Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A newly released report by The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law has found that automatic voter registration (AVR) has markedly increased the number of voters being registered, ranging in increases from 9 to 94 percent, in several states across the country that have  implemented it.

“Automatic voter registration is common-sense, good policy,” said Secretary Condos. “Not only has it been shown to increase voter registration rates and improve voter access in both red states and blue states, it helps generate more accurate voter registration data, and saves states both time and money.”

Vermont Business Magazine Heavy rain and snowmelt has caused sharp rises in rivers throughout the state. A number of state and local roads have been flooded and motorists are encouraged to respect all detours and stay off flooded roads. The Vermont Emergency Operations Center in Waterbury is activated to assist municipalities in flood response. Representatives from Vermont Emergency Management, Vermont Fire Safety, Vermont Search and Rescue, Agency of Transportation, Vermont State Police, National Guard, Agency of Human Services, and the Red Cross are working with towns.

“The health and safety of Vermonters is our number one priority today,” Governor Phil Scott said. “State personnel and our partners are working with local responders to that end, and the public can take simple steps to keep themselves safe – we are encouraging everyone to use caution and common sense around floodwaters.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment today releases a new report, “Improving the Cybersecurity of the Electric Distribution Grid” that address the growing threat of a cyberattack on our nation’s electricity distribution grid. The report was commissioned by Protect Our Power, a non-profit organization focused on grid security. The report identifies barriers to addressing the growing risk and presents best practices to assist state electric utility commissions and their regulated utilities to increase investment in enhanced security.

Leonine Public Affairs Last week started off on a very sad note with an announcement on the House floor from Speaker Mitzi Johnson that Representative Robert Forguites (D-Springfield) had died unexpectedly over the weekend. Throughout the week his memory was honored and his colleagues supported one another through their grief. He will be sorely missed. ​Week 13 marks the beginning of the final stretch of the 2019 legislative session. Revenue and spending proposals are starting to take center stage as the Senate hammers out its version of the budget and tax bills. One tax proposal, a two-cent per gallon tax on heating fuel to fund weatherization projects, passed the House but appears to have an uphill battle in the Senate and with the governor.

Vermont Business Magazin On Saturday, Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement in response President Trump’s proposal to transport migrants to “sanctuary cities:”

Vermont State Police VERNON, Vermont (April 12, 2019) — While the Vermont State Police Tactical Services Unit was searching for murder suspect Derrick Shippee on and around the Shippee family property at 138 Sak Rd. in Vernon, TSU members located a body at about 4:35 p.m.

The individual has been preliminarily identified as Mr. Schippee. The body is being transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to confirm the cause and manner of death. State police investigators do not consider the death suspicious.

Subsequent updates regarding this case will be provided by the New Hampshire State Police. 

***Initial news release, 3:40 p.m. Friday, April 12, 2019***

The Vermont State Police is assisting New Hampshire authorities that are investigating the murders of two individuals in the town of Hinsdale.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine On April 1, Cassie Polhemus took over as CEO of the Vermont Economic Development Authority. Created by the Legislature 45 years ago, VEDA is a vital financial institution that the person on the street may not be familiar with. But the average person certainly knows its work as a contributing lender to some very significant projects across the state.

by Robert Zulkoski, Social Entrepreneur, and Edward Cameron, Climate Advocate and Strategist Recently there were two powerful commentaries in VTDigger: the first by Dante DiBiase, 19, entitled Vermont’s no longer a place for young nonconformists; and the second by Karen Gross, the former president of Southern Vermont College, entitled Why aren’t more people fighting for Southern Vermont College’s survival? A common theme of these two articles is anger over apathy.  [Anchor] When the neighbor’s cows get loose and wander on over to your field to munch on your tender grass for the fifth time, getting riled up and yelling at the cows won’t do any good. Cows don’t care if you are angry; they’re just looking for greener pastures and tastier turf. Don’t get mad at the cows – let the energy brought on by your anger motivate you to quit bitching and get to work. Mend the fence!

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington School District (BSD) announced a new partnership with the French Embassy to explore offering Dual-Language French and English Immersion programming in Burlington. As part of the partnership, the French Embassy will provide grant funding to support community members who want to get certified to teach this level of programming. The Embassy will also help recruit qualified instructors for the program and will provide BSD with start-up grant funds. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont received $5,000 for children’s books from JetBlue as one of three runner-up cities in the SOAR with Reading Contest, along with Cleveland, Ohio and Long Beach, California.  Jacksonville, Florida was announced as the grand prize winner, and will receive $25,000 worth of children’s books and a reading room makeover. More than 544,300 online votes were cast. Since 2011, JetBlue has donated more than $3 million worth of children’s books in areas of need.

Thanks to the overwhelming support of the community, Burlington won in a field of significantly larger cities. Burlington’s population of 42,239 compares to Cleveland with 385,000, Long Beach with 470,000, and Jacksonville with 940,000 residents, showing that the brave little state has a powerful voice.

Vermont Business Magazine Marlboro College concluded their Sugar Rush 2019 spring fundraising challenge on April 3, exceeding their donor goal and unlocking $350,000 in challenge funds. The Sugar Rush goal was to reach 225 donors during the two weeks leading up to April 3, and the final donor count was more than twice that number at a stunning 455 gifts, raising a combined total of more than $429,000 in gifts and challenge dollars.

“We couldn’t be happier with the results, both in terms of the number of people who participated but also the awareness raised,”said Rennie Washburn, director of advancement at Marlboro. “This effort blows all of our recent spring campaigns out of the water. It will result in a substantial contribution to our Annual Fund, moving us closer to our total goal of $2 million.”

Vermont Business Magazine A bipartisan official US Senate delegation of nine Senators will visit South Korea and Vietnam for meetings with government and military leaders during the Senate’s April recess. They will depart Washington on April 14 and return on April 23. The delegation is headed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee and the ranking member of its Subcommittee on the State Department and Foreign Operations.