Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In May 2019, the State of Vermont is offering the opportunity to win two $5,000 scholarships for attendance at a Vermont college or university. One scholarship is sponsored by Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), which provides an array of grant, scholarship, and loan programs for students. The second scholarship is sponsored by the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges (AVIC). College scholarships are paid directly to the educational institution in the entrant’s account to be used for tuition and/or books for the Spring 2020 session.

To be eligible to enter, you must be admitted to a Vermont college or university and by June 1, 2019, commit to attend full-time (12 credit hours or more per semester) in a graduate or undergraduate program. Entrants must have committed to a Vermont college or university between January 1, 2019 and June 1, 2019.

Vermont State Police Police charged 19 year old James Luce of Quechee with 1st Degree Aggravated Domestic Assault, Aggravated Assault, Reckless Endangerment, and Resisting Arrest overnight as a result of events that occurred at the residence located at 4536 Quechee West Hartford Road.Just after 7pm Sunday night, Hartford Police were dispatched to 4536 Quechee West Hartford Road for a domestic assault where the suspect was alleged to have a shotgun in his possession. While enroute to the home, police received updated information that the man had fired the shotgun at the house and fled on foot into the nearby woods. The suspect received minor injuries in an officer-involved shooting.

Vermont Business Magazine Community Bank NA recently presented a $1,000 donation to Pathways Vermont to support its annual fundraising breakfast, to be held May 30 at the South Burlington DoubleTree Conference Center. All proceeds from the event will further Pathways Vermont’s mission to transform the lives of Vermonters experiencing mental health and other life challenges by supporting self-directed roads to recovery and wellness in an atmosphere of dignity, respect, choice and hope.

Photo (left to right): Community Bank N.A. Commercial Banking Officer David Blow and Pathways Vermont Development Director Patrick Gallagher.

Vermont Business Magazine US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will present 31 citizenship candidates to the US District Court for Vermont at a ceremony at Neshobe School in Brandon on Tuesday. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Colleen A Brown will preside over the ceremony and administer the Oath of Allegiance. Students of the school will participate in the ceremony. The Neshobe school 5^th and 6^th grade Chorus will perform special musical selections together with local women’s chorus, “Maiden Vermont.” Neshobe School’s 5^thgrade class will recite the Preamble to the Constitution.

Leonine Public Affairs This is typically the point in the legislative session when things change quickly. Friday was supposed to be the day that morning committees shut down in the Senate which helps motivate legislators to compromise and move bills. While the morning committees will meet briefly next week, the notion of quick change is proving to be true again this year. Several tier-one policy bills that appeared to be stalled out ended up moving, like the tax and regulate bill, and some substantial changes to Vermont’s tax policies are being made very late in the process. More on those tax changes later in the newsletter. 

Like last year, two issues that appear to be linked to one another may ultimately determine if the session adjourns on time. The minimum wage bill and the paid family leave bill are two priorities for the legislature but its not clear which is the top priority for each chamber. Governor Scott also weighed in and stated that he may be willing to reach a compromise on minimum wage. This could be a sign that there is deal between the governor, Senate and House to pass bills in some form that is acceptable to all of them. This would certainly continue the primary theme of this session which is to put the negativity of the previous biennium in the rearview mirror.

by Kevin B Jones, PhD, Vermont Law School New England is home to some of the first and finest colleges and universities in the nation. We are also the home of the nation’s first offshore wind farm. But this small, five-turbine 30 megawatt (MW) facility off the coast of Block Island, R.I. is just the beginning. Thanks to the leadership of the New England states, hundreds, and hopefully thousands, more megawatts of offshore wind are coming soon.

Vermont Business Magazine United States Senator Tammy Baldwin will deliver the 44th Commencement address at Vermont Law School on Saturday, May 11. In addition to honoring Baldwin, the school will confer honorary degrees upon Collin O’Mara, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, and Judge Peter W Hall, Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

by John Goodrich The legislature is working toward mandating a universal $15/hour minimum wage. I have been in a position to see the real effects of such a step. For many years I led a major St Johnsbury manufacturing firm with as many as 300+ employees and as interim CEO at a St Albans plant of 160 employees. Proudly, we paid attractive wages, plus benefits, to promote strong work forces at both sites. From my experience I can testify that the desired outcomes of a mandated minimum wage would be perversely harmful to those needing a job and a wage.

Vermont Business Magazine Strolling of the Heifers’ annual culinary competition aims to find the tastiest and best-looking Coffee Cake or Sweet Bread in New England! It’s time for amateur and professional bakers to fire up their ovens and bring us their best, most original Coffee Cake or Sweet Bread recipe! The deadline is now midnight on May 24. Finalists will be notified by May 31.

Vermont Business Magazine Dive deep into the best of documentary filmmaking every month with Sunday Best, a new film screening and discussion series from Vermont PBS and the Vermont International Film Festival (VTIFF). Documentary films inspire valuable community conversation, and Vermont PBS and VTIFF believe it is important to give them a regular home though this series. Every second Sunday of the Month beginning in May, Sunday Best will showcase documentary films from Independent Lens, POV, America ReFramed, and other Vermont PBS series, as well as local and regional films selected by Vermont PBS and VTIFF. Award-winning films selected for the series aim to highlight a prominent social or cultural issue such as immigration, the environment, gender, race, economics, and much more. Screening attendees will see films before their broadcast premieres.

Vermont Business Magazine H.N. Williams in Dorset has announced that Phase 1 of their expansion plan –preparing the terrain for the addition of gas pumps and the construction of a 3,200 sq. foot addition - is near completion. This first phase of three included demolition of a building, blasting through ledge, installation of underground gas holding tanks, and the laying of concrete. Phase 1 has utilized the efforts and expertise of several local companies and agencies including T.A.M., Mach’s Blasting, CPI Concrete, Star Construction, Leggett Custom Homes, Pete Haggarty Construction, and the Dorset Volunteer Fire Department.