Current News

by Christine McGowan, Forest Program Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Vermont’s forests are one of our greatest natural resources, contributing to the economy through industry and recreation to the tune of $3.4 billion, and supporting countless non-economic benefits such as clean water and wildlife habitat. Unique to Vermont, only 20 percent of our forests are owned by business or government, leaving 80 percent of Vermont’s forested landscape--more than 4.5 million acres-- in the hands of private landowners.

Vermont Business Magazine The National Life Group Foundation granted a record total of $1.8 million this spring to nearly 200 charitable organizations primarily in Vermont and Texas, where National Life Group’s roughly 1,000 employees work. Some of the money will be spent launching a dedicated focus on tackling childhood hunger in Vermont, an initiative that will continue to be a cause of the Foundation well into the future. Among the larger recipients were the Champlain Housing Trust and the Vermont Foodbank. The vast majority of the funding is centered on central and northern Vermont and the Dallas, Texas, area where most of Vermont Life employees live and work.

Vermont Business Magazine Hudson Group (NYSE:HUD), a leader in North American travel retail, today announced the City of Burlington, Vermont has approved a 10-year concessions contract extension at Burlington International Airport (BTV). As the incumbent retail concessionaire at BTV since 2003, the joint-venture agreement includes 3,182 square feet of retail space. Retail concepts represented in the extension include three Vermont eccentric travel essentials and convenience stores: Discover Vermont/Hudson, Lake Champlain News, and Mount Mansfield News.

Discover Vermont/Hudson, located pre-security, is a combination store offering passengers an excellent assortment of traditional travel essentials and convenience items, as well as a unique selection of locally made Vermont gifts and souvenirs. Between the iconic Hudson retail offerings and the localized approach of Discover Vermont, customers will find items and products to meet their every need.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) magazine, Zymurgy, last week released its 16th annual “Best Beers in America.” The trio of lists details the top-ranked beers, breweries and brewery portfolios in the US, according to AHA members and homebrewers. The Alchemist in Stowe and Hill Farmstead in Greensboro were among those honored.

Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals This open letter to the community explains the position of the bargaining committee of the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, the union elected to represent the 1,800+ nurses working at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC). Recently, 94% of voting nurses approved a strike, if needed, to secure the contract necessary to provide the quality care the community deserves. We have not called for a strike yet, and we remain committed to working with the management team to find solutions to UVMMC’s safety, staffing, recruitment, and retention issues, but we may be forced to exercise this option as a last resort if the management team continues to ignore the very real concerns and problems we face.

by Rob Roper If I held up a cookie and said, I’ll give you five bucks to eat this, what would your initial reaction be? More than likely, either “what’s wrong with it,” or “what’s the catch?” If it were a perfectly good cookie, why would I have to pay you to eat it? If it were really good, you should be eager to pay me. This is a fundamental flaw in the Remote Worker Grant Program that offers to pay people $10,000 to move to Vermont and telecommute to jobs out of state. It actually devalues Vermont’s brand.

What’s more, the $500,000 budgeted for this over three years would, if entirely successful, only add fifty people to the workforce over that period. According to Governor Scott, we need to add one thousand new workers every year to replace the 16,000 workers we’ve lost since 2009. So, what do you say to the 15,950 workers who don’t get a check? And, more importantly, what do you think they’ll say back?

Vermont Business Magazine The Executive Board for New Leaders Council Vermont (NLC VT) has announced that Ben Cohen, Co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade and local progressive advocate, will be the keynote speaker for the organization’s official launch party Leaders & Libations.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Supreme Court Friday issued an opinion in Carpenter v. U.S., holding that the Fourth Amendment generally requires the government to obtain a warrant to obtain geolocation information through cell-site location information. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a leading member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the lead sponsor of the bipartisan Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) Modernization Act (S.1657), released the following comment:

by Maia Segura Vermont Business Magazine Let’s face it. Most economic development conferences tend to be a bit of a snooze. The same players regurgitate the same content. Everyone goes away a little better networked, but not very inspired. Not so for the 2nd Annual Southern Vermont Economic Development Summit at Mount Snow’s Grand Lodge on May 30, where attendees were surprised by optimism.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced changes to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program starting July 1, 2018 that will ultimately reduce the cost of UI taxes for employers for the second year in a row.

by Bruce Edwards Vermont Business Magazine Revision Military is bullish on its future and its Vermont operation. The maker of ballistic helmets and eyewear for the military and law enforcement recently announced it was expanding its operations, opening its US headquarters in Portsmouth, NH. Greg Maguire, senior director, government and legal affairs, said expanding to the Pease International Tradeport is part of the company’s overall growth strategy.

by Lisa M Ventriss, MPA, President Vermont Business Roundtable While disappointing, the recent announcement that Revision Military had decided to move its official US headquarters to Portsmouth, New Hampshire was not shocking. As a worldwide leader in the manufacture of protective military and law enforcement gear, Revision’s demand for its products means it needs access to a larger talent pool. So proximity to Boston and Pease AFB’s cluster of military tech businesses made great business sense. And there are other examples of companies that have found they cannot expand in Vermont for lack of human capital, and are considering expanding into other regional markets.