Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Community College of Vermont (CCV) will receive a 30 percent increase in philanthropic support from the J Warren & Lois McClure Foundation for academic year 2018-19. The College is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a total of $235,000 to support its work in four critical areas. This year’s funding includes $60,000 for the development of innovative occupational credentials that will enhance college-to-career pathways, and $90,000 provides broad support for CCV’s secondary education initiatives, which prepare Vermont middle and high school students for successful transitions to college and beyond, building on many years of support from the McClure Foundation for CCV’s Introduction to College and Careers course.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Public Utility Commission announced today that it is seeking eight members to serve on the Vermont System Planning Committee – one primary member and an alternate representing each of the following four interests: residential electric consumers, commercial and industrial electric consumers, town and regional planning organizations, and environmental protection. The alternates will attend VSPC meetings when the primary member is not available.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Tech’s Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) has announced two recent hires to their staff. Lyle Jepson and Katherine Barwin have been hired for the Continuing Education and Workforce Development team.

Vermont Business Magazine As the comment period for the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed changes to the Nutrition Facts Label draws to a close, Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Representative Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottleib last Friday insisting he exempt pure maple syrup and honey from any new “added sugars” disclosure requirements.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) held a Vermont Energy Resource Fair and Town Meeting Saturday at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center to discuss how Vermonters can make their homes and businesses more efficient and to help Vermonters determine what type of renewable energy works best for their needs. More than 300 people from throughout the state joined Sanders for the town meeting, which featured May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, as the guest keynote speaker. Boeve founded the climate justice group with Vermonter Bill McKibben.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies (CGCS) will host its annual Residency Conference June 18-22. The week represents the culmination of CGCS students’ experiences in online learning, with over 505 individuals gathering on the Northfield, Vt., campus to partake in presentations, academic conferences, networking events and commencement exercises.

Leonine Public Affairs The legislature ended the third week of the 2018 special session without any indication a final adjournment is on the horizon. The standoff between Democratic leaders in the legislature and the Republican governor over the budget is more intense now than ever. Governor Phil Scott is vehement in his position that he will not support any increase in the statewide property tax rate and that utilizing one-time money combined with a long-term effort to reduce student-teacher ratios and impose a statewide teacher contract is the best path forward. Democratic leaders maintain that using one-time money for the teacher’s retirement obligation is fiscally prudent, and that using one-time money to buy down property tax rates will only result in significant property tax increases in the future.

Vermont State Police On June 8, 2018, at 18:30 hours, VSP Dispatch received reports of multiple individuals who entered the Home Depot in Rutland (VT) and were actively stealing items. Troopers responded to the area and encountered the individuals in the Home Depot parking lot.

Troopers identified the individuals as Sarah Lee (36), Nathaniel Newton (33), Nicholas Doane (31) and Christopher Coccia (42).

During further investigation, Troopers recovered items on the above individuals and within a vehicle owned by Newton that had been stolen from the Home Depot. Troopers have seized a second vehicle that is believed to be connected to the theft and are currently applying for a warrant to search the vehicle for potential evidence.

Senator Patrick Leahy: With this draft, the Senate is moving toward next week’s committee consideration of the Farm Bill on a starkly more bipartisan footing than the House has done with the pending partisan Republican bill. I applaud Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow for working together to draft this proposal as a bipartisan starting point.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott is launching a new “Capitol for a Day” initiative, which will kick off in Rutland County on Monday, June 11. The Governor, along with members of his cabinet and extended cabinet, will spend the day in Rutland County, meeting with area constituents, lawmakers, local partners and state employees throughout the day. The initiative aims to give regional constituencies direct access to Administration leadership, as well as giving Administration officials an opportunity to visit regional businesses, schools, community organizations and municipal offices. The Administration expects to visit each of the state’s 14 counties throughout the summer and fall.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott celebrated legislation on Friday that enhances businesses, particularly manufacturers, ability to be more energy efficient, while simultaneously helping the state meet its energy goals. “When some of Vermont’s larger energy users told me the way the state had been incentivizing energy efficiency investments didn’t work for them, I knew we needed to take action,” said Scott. “This new tool will help companies like WestRock make investments they simply would not have done under the limitations of the existing energy efficiency program. This new approach will help reduce operating costs, strengthen our economy, and – importantly – help the state meet its energy goals.”

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that an appropriations bill approved by the committee on Thursday includes $50 million for Domestic Violence Supportive Housing, a program that provides rapid and transitional housing to victims of domestic violence. Leahy, who led in writing and enacting the 2013 law that strengthened the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and was the bill’s chief sponsor, made it a priority for the panel to include this funding in the annual funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the second fiscal year in a row.