Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A new type of captive insurance company created by Vermont in response to US tax reform provides an onshore reinsurance alternative for companies facing an added tax burden due to the so-called BEAT tax, and likely will further enhance Vermont’s standing as a captive domicile industry, according to an A.M. Best briefing released Wednesday.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Wednesday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service continues to support the fight against the bat-killing fungal disease white nose syndrome (WNS) by awarding $1 million in grants to 39 states, including Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Lake Champlain Committee From July 18 to August 16, a stretch of 29 days, the daily high temperature in Burlington, Vermont never fell below 80 degrees F. The streak eclipsed the previous record for consecutive days over 80 by four days. Keep in mind, the streak of hot days began AFTER temperatures climbed into the 90s for six straight days earlier in July. During that heat streak the region set another record, the highest ever daily low temperature of 80 degrees.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Agency of Education announced this week the start of two major initiatives to develop state-wide career pathways in advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity. The Agency of Education is working in close collaboration with employers, regional CTE centers, high schools and colleges in Vermont to coordinate efforts and create opportunities to provide seamless transitions for Vermont students when they graduate high school. Manufacturing companies are actively involved in the process of designing these pathways so that students graduate high school with credentials and certifications the companies value.

Senator Patrick Leahy (Judge Kavanaugh) testified under oath — and he testified repeatedly — that he never received any stolen materials, and that he knew nothing about it until it was public. He testified that if he had suspected anything “untoward” he would have reported it. At the time, we left it there. We didn’t have evidence to suggest otherwise. Today, with the limited amount of Judge Kavanaugh’s White House record that has been provided to the Judiciary Committee, for the first time we have been able to learn some information about his knowledge of this theft.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan announced that today his office filed a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Vermont Consumer Protection Act and public nuisance law concerning Purdue’s marketing and promotion of opioids. Purdue is the manufacturer of Oxycontin.

“The State of Vermont has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. We have made strides in the areas of prevention, treatment, and enforcement, but corporate accountability is also necessary. I look forward to telling Vermont’s story,” Attorney General Donovan said.

The lawsuit is based on Purdue’s behavior surrounding marketing of OxyContin and its other long-acting opioid products for the treatment of chronic pain, including:

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today the State of Vermont submitted an administrative appeal to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in response to their July 3, 2018 Notice of Termination of the Vermont Regional Center (VRC). The VRC termination is related to scandal involving the Jay Peak immigrant investor EB-5-funded projects. The administrative appeal continues to advocate for an orderly wind-down of the VRC to best preserve the economic benefits while also protecting those immigrant investors whose immigration status remains unresolved.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) announced legislation Wednesday to give large, profitable corporations such as Amazon and Walmart a choice: pay workers a living wage or pay for the public assistance programs like Medicaid, food stamps and public housing its low-wage workers are forced to rely on.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters throw away approximately 60,000 tons of food and food scraps each year. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources wants to cut that number by 33 percent and will be offering $975,000 in grants to solid waste districts and municipalities to manage food scraps more sustainability.

Vermont Business Magazine The East Central Vermont Telecommunications District, aka ECFiber, announced this week that it has successfully raised another $8.5 million of bonding to extend its fiber-optic internet network in several member towns. “Funding on this scale makes it possible to build out smaller towns border-to-border, while continuing to fill in selected neighborhoods of larger towns where we already have partial coverage,” said District chair Irv Thomae. “It will also allow us to undertake detailed network design for all remaining unserved areas within our service territory, which we expect to finish building in 2019 and 2020 with two additional rounds of financing.”

Vermont Business Magazine Adam Longworth and Lorien Wroten are the new Executive Chef and General Manager, respectively, at The Pitcher Inn in Warren. Most recently the two owned and operated The Common Man Restaurant, also in Warren. Inn owner Maggie Smith says that this is a significant milestone for the inn that has hosted travelers since the 19th century.

by Bill Schubart I love working in the woods and I’ve come to know all the great trees on our land. They’re like friends – the surviving American elm that looks like a frozen geyser as it towers above the other trees, the dying butternuts in disarray, the wolf pines, the sturdy black cherries, and, of course, the centenarian sugar maples.