Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The labor force and total employed are both way up in April for both the month and the year. The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for April was 2.8 percent. This reflects no change from the revised March rate. The comparable United States rate in April is 3.9 percent, which was a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point from the revised March estimate. The seasonally-adjusted Vermont data for April show the Vermont civilian labor force increased by 1,076 from the prior month’s revised estimate (up 3,452 for the year). The number of employed persons increased by 1,062 (up 4,487 for the year) and the number of unemployed persons increased by 14 (down 1,035 for the year).

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The legislative leadership and Governor Phil Scott will meet on Monday to discuss procedure for the special session May 23, which the governor called for earlier this week. Unlike a veto session, a special session allows for any legislation to be addressed not simply that which the governor vetoes. Scott said he will not sign the budget or tax bills as currently written. Without an agreement, state government would shut down July 1.

Vermont Busiess Magazine Spring may be missing in action, but businesses continue to sprout in downtown Rutland at a healthy pace. For the sixth month in a row, downtown has seen a new business open its doors each month. They’re all different and each is working to meet the demands of the local community in diverse ways.

Vermont Business Magazine At a meeting on May 3, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board awarded $7,084,832 to create, preserve, and rehabilitate 177 affordable homes in Lyndon, Rutland and Fair Haven; to help develop a pedestrian and bike trail in Newport; to conserve four farms in Addison, Orange, Grand Isle, and Washington Counties; and to support a floodplain restoration project in Guilford.

VHCB Executive Director Gus Seelig said, “VHCB is pleased to invest in these efforts that will have a positive impact in communities around the state by expanding economic opportunity, protecting work force, senior and family housing, increasing Vermont’s flood resiliency, and helping farmers to expand, diversify, reduce debt and retire.”

Vermont Business Magazine Below is a link to video and text of Senator Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vermont) exchange with Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson at today’s Appropriations Committee hearing. Secretary Wilson testified directly that there is not another mission for the Vermont Air National Guard, other than the F-35 mission. Leahy is the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and today’s hearing is part of the committee’s process in writing the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2019.

The VIDEO can be found by clicking the image of Secretary Wilson.

A TRANSCRIPT of this video of the Leahy-Wilson Q&A is also BELOW.

Senate Appropriations Committee

Vermont Buisness Magazine Governor Phil Scott signed new legislation into law strengthening Vermont’s financial services industry in a variety of areas. The new law offers an onshore affiliated reinsurance alternative to insurance companies affected by the recent imposition of the Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) on reinsurance ceded to offshore affiliates. Vermont’s new law provides a solution by creating a more favorable reinsurance alternative for US companies conducting business in offshore jurisdictions that are now faced with a substantial new tax burden.

Vermont Business Magazine Wednesday, during House floor debate on a new Farm Bill, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) slammed proposed draconian cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that will eliminate a lifeline of nutrition assistance to millions of Americans.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) joined an effort with 10 other senators calling on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and other administration officials to immediately release a study reportedly being kept secret by the Trump administration which shows that perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are dangerous at far lower levels than EPA previously said was safe.

Since 2016, elevated and unsafe levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a type of PFAS, have been found in hundreds of private wells and one municipal water system in southwestern Vermont. The groundwater contamination is the product of past industrial manufacturing in the area.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has conditionally awarded funds to Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District (CVSWMD) to wrap the district’s box truck with messaging around recycling and composting in support of Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law (ACT 148). The $3,250 grant, issued by the ANR’s Department of Environmental Conservation, is intended to help “educate and build public awareness of these requirements and emphasize the importance of recycling and organics diversion.”

CVSWMD will use the grant to pay for a portion of the costs to cover the district’s box truck with a street-art style graphics designed by U-32 students Jake and Josh Ehret. The truck is on the road several days of the week within CVSWMD’s 19 member towns.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University announced a series of updates Thursday as part of its ongoing process to align its budget with current and future enrollment trends. The plan currently being implemented is a result of a four-month-long collaborative, exhaustive, and transparent approach to an organizational restructure that has identified cost-savings opportunities and growth initiatives. The restructuring, which was announced in February in response to a 3 percent operating deficit due to a decline in its traditional first-year student enrollment, seeks to align the university’s operating budget with the enrollment realities faced by colleges and universities across the country. The process was focused on enhancing the student experience, strengthening and expanding academic offerings, and positioning the University for sustainable growth into the future.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), based in Brattleboro, has announced the award of a grant in support of efforts to become a certified electronics recycler to Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Destruction of Omaha, Nebraska. The grant, which was funded by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), will allow Sadoff to become the second recycler in Omaha to be certified to the R2 Standard, and only the third in Nebraska.

“We are excited to receive this grant as it allows us to achieve certification to the R2 standard, this achievement will allow us to grow our business in Nebraska which will result in a greater positive environmental impact for the safe and secure recycling of electronics throughout the state and region” said Markus McDonell, Quality & Management Systems Manager, Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Destruction.

by Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts, ANR Secretary Julie Moore and Commerce Secretary Mike Schirling From Vermont’s inception, freedom and unity have spurred innovation. John Deere invented the tractor. Ben and Jerry created world-class ice cream. Environmental leaders like George Perkins Marsh defined conservation. The state’s rich history highlights how Vermonters and their values have led the way. Innovation continues today. Farmers are working with engineers, scientists and researchers on projects that improve the environment while improving their finances. Biodigesters transform manure to electricity. Perennial plants and grasses transform bare soils into buffers to protect rivers, and lasers help milk cows.