Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims increased last week, but remain low. For the week of October 6, 2018, there were 330 claims, 66 more than than they were the previous week, but 6 fewer than they were a year ago. Altogether 2,433 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 62 from a week ago, and 110 fewer than a year ago. For most weeks of 2017 and 2018 claims have been below the year before. Vermont, like the nation as a whole, currently is locked into a historically low period of unemployment.

Vermont Business Magazine BRS has announced that it will offer new Association Health Plans (AHPs) through BlueCross and BlueShield of Vermont (BCBSVT). Association health plans had been dismantled under the original Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which was signed into law by President Obama in 2010. As rules for the ACA have changed over the years, association plans are now allowed by the federal government. Vermont earlier this year instituted conditions under which association plans could once again be offered in Vermont. Those rules mimic ACA rules for pre-existing conditions and other key components of the ACA.

The approval of BRS’ license application by the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) now paves the way for AHPs in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Innovations for Outcomes: Access 2018 is a healthcare conference specifically designed to educate attendees on the innovative ways to support substance use care in hard to access communities. The conference is on Tuesday, October 16 from 11:30 am to 6 pm at the Waterfront Hilton in Burlington. Substance use professionals will engage and learn from industry leaders and have the opportunity to connect at a collaboration session following the conference at 4:30 pm.

Plenary speaker Dr John Brooklyn of UVM, Howard Center and BAART will share new approaches to managing and monitoring treatment in opioid use disorders.

Vermont Business Magazine In collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation, the High Meadows Fund is committing up to $200,000 in grants towards improving forest health and integrity in Vermont. The goal of these grants is to foster collaborative approaches to creating resilient, adaptable and healthy forests that pay dividends for wildlife and contribute to the quality of life of all Vermonters, including, but not limited to, those who depend on the forests for their livelihoods.

Vermont Business Magazine The Small Business Administration supported $44,780,792 in loans to Vermont small businesses from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018, the US federal government’s fiscal year. Vermont increased its loan amount by 11 percent compared to fiscal year 2017 when it guaranteed $40,341,365 million in loans. Of that 16 percent supported Vermont beer, spirits and cider.

“An upward trend is always a good sign. Increasing our loans by a few million dollars may not seem like a lot, but when there are scores of Vermont entrepreneurs needing $10,000 or $25,000 in capital, an additional $4 million in lending can have a significant impact,” said Darcy Carter, SBA Vermont District Director.

Barrels of Stonecutter stand ready for action. Courtesy photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Taxes is reminding Vermonters that the last date to file a Property Tax Adjustment or Renter Rebate Claim is October 15, 2018. Personal Income Tax Returns filed on extension, as well as several corporate tax types are also due. The Vermont Property Tax Adjustment and Renter Rebate programs assist in making housing more affordable for thousands of Vermonters. These programs provide over $180 million in assistance to Vermonters annually.

All Vermont homestead owners must file a Homestead Declaration using Vermont Form HS-122 every year even if they are not seeking an income-based property tax adjustment. If you file a Homestead Declaration after Oct. 15, your property will be classified as non-homestead or nonresidental. You will be charged the higher of the two rates, assessed a penalty, and must pay any additional property tax and interest due.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Thursday afternoon issued the following statements after their legislation to support small businesses with National Guard and military reservists unanimously passed the Senate Small Business Committee. The National Guard and Reserve Entrepreneurship Act will assist small businesses when essential employees, including small business owners, are called up as part of National Guard or Reservist duties by improving existing loan and deferral programs of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and making them more accessible.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced legislation on Thursday to provide much-needed emergency relief to dairy farmers in Vermont and throughout the United States. Vermont’s dairy farmers are struggling to survive. The price they get for their milk has been below the cost of production for four years in a row. Since 2014, dairy prices have fallen from $25 per hundredweight to less than $16. That’s less than farmers received in 1989.

Not surprisingly, Vermont has already lost more than 65 dairy farms this year alone and about one-third of its dairy farms in the last decade. Today, there are just 709 active dairy farms left in Vermont.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Tuberculosis is still a global problem. Another problem is that it can visually mimic lung cancer leading to problems of diagnosis and treatment. Leaders at the University of Vermont and Larner College of Medicine today announced $12.3 million in funding for a new Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) called the “Translational Global Infectious Disease Research Center” (TGIR). This endeavor will help in the fight against TB and other diseases. Lower income countries are especially vulnerable.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro landfill solar project was energized on June 30, 2018 and is now producing clean, renewably generated electricity. Officials from Windham Solid Waste Management District, along with multiple towns, schools and non-profits securing financial benefits associated with the project, celebrated its commissioning at a ribbon cutting ceremony today. It was also attended by numerous government officials and those responsible for developing the project.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets has announced up to $1,000,000 is available in funding to improve water quality. The Capital Equipment Assistance Program (CEAP) is available for new or innovative equipment that will aid in the reduction of surface runoff of agricultural wastes to state waters, improve water quality, reduce odors from manure application, separate phosphorus from manure, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce costs to farmers when they apply manure or implement a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP). Eligible recipients include custom applicators, non-profit organizations, and farmers.

Grant application are due by November 1, 2018. Complete applications will need to include submission of the CEAP Application as well as a one-page letter of intent, equipment quote/s, and a letter of support. Notification of grant funding will occur by February 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine The number of opioid prescriptions written by physicians at The University of Vermont Medical Center continued to drop compared to previous years throughout 2018, as part of an ongoing, comprehensive effort to prevent more patients from becoming addicted to opioids. The UVM Medical Center’s most recent self-evaluation, the “Opioid Prescribing Practices” report, covers April 2018 to July 2018. The report shows a 44 percent drop in the number of prescriptions for more than 50 pills in the third quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017. Since the beginning of 2016, the number of those prescriptions is down 71 percent.

Hospital leaders noted in a press release today that while prescription numbers continue to fall, the steepest drop appears to have occurred from early 2017 to the middle of 2017 – before a new state law governing prescribing practices went into effect.