Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) outlined his plan to strengthen the United States Postal Service in a letter Thursday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the chairman of the president’s task force on the Postal Service. Sanders includes several recommendations to help the Postal Service succeed and thrive into the 21st century, without moving toward privatization and endangering the jobs of the 640,000 Americans employed by the Postal Service.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill approved on Thursday by the committee includes several key Vermont initiatives to help veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Notably, the bill protects $40 million in funding for the PTSD Consultation Program, run out of the National Center for PTSD at White River Junction, and created by Leahy in fiscal year 2013.

This funding, targeted for a $20 million cut in the President’s budget, was preserved by a bipartisan group of Senate appropriators led by Leahy. The National Center for PTSD and the PTSD Brain Bank in White River Junction were the first such organizations in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and were created with crucial support from Leahy.

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board awarded over $750,000 in grants to 25 Vermont agriculture and forest sector businesses and service providers at the State House today, in support of businesses and organizations that support Vermont’s working landscape. The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative has distributed over $3.8 million in grants since its inception in 2012, leading to an additional 428 jobs and $18.1 million in sales.

This year, the Working Lands Enterprise Fund received a donation of $16,000 from Ski Vermont. The annual Ski Vermont Grant went to Fairmont Farm from East Montpelier and will be used to fund the dairy farm’s Life on the Farm Camp. Every summer, this camp brings many non-farm families to the dairy farm to enjoy a firsthand farming experience.

US Census Bureau The US Census has released its updated school spending report. The current spending per pupil for all 50 states and the District of Columbia was $11,762 in 2016, an increase of 3.2 percent from 2015. The states spending the most per pupil were New York ($22,366), the District of Columbia ($19,159), Connecticut ($18,958), New Jersey ($18,402) and Vermont ($17,873). Lowest was Utah ($6,953). Vermont's relatively highest spending category per pupil was in school administration ($1,296; US average $651), which was second highest only to DC ($1,447). Vermont ranked sixth in teacher salaries ($6,743, US average $4,603; DC highest $9,547; New York highest state $9,407; Utah lowest, $2,698).

Markets fall as China cuts back and costs rise

by CB Hall Vermont Business Magazine The handling of Vermont's recyclable wastes has long been a more or less straightforward matter, of the out-of-sight, out-of-mind variety, but that's changing. China, which had been receiving about a third of all recyclables exported from the United States, announced last July that it would stop accepting 24 materials that have long been among those exports – including key components of the global trade in recyclables.

by Michele Morris, the Director of Outreach and Communications at Chittenden Solid Waste District Single-stream recycling has been known by many names: “all in one,” “commingled,” “No Sort” and “Zero Sort,” but all of them mean the same thing: You don’t have to sort your cardboard, glass bottles, aluminum cans, and other recyclables into separate bins. Just put them all in the same bin or cart, and the single-stream system will sort them for you.

by Jeff Wakefield, University of Vermont It’s been a whirlwind few months for Packetized Energy, the energy sector start-up spun off from a large Department of Energy project in 2016 by three UVM electrical engineering faculty, Paul Hines, Jeff Frolik and Mads Almassalkhi. After completing a pilot with Burlington Electric Department at the end of 2017, the company launched ambitious demonstration projects in January with Green Mountain Power and the Vermont Electric Cooperative that put its innovative technology to the test under real market conditions.

Vermont Business Magazine Always wanted to live in Vermont? Here's your chance to move to the Green Mountains—and live in a free, super-efficient smart home! Green Mountain Power (GMP), Naylor & Breen Builders, United Way of Rutland County, NBF Architects and Rutland Mayor Dave Allaire kicked off GMP's Rutland Innovation Home Contest, a national contest that will award one lucky family or individual a new, 1,500-square-foot fossil-free home in the heart of Central Vermont.

Along with the deed to a mortgage-free, energy-smart home complete with solar panels, air-source heat pumps, a Tesla Powerwall and a cutting-edge insulation package, the prize includes a local "concierge" to aid with job searches, business and personal contacts and free co-working space at GMP's Energy Innovation Center in downtown Rutland.

by Senator Bernie Sanders As a nation, Vermonters are ahead of the curve when it comes to energy efficiency and renewable energy. While many Vermonters have already taken steps to protect the environment and save money on their fuel bills, many others are considering installing solar panels, heat pumps, clean wood heat, geothermal energy, or making their homes and businesses more energy efficient.

There are many pro-environment and pro-consumer options out there, but sometimes it is hard to know which ones make the most sense for your family or business. That is why I am organizing an Energy Resource Fair and Town Meeting this Saturday, June 9, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center. The goal is to provide practical information for Vermonters from all income levels on how they can save money on their fuel bills and protect the environment by investing in energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity recently completed its first project in Essex Junction: a triplex built to one of Efficiency Vermont’s higher energy efficient standards. The home allows the new owners to live more comfortably and spend less on energy, all while building equity through homeownership.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Days are an annual invitation to visitors and Vermonters to explore, for free, Vermont’s excellent fishing, state parks, and historic culture. For the weekend of June 9-10, all Vermont State Parks day-use areas and all state-owned Historic Sites will be open at no charge. Saturday is free fishing day, the one day of the summer when anyone can fish in Vermont without a license. It’s also a day for history: the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier and the Vermont History Center in Barre will offer free admission on Saturday, June 9.

Vermont Business Magazine Since the 1960s, scientists at the University of Vermont have been documenting the decline of red spruce trees, casualties of the damage caused by acid rain on northeastern forests. But now, surprising new research shows that red spruce are making a comeback—and that a combination of reduced pollution mandated by the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act and changing climate are behind the resurgence.