Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims continued to edge down last week, as the holiday layoff spike subsided. For the week of January 19, 2019, there were 576 claims, 98 fewer than they were the previous week, but 65 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 levels off in January.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and members of his Cabinet will be in Essex County on Tuesday, January 29 for their eleventh Capitol for a Day visit. The initiative has brought the Governor and members of his Cabinet and Extended Cabinet to Rutland, Caledonia, Windsor, Franklin, Bennington, Addison, Chittenden, Orleans, Windham and Lamoille counties over the last several months.

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, has announced the closing on January 25, 2019, of its previously announced underwritten public offering of shares of its Class A common stock, including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 465,000 shares at a public offering price of $29.50 per share, before offering discounts. The exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares brought the total number of shares of Class A common stock sold by Casella in the offering to 3,565,000 and increased the aggregate gross proceeds from the offering to $105.2 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses.

Vermont Business Magazine At its 32^nd Annual Membership Meeting held January 17^th at The Essex Resort and Spa, the Vermont Business Roundtable elected new officers: Chair Mark Foley, Foley Services; Vice-Chair Judith O’Connell, Champlain Investment Partners; Treasurer Scott Giles, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation; Secretary Stephanie Mapes, Paul Frank + Collins; Immediate Past Chair Michael Seaver, Peoples United Bank; and, President Lisa Ventriss.  

Also, at the meeting, members elected new directors to their first three-year term: David Bradbury, Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies; Sara Byers, Leonardo’s Pizza; Meg Fleming, SymQuest Group; and, Holly Groschner, VermontPBS.  

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry's intends to eliminate single-use plastic. As a first step, the company will no longer offer plastic straws and spoons in any of its more than 600 Scoop Shops worldwide in early 2019. The company also announced a plan to address plastic cups and lids used to serve ice cream by the end of 2020. Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops currently hand out 2.5 million plastic straws a year, and 30 million plastic spoons. If all the plastic spoons used by Ben & Jerry's in the US were placed end to end, they'd stretch from Burlington, Vermont to Jacksonville, Florida.

Leonine Public Affairs On Thursday Governor Phil Scott delivered his budget address to a joint assembly of the Vermont legislature and for the first time since taking office in 2016, the governor proposed a new tax. His proposal calls for a 92 percent wholesale tax on all e-cigarette products including the devices. If adopted, this would tax e-cigarettes at the same rate as other tobacco products like chewing tobacco. The governor also proposed numerous fee increases primarily in areas that have not seen increases in several years. 

Vermont Business Magazine Fuse, a marketing agency specializing in reaching teens and young adults based in Burlington, has released a new report on teens. At the start of a new year, it's valuable for marketers to consider what is most popular with teens. So, to kick the year off, Fuse asked 1,000 about their favorite things.

Vermont Business Magazine The North American Center for Saffron Research and Development at the University of Vermont (UVM) is hosting the 3rd annual workshop on Saffron production and marketing on Friday, March 15, 2019 in Burlington, VT. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, with a retail price of over $5,000/lb. It is made from the stigmas of a fall-blooming crocus flower (Crocus sativus), and is used as a culinary spice, coloring agent and medicinal herb. Saffron is a high-value crop that could significantly strengthen sustainable agriculture, and preserve the rural working landscapes of North America.

Vermont Business Magazine At the 3rd Annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit in May, Emerging Leaders of Southern Vermont will be recognized. The purpose of the Emerging Leaders nomination is to highlight and honor Young Professionals in their roles as leaders and change makers in the Southern Vermont economy. Nominees will be notified and asked to supply the selection committee with more detailed information about themselves. Honorees will be chosen by the Southern Vermont Young Professionals and the Shires Young Professionals selection committee who co-sponsor the Emerging Leaders Event.

Vermont Business Magazine Online registration is now open for the 10^th Annual Howard Center Curling Challenge on March 16. This year’s event is presented by the South Burlington Rotary Club, and proceeds will benefit Howard Center services and Rotary activities that benefit many local community organizations. As in past years, the Green Mountain Curling Club, with assistance from the Rutland Rocks Curling Club, will provide instruction and equipment for all 32 teams of four as they compete throughout the day at Cairns Arena in South Burlington.

Sponsorship opportunities are available at various levels, and the South Burlington Rotary Club will offer sponsors at the $1,500 level an honorary three-month club membership from April 1- June 30. The honorary membership entitles a sponsor representative to participate in weekly meetings (including breakfast) and all special Club events during that time. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine State economists this week added over $11 million to expected General Fund tax revenues for the current fiscal year. They also added nearly a million to the Transportation Fund and $1.6 million to the Education Fund. With the exception of a small decline in next year's Transportation revenues, they're expecting taxes to be up again next fiscal year. Typically, a report with such positive news would be treated as great news by the Emergency Board. Instead, the economists and the elected officials were simply cautious in their reaction.

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry's number one fan favorite flavor in the world, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, will soon have company on freezer shelves. Ben & Jerry's has come out with three new cookie dough flavors with the biggest gobs of cookie dough running right down the middle of the pint. The 2019 flavors feature a tantalizing trio of bowl-licking favorites.