Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Bennington College’s Fall 2019 Visual Arts Lecture Series (VALS) centers on the theme “Indigeneity, Subjectivity, and Medium in Contemporary Art” with lectures from Cosmo Whyte ’05, Terran Last Gun, Genevieve Gaignard, ERRE, Candice Hopkins, and Sara Emsaki. All lectures are free, open to the public, and will take place from 7:00 - 8:30 PM in Tishman Lecture Hall on the College’s campus.

Vermont Business Magazine Four employee-owned Vermont businesses participated in CVOEO’s September 14 Pull Against Poverty Tug of War fundraising event – helping to raise over $8,000 for the Good Food Truck which serves free healthy meals in the summer to children in neighborhoods where needed.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan announced that his office joined 22 other states, the District of Columbia and the nation’s two largest cities to file a lawsuit challenging a major component of the federal government’s plan to roll back greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. The lawsuit challenges the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) declaration that California’s greenhouse gas emission standards, which have been adopted by Vermont and 11 other states in addition to California, are preempted by federal law. California’s greenhouse gas emission standards would dramatically reduce the emissions from automobiles into our environment.

Senator Patrick Leahy It hit hard when Marcelle and I learned of the sudden loss of our dear, dear friend, Paul Bruhn. Our hearts ache for Colleen and for all who knew and loved him. He is one of the finest Vermonters I ever worked with, and one of the dearest and best friends we have both had, and we loved him.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Pico Mountain announced today the Land Use Permit has been approved as part of major upgrades to its snowmaking system. Starting in the 2019-20 season guests will experience a better, more consistent and more reliable snow surface.

Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies Vermont gets pegged for a lot of things: great mountains, bucolic pastures, stunning foliage… and for a lacking economy that struggles to retain talent, forcing people to find jobs elsewhere. A report issued today by the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) tells a different story.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine General Funds were below target for August, while Transportation and Education Funds were above targets, reversing a trend. Personal income tax receipts for many months have been pushing the state into a surplus. But the PI failed to meet expectations by more than $2 million for the month. All three of the major taxes were off for the month. The year-to-date GF target is still ahead of schedule.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers again fell to a low level last week. Summer typically  brings very low claim levels and these are lower than usual. Initial claims for the week of September 14, 2019, totaled 240, down 31 from last week and 116 fewer than they were at this time last year. Altogether 2,144 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 57 from a week ago, and 317 fewer than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine According to household data released today from the Vermont Department of Labor, the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for August was 2.1 percent. This reflects no change from the revised July rate. The release of the new data on Vermont households disrupts the previous trend of eight consecutive months of rising number of employed persons and rising labor force. Employment also fell and the jobless number increased. Still, the rate remains at its historic low.

Vermont Business Magazine Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA) will host its annual Incarceration in America conference from October 4 - 5. The conference will include panel discussions on getting women off Rikers Island and designing a new women’s jail, with panelists from the Women's Community Justice Association, and panelists from The Osborne Association will discuss older prisoners, long-term prisoners, clemency, parole, post-release housing, and the role of children.

Vermont Business Magazine Act 83 of 2019 directed the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets to convene a Soil Conservation Practice and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group. The purpose of this Working Group is to recommend financial incentives designed to encourage farmers in Vermont to implement agricultural practices that improve soil health, enhance crop resilience, increase carbon storage and stormwater storage capacity, and reduce agricultural runoff to waters.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Under a rare sun of late summer, two F-35s of the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th fighter wing came roaring out of the West at 1:20 pm to a smattering of applause, circled Burlington International Airport, simulated a couple of touch-and-goes and finally landed at their home base for the first time. They sported a VT and Guard logo on the tail and a new symbol for a new mission on the fuselage, the Yellow Scorpions. The question of how loud they are cannot yet be answered until they eventually take off, but one observer offered that they sounded "throatier" than their predecessors the F-16s, while another said they didn't seem louder, "just different."