Current News

by Dustin A Degree From his first day in office, Governor Scott has made expanding our workforce and getting more Vermonters into good paying jobs the foundation of his economic mission. Putting folks into jobs we know are available in Vermont is one of the most effective ways to grow the economy. That emphasis, combined with the Administration’s new efforts to get more Vermonters into the work place, is beginning to show progress. And under Governor Scott’s leadership, we have finally started to reverse a nearly 10-year decline in the size of our labor force.

In June 2018, there were 348,287 people in our labor force – 4,656 more people than in December 2017. Six straight months of labor force expansion, after nearly a decade of decline and stagnation, is a reason for optimism. We’re back on the right track!

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims were largely unchanged last week and remain extremely low. For the week of July 28, 2018, there were 309 claims, 5 more than than they were the previous week, and 11 fewer than they were a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, on Thursday detailed the priorities he fought for in the “minibus” appropriations bill that passed the Senate Wednesday by a 92-6 vote. “As a member of Democratic Leadership, I am proud of the many initiatives I fought for in this bill on behalf of Vermonters."

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Thursday announced Dan French, EdD as the new Secretary of the Agency of Education. French was a Saint Michael's College professor. French started his career in education as a high school social studies teacher, K-12 principal and superintendent in Canaan, Vt. After living and working in the Northeast Kingdom for 15 years, he moved south to serve as superintendent for the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union from 2007-2016.

In 2009, French was named Vermont Superintendent of the Year, and he served as president of the Vermont Superintendents Association from 2010-2012. From 2016-2018, he was the coordinator of the School Leadership Graduate Program at Saint Michael’s, where he taught graduate courses in school leadership, the legal and financial management of schools and using data to improve schools.

Vermont Business Magazine There’s more than just water flowing through Vermont’s wetlands, lakes, and rivers during Clean Water Week. Over $10 million in Ecosystem Restoration Grants from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be infused into lakes and streams this fiscal year. The grants go to municipalities, farmers, regional planning commissions, natural resource conservation districts, watershed organizations, and other partners. Projects will target actions that reduce sediment and nutrient pollution, such as phosphorus, from flowing into lakes and streams.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC), Viridity Energy Solutions, Inc, Northern Power Systems, Inc, and WEG Electric Corp, today announced a new and unique collaboration to implement a utility scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for VEC in Hinesburg. The lithium battery system, with an installed power of 1.9MW and energy storage capacity up to 5.3MWh, will increase flexibility for VEC, allowing it to draw power from the battery during peak demand times, to reduce transmission costs. Because the battery storage system will be able to supply electricity when the grid is experiencing high demand, or “peaking,” it can help contain costs for VEC. In addition, when the battery system is not being used for peak demand charge reduction for VEC it will be used to provide grid stability to reduce potential power outages.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan will testify today before the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee in support of expungements for low-level offenses, one of the signature issues of his Community Justice Division. The Community Justice Division has made significant progress in a wide range of criminal justice reform initiatives. Notably, referrals to Court Diversion programs have more than doubled in the past year. Also, the bail reform bill the Community Justice Division advocated for is now law. In addition, the process of seeking an expungement has been streamlined and charges that do not result in convictions will be expunged or sealed rapidly in most cases.

The Community Justice Division was created by Attorney General Donovan in 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) issued the following statement on the Trump administration’s proposal to gut longstanding federal policy that reduces vehicle emissions harmful to the environment and block Vermont and other states from imposing emission standards stricter than the federal government:

Vermont Business Magazine On July 31st, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service alerted state officials that an emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle was captured on a purple detection trap in the town of Stamford, VT. This location is within five miles of another recent EAB detection in the town of North Adams, MA. This invasive insect was first discovered in Vermont in February, and has also been confirmed in Orange, Washington, and Caledonia counties.

by Secretary Anson Tebbetts, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets As we head into deep summer, a host of laws are taking effect that will advance Vermont’s rural economy. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets worked closely with the Legislature and Governor Scott in the 2018 session to bring attention to Vermont’s farmers and working lands. While preserving and enhancing the Vermont we love, these new laws make Vermont more affordable, take care of those most in need, and grow the Vermont economy.

In the hip city of Burlington, Creston Lea builds one of a kind electric guitars, while in southern Vermont, Douglas Cox turns out violins for classical musicians around the world.

by Christine McGowan, forest program director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Creston Lea and Douglas Cox live about as far apart as two Vermonters can get, but are connected by their craft as luthiers. As summer concerts fill stages and meadows across the country, handmade instruments built by these two luthiers using Vermont maple, spruce, butternut, and even reclaimed wood salvaged from old barns will be played by musicians ranging from Vermont Symphony Orchestra music director, Jamie Laredo, to former Oasis lead guitarist, Noel Gallager.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Wednesday afternoon was named as one of four Senate Democratic conferees on the 5-year Farm Bill. The Senate and the House now have passed their separate versions of the bill. Senate and House leaders hope to forge a final compromise bill soon after Labor Day. Leahy is a former chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a principal architect of past Farm Bills. He also is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Leahy said it is even more important now for Congress to send a final Farm Bill to the President’s desk, with farmers in Vermont and across the nation coping with the economic fallout of the budding trade war with many of America’s principal export markets.