Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and members of his Cabinet will be in Orleans County on Tuesday, October 9 for its eighth Capitol for a Dayvisit. The initiative has brought the Governor and dozens from his Cabinet and Extended Cabinet to Rutland, Caledonia, Windsor, Franklin, Bennington, Addison and Chittenden counties since the start of the summer.

“It’s so important for those of us in state government to get outside Montpelier and listen to Vermonters around the entire state, because each community has unique challenges and opportunities,” said Scott.

Capitol for a Day gives local constituents, municipal governments and other partners the opportunity to connect directly with State leadership and staff. The Administration will visit each of the state’s 14 counties as part of this initiative.

Follow along on social media using the #VTCapitol4aDay hashtag.

Vermont Business Magazine The Winooski River Apartments, consisting of three buildings (11 Bailey Avenue, 15 Baldwin Street, 37 Barre Street) have undergone an extensive rehab to address structural issues, weatherization, energy efficiency and ADA requirements. The goals of this project were to rehabilitate the properties such that they will be affordable to Vermonters in perpetuity, mitigate any potential hazards (lead and asbestos), extend the useful life of the buildings by at least 20 years, and to increase energy efficiency. As a result of the rehab, the City of Montpelier has been strengthened as a diverse community with the availability of more high-quality, affordable housing units, raising the bar for housing stock in Montpelier.

Vermont Business Magazine Hunger Free Vermont has been awarded a $25,000 grant from Newman’s Own Foundation, the independent foundation created by the late actor and philanthropist, Paul Newman. The award to Hunger Free Vermont was made by Newman’s Own Foundation as part of its commitment to address issues of fresh food access and nutrition education.

The grant to Hunger Free Vermont will be used to help power their Child and Family Nutrition Education Initiatives, providing opportunities for food insecure families to learn nutrition basics and how to prepare healthy foods on a tight budget, as well as their work to ensure that all vulnerable Vermont children gain access to stable sources of nutritious food they require for lifelong health and well-being.

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine For the most part, Vermont's winter resorts find themselves well-positioned for the upcoming season, as general factors - a strong economy, a reasonably steady Canadian dollar, and continued infrastructure investment - give cause for optimism. And last winter, while hardly stellar, was not bad: It saw an uptick from the forgettable preceding season, with total skier-days rising by 1.2 percent to 3.96 million, according to Ski Vermont, the Vermont Ski Areas Association. The association's annual report described the figure as "just under the state’s ten-year average for visitation."

by Daniel Barlow, Public Policy Manager of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Want to hear something obvious? Raising the minimum wage increases the take-home pay for low-income workers without hurting job growth. That’s not just a sound bite from Sen. Bernie Sanders – it’s now a proven economic fact. A study released this month from the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at UC Berkeley shows that minimum wage increases are working as policy-makers intended: they increase pay for workers at the bottom and do not jeopardize job growth.

“For example, higher wages reduce employee turnover, thereby cutting employers’ recruitment and retention costs and increasing workers’ tenure and experience,” the report states. “Positive employment effects can also arise when higher minimum wages draw working age adults into the labor force or induce them to increase their hours.”

Vermont Business Magazine FirstLight, a leading provider of fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast, announced today that Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Scienceshas selected FirstLight as its primary hosted voice services provider. As ACPHS' primary Internet Service Provider for many years, the educational institution has expanded its relationship and selected FirstLight to provide a cloud-based phone solution to support their Albany, NY, and Colchester, Vermont, campus locations.

by Governor Phil Scott In the Northeastern United States, the relationship with our neighbors in Canada is a vital part of our economy and culture. For more than two centuries, we’ve grown together. Since 1993, Canada has been the U.S.’s fifth-largest source of foreign capital. We’ve seen a boom in travel and tourism: By 2011, Canadians were making 21 million trips to the U.S. and spending $24 billion – every year.

However, we don’t just visit or sell things to each other – we also build things together. About half of all trade with Canada takes place between related companies. Businesses, big and small, have built complex, integrated supply chains in aerospace, information technology, construction materials, food systems and more. Parts, raw material and natural resources like logs and lumber often cross borders between the U.S. and Canada multiple times before a final product rolls off an assembly line.

Vermont Business Magazine Michele Resnick Cohen, UVM ’72, and her husband Martin Cohen, have made several gifts totaling $7 million to transform the Elihu B. Taft School—located at the corner of South Williams and Pearl streets on the edge of campus—into UVM’s first integrated center for the creative arts. The Cohen’s vision is now a reality – the university formally opened the new Michele and Martin Cohen Hall for the Integrative Creative Arts at a dedication ceremony at the new facility on Wednesday, October 3.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Expanding its relationship with the University of Vermont’s Complex Systems Center, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company announced today that it is providing $5 million in funding to further advance study and research in the field of data science and analytics. While alumni weekend is a common time to announce major gifts and projects, the relationship building associated with it was the central theme in UVM President Tom Sullivan's short speech in making the gift announcement. He first met MassMutual Chairman and CEO Roger Crandall, class of 1987, at an alumni function a few years ago in Manhattan. Sullivan said the $5 million in funding from MassMutual is the largest corporate gift in UVM's history.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed a proclamation designating October 2018 as Manufacturing Month in Vermont, celebrating Vermont’s manufacturing sector and recognizing the important role it plays in Vermont’s economy. The industry accounts for approximately 10 percent of Vermont’s economy and pays more than $1.7 billion in wages. Currently, nearly 30,000 Vermonters are employed in manufacturing jobs.

Governor Phil Scott tours Super Thin Saws today for Manufacturing Month. State photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The 2018 VELCO charity golf tournament raised more than $19,000 in its 23rd edition on September 7. The proceeds, which topped all previous tourneys by a wide margin, will be donated to benefit the Flip Side Skate Park Program at the Rutland Recreation Center. Flip Side was chosen in memory of Robbie Ettori, a member of the VELCO family we lost this year. Contributions raised through the VELCO Open will help Flip Side make repairs, purchase equipment, and underwrite camp program scholarships for children whose families lack the resources for them to attend.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the secretaries of Vermont’s Agencies of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Natural Resources, and Commerce and Community Development today launched stage two of the Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge (VPIC), which will award grants to innovators in phosphorus extraction and clean water. The Scott Administration launched the VPIC in April 2018 to address a statewide phosphorus imbalance, which adversely impacts Vermont’s waterways.