Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is encouraging members to conserve energy tomorrow, Monday, June 18, between the hours of 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. This is when demand for electricity is expected to spike as a result of high temperatures throughout New England

Leonine Public Affairs Governor Phil Scott vetoed H.13, the second version of the FY2019 budget bill last week. The move was not surprising and results in the legislature and governor being no closer to resolving their disagreements than they were a week ago. With July 1st and the beginning of the new state fiscal year only 13 days away, the state is inching closer than ever to a government shutdown. Most onlookers still find it hard to believe the impasse will actually result in a shutdown and that something will have to give in the next two weeks. That said neither side shows any indication of backing down.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington School District (BSD) announced Monday morning changes to personnel positions within the District. Burlington High School (BHS) Principal Tracy Racicot will take over as the Director of Burlington Technical Center (BTC), a position she held previously. After two years in leadership positions within the District, Noel Green, currently Assistant Principal of BHS, will take over the BHS helm as Interim Principal. The changes will take place over this summer break.

Noel Green, BHS photo.

Vermont Business Magazine On Monday, June 4 convened the third annual 2018 Vermont Mentoring Symposium at the Waterbury State Office Complex. This day-long conference is the only professional development and networking opportunity of its kind focused on youth mentoring in Vermont, and brought together nearly 60 youth mentoring program staff, board members, and supporters from across the state for a day of networking and professional development.

Vermont Business Magazine The Northeast boasts the highest wages and the highest benefits in the nation. Within the region, New England is the highest paid, while the Mid-Atlantic states provide the most expensive benefits. Private industry employer costs for employee compensation among the four regions of the country ranged from $30.68 per hour in the South to $41.48 in the Northeast during March 2018, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Co-op (VEC) today announced the addition of an exciting new benefit for co-op members: special discounts at businesses across the region. The new VEC Member Discount Program offers a wide range of deals, including bargains on outdoor fun and entertainment, clothing and shoes, hardware, motorsports gear, and more.

Vermont Business Magazine Unfortunately, as the Administration and others have noted, H.13 leaves in place an automatic $23 million (5.5 cent) property tax rate increase on non-residential payers - our rental property owners and renters, camp owners, and employers. Without a commitment from legislative leaders that we can achieve level property tax rates, or an amendment that would prevent the automatic 5.5 cent property tax rate increase on non-residential payers, I cannot support H.13. As a result, pursuant to Chapter II, Section I I of the Vermont Constitution, I am returning H.13, An act relating to making appropriations for the support of government, without my signature because of my objections described herein.

Vermont Business Magazine As the child detention crisis created by the Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” policy intensifies, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will travel Sunday to the U.S.- Mexico border near McAllen and Brownsville, Texas. Welch and six Congressional colleagues will investigate the effects of the policy of separating children from mothers and fathers seeking asylum at the border crossing.

Vermont Business Magazine The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday approved the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act by a strong bipartisan vote of 16 to 5. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and cosponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would combat anticompetitive practices used by some brand-name pharmaceutical and biologic companies to block lower-cost generic drugs.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for May was 2.8 percent. This reflects no change from the revised April rate. The national rate in May was 3.8 percent. As of the prior month’s preliminary data, the Burlington- South Burlington Metropolitan NECTA was tied for the eighth lowest unemployment rate in the country for all metropolitan areas. Overall, Vermont’s unemployment rate was tied for the fifth lowest in the country for the same time period. Commissioner’s Message

by Bruce Edwards Vermont Business Magazine Challenges are nothing new for the state’s second largest county. Over the years the industrial, commercial and retail landscape has changed in Rutland County. Major employers like Tambrands, Metromail, Skyline and the Brandon Training School left, leaving a void that was filled in part by new and existing employers: GE Aviation, Ellison Surface Technologies, Killington Resort, The Vermont Country Store and Hubbardton Forge.

by Bruce Edwards Vermont Business Magazine The College of Saint Joseph, facing a financial reckoning, caused by declining student enrollment and a failed attempt to offer a physician’s assistant program, has found a way to remain open. Given the school’s financial predicament it was uncertain whether the school would remain open. But the board of trustees in May came up with a plan to generate more income and keep the liberal arts college in business. Declining enrollment is not unique to the College of Saint Joseph. It’s a national problem with enrollments in the fall of 2017 down at the nation’s college and universities for the sixth straight year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.