Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Friday announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $20 million to repair certain high-risk dams, including the Waterbury Dam, in the Senate’s annual Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The bill was unanimously reported by the committee on Thursday and must be approved by the full Congress and signed into law by the President. 

Leahy said: “The Waterbury Dam and the Waterbury Reservoir draw people from around Vermont and around the country to appreciate our Green Mountain State.  Tropical Storm Irene once again proved how crucial the Waterbury Dam is to the safety and resilience of the surrounding towns.  I am glad the Committee has supported my effort to once again provide the Army Corps of Engineers with the funds it needs to make much-needed repairs to this important piece of Vermont’s infrastructure.”

Vermont Business Magazine Chris Thompson will step down as the executive director of the Burlington maker space Generator at the end of the calendar year, the organization announced. Thompson will rejoin the Generator board at that time. A founding member of Generator, Thompson served as executive director since 2017, moving the organization from a start-up to a financially stable mature organization.

His accomplishments during his term of office were many. He refined Generator’s business model; created a healthy reserve fund; revamped staffing; greatly expanded community relationships and partnerships; increased programming; launched a highly successful entrepreneurial boot camp and free, public lecture series; oversaw an expansion to over 11,500 square feet; and improved operating and administrative systems, in the process earning the wide respect of the maker community.

Vermont Business Magazine Bruegger’s Bagels co-founder Nordahl Brue and his wife Suzanne Brue have made a gift of $1.5 million to New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) to endow the creation of a family history learning center where visitors from all backgrounds can learn more about their ancestry. Bruegger’s originated in Burlington in 1983.

Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, Peter Welch Back-to-school season has begun across America. Millions of children have returned to classrooms, ready to start a new school year. Now, thanks to the Trump Administration, hundreds of thousands of struggling families —including many Vermonters — may have to worry about how they will be able to afford their child’s lunch every day.

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute Vermont dropped a few notches from the previous year, but it still ranked as the 8th best state in 2019 when it comes to pay and legal protections for workers. The ranking was done by Oxfam America in its report: “Best and Worst States to Work in America.” In 2018, the first year Oxfam published its Best States to Work Index (BSWI), Vermont was ranked 5th. However, Vermont and Maine switched places on the index this year, in large part because Maine now has a higher minimum wage ($11.00 an hour) than Vermont ($10.78).

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington School District (BSD) has announced the 2019-2020 guidelines for free and reduced lunches within the District. This notice pertains to those students at Burlington High School (BHS), Champlain and Edmunds Elementary (EES) schools, and Edmunds Middle School (EMS). All students at Hunt Middle School (HMS) and CP Smith, JJ Flynn, Integrated Arts Academy (IAA) and Sustainability Academy (SA) elementary schools will continue to receive all meals free as these schools participate in the USDA Community Eligibility Provision.

Breakfast at all schools remains free for all students. Lunch is $3.25 at BHS, and $2.25 at Champlain, EES, and EMS. Students at BHS, EES, EMS, and Champlain may qualify for free meals or reduced-price meals. As in years past, families qualifying for reduced price meals will continue to receive these meals at no charge, with  BSD covering the reduced price for those meals.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Appropriations Committee Republicans Thursday rejected an amendment offered by Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Vice Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill) meant to protect funding appropriated for the military and military families from being raided by President Trump to pay for an ineffective, vanity wall along the southern border. 

Leahy said: “The power of the purse is the Constitutional cornerstone of the separation of powers.  But this President has continually disregarded this Congress and subverted our Constitution for a failed campaign promise he said that Mexico would pay for.  I’m disappointed that my colleagues refused to take a stand today for the Constitution, the Congress or their constituents.” 

Vermont Business Magazine A new study based on just-released US Census Bureau data shows Charlotte has the highest median household income in Vermont. When determining where you want to live there are few factors more important than the average household income of the area. Higher incomes bring more money for school districts, local government services, and more consumer spending for local businesses.

UnitedStatesZipCodes.org released the Vermont Zip Codes With the Highest Household Income based on the latest Census Bureau data.

Vermont State Police On Tuesday April 30th, 2019 Troopers from the Vermont State Police Middlesex barracks received a report of a theft at Thomas Engineering Associates in Waitsfield, VT. Subsequent investigation led to the discovery that part-time bookkeeper Andrea Wheelock had given herself unauthorized raises and written company checks to herself.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan issued the following statement today regarding the state's decision to reject an offer by the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma which markets the pharmaceutical opioid OxyContin: "The State of Vermont rejected the settlement offer from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for the following reasons. First, the offer is not fully developed and we want to be certain that any benefit is not illusory. The value of the settlement is not fully guaranteed. It has been reported that the total value of the offer is $10-12 billion. That is incorrect. Only a fraction is guaranteed. Vermont demands more certainty and guarantees regarding the money in order to effectively address the opioids crisis in Vermont."

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board announced today it has approved Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budgets for Vermont’s 14 regulated hospitals. The Board provided the hospitals with instructions outlining budget parameters and submission guidelines that included a target of 3.5 percent for growth in net patient revenue from the FY 2019 base to FY 2020 budgets. The GMCB approved an estimated weighted average increase in hospital charges of 3.1 percent. The Board also reduced the system-wide increase in net patient revenue from a requested 4.6 percent to 4.3 percent, totaling a $7.3 million difference.

The Board will issue written hospital budget decisions and orders no later than October 1, 2019.  

The GMCB held a series of public meetings, and after a thorough review of the budgets by the Board’s staff and input from the Office of the Health Care Advocate and Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival has now won the Vermont Chamber’s Top 10 Summer Event designation ten times in its history, which means that beginning in 2020, the Festival becomes a Time-Honored Top 10 Event for the rest of its existence! The Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed over 16,000 visitors to the 2019 Southern Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival on Labor Day Weekend this year, smashing the previously recorded record for the festival of 15,000.