Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) has approved $9.3 million in loans to help support commercial, agricultural, energy and small business projects throughout Vermont. Projects include: Trapp Family Lodge, Inc., Stowe; Mocha Joe's Roasting Company, Inc., Brattleboro; Greensea Systems, Inc, Richmond; The Grass Gauchos, LLC, Colchester; Skinny Pancake, Inc., Burlington; The Lambert Farm, Washington; New Haven GLC Solar, LLC, New Haven; Sean & Danica Rolfe, Lyndonville; and Vermont Tree Goods, LLC in Bristol.

"With the help of VEDA financing, several companies are enhancing their production capabilities, a technology firm is expanding, and renewable energy projects are being developed," said Jo Bradley, VEDA's Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, $5.4 million was approved in agricultural loans to help farms diversify, and to help dairy farmers counter the effects of several years of low milk prices."

Vermont Business Magazine US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have led a bipartisan group of Senators in asking U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to provide information regarding recent reports of Chinese authorities abusing Interpol red notices to harass dissidents living abroad and threaten suspects’ family members who remain in China in an attempt to compel their return.

Leonine Public Affairs The political fireworks continued this week on the heels of the gun safety debate that dominated the bulk of the 2018 session. S.103, a chemical regulation bill that removed the consideration of certain scientific criteria from the regulatory process and gave the Commissioner of Health unprecedented authority to ban children's products, was taken up for a veto override vote by the House. The bill was vetoed by the Governor Phil Scott last week because he did not think it created additional safety measures and instead made the regulatory process more arbitrary and unscientific. The veto of was first overridden in the Senate by a vote of 22-8.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims spiked last week. For the week of April 21, 2018, there were 952 claims, 327 more than than they were the previous week, but 189 fewer than they were a year ago. Altogether 5,528 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 257 from a week ago, but 720 fewer than a year ago. For most weeks of 2017 and into 2018 claims have been below the year before.

Vermont Business Magazine Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) reminds its members of their access to telemedicine benefits and shares new service offerings effective in 2018. For years, BCBSVT has provided its members access to the largest, most extensive network of providers within Vermont and the U.S. Last year, to further provide members with the most current and convenient access to medical care, BCBSVT partnered with American Well® (Amwell) to give members 24/7/365 access to doctors via telemedicine.

Vermont Business Magazine An increasing number of Americans are choosing to support businesses committed to addressing social issues in their community. Finding organizations dedicated to creating positive social change has proven challenging, however – until now. The launch of Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory marks the release of the first publicly available, online directory of over 1,000 social enterprises throughout the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan joined a coalition of 27 states, cities, and counties to fight for clean air and oppose the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan is the first nationwide limit on climate change pollution from existing fossil fuel-burning power plants.

“The Clean Power Plan plays a key role in protecting our environment,” said Attorney General Donovan. “We’re seeing the impacts of climate change in Vermont with increasingly severe storms and rising temperatures that could threaten our ski and maple industries. Vermont has been a part of helping defend the Clean Power Plan for years and we will continue to work to protect clean air, Vermont’s environment and the public health of all Vermonters.”

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced his Administration has officially opened Stage One of the Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge (VPIC). Stage One is a reverse pitch, calling for proposals of creative, viable approaches to effectively remove phosphorus from manure or other organic waste streams, so that phosphorous can be used as a commodity to create economic development opportunities.

by Chris Graff Vermont Business Magazine “One hundred years of bondage – broken,” shouted Philip Henderson Hoff on election night 1962 as a deliriously happy crowd in Winooski lifted him on their shoulders. Hoff had broken a century of Republican rule, ousting incumbent Gov. F. Ray Keyser Jr. So many factors combined to make that win possible: Hoff was young, handsome and energetic: He was viewed in the mold of then-President John F. Kennedy.

Vermont Business Magazine The election of Democrat Phil Hoff as governor in 1962 was a watershed moment in Vermont political history. Hoff broke the GOP’s century-long hold on the governor’s office by defeating F Ray Keyser, Jr. Hoff served six high-energy years, transforming just about every aspect of the state’s life. Perhaps most significantly, he presided over the end of the the one-town, one-vote legislative rule. Hoff himself had been the lone member in the Vermont House of Representatives from Burlington. Hoff was only 38 when he was elected governor. Today Senator Patrick Leahy announced that Hoff had died at 93.

Vermont Business Magazine VPR has won four Regional Edward R Murrow Awards for our news coverage from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. The awards include: Best News Documentary: "Why Is Vermont So Overwhelmingly White?;" Hard News: "Some Immigrants Flee U.S., Knowingly Walking Into Police Arrest In Canada;" Excellence in Writing: "The Millennial Farmer: Balancing Crops, Student Loans and Social Media;" and Best Website: VPR.net.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police announced today that 18-year-old Jack Sawyer was released from custody on Friday morning, April 27, 2018. Sawyer was arrested following reports that he had made threats to Fair Haven Union High School on February 16, 2018. Sawyer has been released to the custody of his father and is under a 24/7 curfew at his residence. Sawyer is prohibited from entering the town of Fair Haven, possessing any firearms or dangerous weapons/devices, accessing the internet, or being present on any school property.