Zone in which the campus is located.
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by Olga Peters Boarded up windows. Piles of dirt. A chain link fence stretching the length of the empty Putnam Hotel at Bennington’s “Four Corners” intersection. At the heart of Bennington’s downtown, the Putnam Hotel had succumbed to a fate common in rural America. Dying industries, changing demographics, and a struggling economy had stripped the building’s glory leaving it empty and depleted. Not anymore.
by tim
by Olga Peters Large projects like the Putnam Block can create ripples of confidence. Bob Stevens, of Stevens & Associates, said that when people see the investments people are making, and they see things improving. They become more willing to make their own investments figuring that the market is becoming stronger and will pay their investments back. Stevens is part of the Bennington Redevelopment Group. He helped lead the rehabilitation of the Brooks House in Brattleboro after a fire in 2011.
by tim
by Olga Peters “The unicorn program.” That is how a recent student with the Bennington Rescue Squad described the organization’s year-long apprenticeship program. Bill Camarda, Deputy Executive Director, oversees the only EMS apprenticeship program registered with the state of Vermont.
by tim
by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine It’s difficult to describe the Vermont Law School without using words like “bucolic” and “tranquil.” Set in tiny South Royalton in the heart of rural Vermont, the state’s private, stand-alone law school leads the country in environmental law and is proud of its mission-driven student body and faculty — so mission-driven, in fact, that they usually find themselves on the lower end of the earning scale for lawyers, meaning they can’t provide the school with the impressive endowments that, say, are enjoyed by Yale or Harvard.
In response to the lawsuit filed by Vermont, New York, Connecticut, and the City of New York, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today granted anationwide preliminary injunction stopping the Trump Administration’s new “public charge” rule from taking effect. The rule, which was scheduled to take effect on October 15, 2019, would have expanded the current “public charge” policies. The change would have allowed the federal government to consider if an individual has received public assistance, or is likely to seek public assistance, when considering the individual’s entry into the country or application for a green card. The public assistance programs considered in the rule would have included Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT), and Section 8.
Vermont Business Magazine The Snelling Center for Government is pleased to announce the Vermont Leadership Institute Class of 2020. The Class of 2020 is comprised of 22 leaders from across the state who represent a wide variety of organizations from the public, private and non-profit sectors:
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Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers increased last week, but still remained under 300 claims. Summer typically brings very low claim levels and these have slipped into fall. Initial claims for the week of October 5, 2019, totaled 279, up 30 from last week but 51 fewer than they were at this time last year. Altogether 2,115 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 46 from a week ago, and 318 fewer than a year ago.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger, joined by a coalition of environmental and business leaders, proposed a statewide carbon pollution fee that would cut emissions by 37 percent by 2040 when combined with existing clean energy policies, create new jobs, and boost state economic growth. The Mayor’s proposal is based on a newly-completed component of the City’s Net Zero Energy Roadmap, first released publicly last month, and demonstrates that putting a price on carbon would have broad economic and environmental benefits for Vermonters. Further, Mayor Weinberger also announced that Burlington will continue to lead by example by becoming one of the first cities in the nation to apply an internal carbon price when evaluating future decisions about investment in the City’s fleet and building heating systems.