Current News

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine You can keep your Ben & Jerry's. For my money, there couldn't be a more iconic business in Vermont than Vermont Teddy Bear. They're soft, they're cuddly — they're teddy bears, for heaven's sake — they come from Vermont and they're shipped around the world.

Vermont Business Magazine The state unemployment rate dropped to 2.3 percent in March, a historic low and again tied for the lowest rate in the nation. The current seasonally-adjusted estimate of 7,971 unemployed Vermonters is the lowest monthly estimate since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics online historical series started in 1976. Vermont General Fund revenues bounced back in March, notably for the vital personal income tax, but uncertainty continues as to how refunds ultimately will play out in April through June, which will mark the end of the fiscal year. The State has reached a final agreement with Saint-Gobain for the properties on Bennington’s east side affected by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination. As part of the agreement, 245 homes on the east side of Bennington are eligible to receive municipal water service. In total, the state has now secured the extension of waterlines to 470 homes or businesses in Bennington and North Bennington. AND MORE...

​Vermont Business Magazine In honor of National Stop the Bleed Day (May 23, 2019) Rutland Regional Medical Center will be offering FREE, One Hour, Stop the Bleed Trainings, Thursday, May 23, at 8am, Noon, and 4pm in the CVPS/Leahy Community Health Education Center in Conference Rooms A &B. These trainings will be conducted by Sheena Daniel, RN, BSN, CEN -Emergency Room Manager at RRMC, and Ryn Gluckman, BSN, RN, and CEN. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott took the following actions on bills between May 11, 2019 and May 17, 2019.

Public Assets Institute Vermont has gone from a record high of 25,059 people unemployed in May 2009 to a record low of 7,565 unemployed last month. But fewer jobless has not meant more employed. The number of Vermonters at work increased by just 2,782 in the same period, meaning that the labor force—the total of everyone working or actively looking for work—shrank by more than 14,000.

Slow GDP growth

Vermont Business Magazine Matt Seaholm, the executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, released the following statement after a Vermont General Assembly conference committee approved a proposal to ban plastic bags in the state. If this proposal is signed into law, Vermont shoppers will see an influx of thicker plastic, nonrecyclable bags stamped “Made in China.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Land Enterprise Board (WLEB) has announced the annual 2019 Ski Vermont Grant – awarded through the Working Lands Enterprise Fund will be given to KJ Pratt Logging and Tree Service, LLC, of Jericho. The $15,000 grant will be used to help KJ Pratt acquire a firewood processor, to expand the low-grade wood division of its business. KJ Pratt currently rents one yet experiences a high demand for wood. In order to keep up with that demand, the Working Lands grant is timely to prevent further roadblocks with deliveries.

Vermont Business Magazine Today RepRepresentative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) led a bipartisan letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue demanding that he increase trade war relief payments to dairy farmers. Welch and the legislators assert in the letter that the current trade mitigation program has failed to fairly compensate dairy farmers slammed by retaliatory tariffs.

“While we appreciate the Administration’s efforts to assist producers with damages they have incurred due to retaliatory tariffs, the amount of assistance directed to dairy producers in previous trade relief efforts was inadequate,” wrote the legislators. “We encourage you to increase dairy assistance to a level that more accurately reflects the damages dairy farmers have faced.”

Vermont Business Magazine At a press conference Thursday, Governor Phil Scott reflected on the 2019 legislative session, praising lawmakers for working with him to ensure civility, even in areas of disagreement. Below is a full transcript of Governor Scott’s remarks plus video.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed legislation Thursday making Vermont the 14th state in the nation to raise the age of sale for tobacco products to 21. The law, known as Tobacco 21, was approved on April 30 2019, by the General Assembly and is expected to decrease the rate of tobacco use among teens by 12 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont will celebrate its 218th commencement on Sunday, May 19. While Sunday’s forecast is calling for rain showers, it does not indicate severe weather, therefore the university's main commencement ceremony and College of Arts and Sciences ceremony will take place outdoors on the university green. 

Graduates and guests are urged to dress appropriately for the weather. Tickets will not be required for the main ceremony or the College of Arts and Sciences ceremony.

Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, an internationally renown philanthropic foundation, will deliver the commencement address at the main ceremony.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets (VAAFM), Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the US Commercial Service are participating in the National Restaurant Association Show on Saturday, May 18th to Tuesday, May 21nd in Chicago, Illinois. Along with state officials, seven Vermont craft food and beverage businesses will be participating various activities associated with the trade show.