Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The state released good economic news Friday morning. Secretary of Administration Susanne Young reported Vermont’s tax revenue results for January 2019. With the vital Personal Income tax leading the way, receipts activity in the General Fund and Transportation Fund were above their monthly targets, while revenue collection in the Education Fund fell short of the target by $2.85 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims fell sharply last week after a one-week increase in claims. For the week of February 9, 2019, there were 500 claims, 192 fewer than they were the previous week, but 25 more than they were a year ago. The holiday season usually sees wild swings in claims, as retailers in particular hire and layoff workers in spikes in November and December and then claims quiet down in January. But they jumped the first full week in February, which represents the only increase so far early in the new year.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Secretary of Administration, Susanne Young, announced today that a lease has been signed between the State of Vermont and DEW Construction for Barre City Place on North Main Street in Barre, which will facilitate the move of Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) staff to Barre.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Leahy: This week, Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate came together, ignoring the distractions and tweetstorms coming from the White House, and reached an agreement (the Senate today passed the measure 83-16) to fund our government and make responsible investments in the American people. This is not the agreement I would have reached on my own. There are things in this bill that I support, and things that I disagree with, but that is the nature of a negotiation. Everyone had to give something to reach a bipartisan compromise. We had to deal in facts based in reality, not rhetoric based in political fantasy.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) issued the following statement after voting for the agreement to fund the federal government: "While I have concerns about aspects of this bill, I will vote for it because I cannot turn my back on the two million federal employees and private contract workers who would be forced, again, to work without pay..."

Vermont Business Magazine Forbes magazine recently ranked Community Bank N.A. third in the nation for financial performance in a study analyzing 10-key metrics related to growth, asset quality, capital adequacy and profitability for the nation’s 100 largest banks and thrifts. This is the eighth year running that Community Bank NA has ranked among the top 15 banks on the list. In addition, this is the second consecutive year that Community Bank NA is the only bank in Vermont to make the list’s top 10.

Vermont Business Magazine When Keith Gallant of East Braintree heard shots one night and discovered his mailbox had been struck by shotgun slugs, he feared that he and his family had been targeted. Gallant learned otherwise, however, when he met with the teenager who had fired the shots. The meeting was part of the teen’s participation in his local Court Diversion program, a restorative justice alternative to the standard court process for youth and adults charged with a crime. As part of the process, Gallant sat with the teen and community volunteers to discuss how the teen would make amends. Gallant told the outcome of this story last night as part of the 40^th Anniversary celebration of Court Diversion at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier.

Vermont Business Magazine This week, MITRE and the University of Vermont (UVM) released two papers that analyze US financial market dynamics and found more than $2 billion in inefficiencies in 2016, the most recent data available for analysis when the research started. The researchers studied market behavior using Thesys StarMap, the most comprehensive source of publicly available stock market data and the same data used by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for its Market Information Data Analytics System (MIDAS).

Vermont Business Magazine Encore Renewable Energy announced today the commissioning of a 198-kilowattpeak (kWp) solar array on the roof of the UVM Medical Center on Holly Court in Williston, VT. The project began generating solar electricity in December 2018. UVM Medical Center will receive net metering credits at a discount, along with a steady stream of lease revenue from an otherwise unused rooftop. Together, these will result in approximately $124,000 of total value to UVM Medical Center over the 25-year life of the system.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Wednesday night released the bipartisan conference agreement to make responsible investments in border security and finish work on the remaining seven appropriations bills to fund the government. The $333 billion bipartisan package funds the nine remaining federal departments and their agencies, rejects President Trump’s demand $5.7 billion border wall and a deportation force, and makes responsible investments in border security long supported by Democrats. A vote on the deal is expected today.

Vermont Business Magazine Americans collectively spent $388 billion on gasoline in 2018, averaging to 34 million fill-ups a day. GasBuddy has issued its 2019 Consumer Sentiment on Gasoline Study that finds that the necessity, perception, and price of gasoline adversely impacts Americans across all age groups and income brackets, with a staggering 86 percent of Americans depending on gasoline for their everyday lives. GasBuddy provides real-time gasoline price reports in Vermont and across the US.

by Eric LaMontagne Nearly two out of every three Vermont residents hunt, fish or watch wildlife. This is second only to Alaska as a percentage of population participation in these activities. In fact, according to a 2015 University of Vermont study, “the most recent national survey of wildlife-related expenditures, Vermont residents and out-of-state visitors spent approximately $685 million a year on hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing (U.S Fish and Wildlife Service 2012).”

Looking at the latest annual numbers from the American Sportfishing Association, fishing in Vermont by residents and non-residents generates $147.1 million in retail sales, resulting in an additional $225 million of economic impact. It supports more than 2400 jobs and $73.2 million in wages and salaries, while generating $15.9 million in local and state tax revenues.