Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing on Thursday released Vermont’s 2017 Tourism Benchmark Study. The biennial publication illustrates the positive impact tourism has on the Vermont economy through spending, jobs and revenue to local and state governments. In 2017, 13 million people visited Vermont, bringing $2.8 billion into the state. After manufacturing, tourism represents the largest contribution of out-of-state money to Vermont’s economy. The industry supports 32,000 jobs, or nearly 10 percent of the state’s workforce. The tourism sector contributed $391 million in tax revenue in 2017, which provides a tax reduction of $1,450 for every Vermont household.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan has joined a coalition of attorneys general seeking to block federal rules that would deny millions of women access to cost-free birth control. The final rules, which are set to go into effect on January 14, 2019, would jeopardize the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers provide coverage of all 18 FDA-approved birth control methods and counseling for employees and their covered dependents with no out-of-pocket costs. To date, 62 million women across the country and almost 26,000 women in Vermont have benefited from these reproductive health services.

“Women have the right to make their own healthcare decisions,” said Attorney General Donovan. “No employer or bureaucrat should be able to decide for them. This would jeopardize thousands of Vermont family’s ability to access contraceptive healthcare.”

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims fell modestly last week. For the week of December 15, 2018, there were 597 claims, 36 fewer than they were the previous week, and 91 fewer 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, but last week was relatively quiet.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for November was 2.7 percent. This reflects a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised October rate. However, the rate drop from October was predicated on a steep decline in the labor force, which is the denominator in these calculations. The number of unemployed fell, but so too did the total employed. Given the tight labor market, the ideal situation would show an increase in the labor force and an increase in the total number of workers. On a year-to-year basis, this has been the case, but the state has been losing ground on total labor the last few months.

Vermont Business Magazine Excelsior Energy Capital, a leading independent North American renewable energy investor based in Minnesota, announced Thursday that its North American Renewable Energy Fund has acquired from Syncarpha Capital 100 percent of the sponsor equity interests in a 16.2 MW operating solar portfolio. These include Syncarpha's 2.9 MW Vermont portfolio of four 730 kW solar projects. Two of the projects are in Bennington and the other two are in Orange. These projects became operational in August 2017. All four projects combined are expected to produce over 3,700,000 kWh a year.

Vermont Business Magazine Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP,) Lamoille County Planning Commission (LCPC,) and the Stowe Land Trust (SLT) are hosting a Housing Needs Summit at Green Mountain Technology & Career Center on January 29th, 2019 from 9AM – 12PM. The summit will feature a data presentation about the Lamoille Valley’s housing landscape followed by a panel discussion.

Vermont Business Magazine Kinney Drugs, a leading pharmacy chain in New York and Vermont, has announced the results of its recent Milk Donation campaign. Customers and employees in all 98 stores across the chain purchased gallons of milk for donation to families in need during the holiday season. As a combined company effort over the two-week campaign, a total of 3,143 gallons of milk were donated. Kinney Drugs partnered with Upstate Farms in New York and Hood Milk in Vermont to donate the proceeds to the CNY Food Bank and the Vermont Food Bank. The milk will be distributed on a weekly basis as needed to help supply families in need through the holidays and beyond.

​Vermont Business Magazine Consolidated Communications, Inc (NASDAQ: CNSL) today announced it has completed more than 500,000 broadband upgrades across Northern New England this year offering faster speeds to residents and small businesses.

Senator Leahy “I am very disappointed and concerned that the Department of Defense will lose the exceptional leadership of Secretary Mattis. He has been an outstanding leader there at a time when his steady hand and decades of experience were sorely needed. He and I and most Americans share the belief that the United States is stronger when we work with our allies and partners to defend an international order that protects our security and upholds our commitment to peace and respect for human rights. I deeply regret that his advice has often summarily been rejected by the President, and that he therefore felt he had no choice but to resign.”

Vermont Business Magazine President Trump today signed into law the new five-year Farm Bill that the Senate and House passed earlier this month by large bipartisan margins. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) again played a key role in writing and negotiating the bill and was a conferee as the Senate and House ironed out their differences on the bill. Leahy is a former chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, And Forestry Committee.

Leahy said in a statement: “Every Farm Bill is important to Vermont, and this Farm Bill reflects Vermont’s priorities, through and through.”

Leahy’s summary of Vermont Highlights in the Farm Bill is BELOW:

Vermont Highlights In The 2018 Farm Bill

(The Agriculture Improvement Act Of 2018)

Office Of Senator Patrick Leahy

(Senator Leahy Is A Farm Bill Conferee)

Dairy and Commodity Programs

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Opioid Coordination Council released its progress report for 2017-2018. The report, Strategic Actions and Progress, is a summary of statewide actions to date, in response to the Council’s recommended strategies issued in January 2018. “The opioid crisis is one of the most complex challenges we have faced here in Vermont and across the nation,” said Governor Scott. “Far too many people and their loved ones face the daily struggles and terrible toll that comes with opioid addiction. This report highlights the work of the Council, in collaboration with many state and local partners, legislators and providers, to strengthen and advance a cohesive statewide system of supports for prevention, treatment, recovery and enforcement.”

Vermont Business Magazine A $720,000 gift from alumnus Richard (‘66) and Elaine Barrett will expand opportunities for University of Vermont students seeking real-world solutions at the intersection of engineering and the environment. The gift creates the new Barrett Doctoral Fellows program, a PhD partnership between UVM’s newly expanded Gund Institute for Environment and the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS). It will also strengthen the existing Barrett Scholarships program for undergraduate CEMS students.