Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today recognized the Vermont high school girls who participated in the GirlsGoCyberStart challenge, a cybersecurity training partnership between states and the SANS Institute. Vermont had a total of 18 teams and 46 girls participate, competing with students from fifteen other states in this free online competition, which provided high school girls interested in a cybersecurity career with a tool to learn basic cybersecurity skills and test their cyber aptitude.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House on Friday approved gun violence protection measures in H675. This bill takes elements of the Senate's S221, which called for the removal of firearms from those individuals considered an "extreme risk." S221 passed unanimously Thursday. The Legislature is in recess next week for Town Meeting Day (Tuesday March 6). H675 must now get Senate approval or go to conference committee.

by Jill Mazza Olson Executive Director, VNAs of Vermont It used to be that towns employed town nurses to provide care for residents. Town nurses met the varied needs of the broad range of people in their care by being autonomous and flexible, creating deep relationships with their patients and making home visits when necessary.

Over the years and with support from the cities and towns we serve, Visiting Nurses Associations (VNAs) took on the role and today, VNAs care for children, adults, seniors, and families, helping keep people where they most want to be—at home, regardless of their ability to pay. While care needs have changed and VNAs now provide sophisticated and innovative care, nurses and other home health care professionals still rely on the autonomy and flexibility that made the town nurses so strong, and they still create strong bonds with the people they serve.

Leonine Public Affairs The conclusion of this week marks the midpoint of the 2018 legislative session. Because the official crossover deadline for policy bills was Friday legislators were working feverishly to move bills out of committee to ensure the other body has the ability to consider them. However, due to an unusual amount of floor activity the crossover deadline is getting an unofficial extension. Much of this can be attributed to the sudden shift in the political landscape regarding gun safety legislation. In less than two weeks time most gun safety bills went from being non-starters to must pass legislation.

by Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. One-person, one-vote is an ideal that lies at the corner of our collective democratic values. On Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March, citizens across Vermont come together in their communities to discuss the business of their towns. For over 200 years, Town Meeting Day has been an important political event as Vermonters elect local officers, vote on municipal and school budgets, and decide a host of other potential local issues, like bond votes or school district consolidations.

Voting on these items means a lot more than filling in an oval on a ballot. It’s an opportunity to shape your local government and provide input regarding your needs as a community member.

Vermont Business Magazine Legendary sports broadcaster Ken Squier will be honored by the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce at their Annual St Patrick’s Day Breakfast. As St Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, The Chamber will be getting a jump on the “Wearin’ of the Green” by meeting on Tuesday, March 13th. The breakfast will kick off at 7:30am at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Montpelier.

While not dubbed a “Citizen of the Year” tribute, it is intended to be a relaxed, friendly way for The Chamber to recognize and thank those citizens of Central Vermont whose contributions have significantly improved the lives of those of us who live, work, and visit here.

Vermont Business Magazine Quiros to pay back $81 million, give up resorts; VEC CEO Christine Hallquist resigns, to run for governor; Amtrak could suspend Vermont service; $15 minimum wage; Vermont Gas rate decrease would save customers $270 a year; Maine power line picked over Vermont options for Mass RFP; Woodchuck Cider ends relationship with Pabst; ​Scott, lawmakers put gun control bills on fast track; and more.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Ski + Ride Magazine was named one of the top three specialty publications in New England at the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s annual awards dinner on February 24 in Boston. The quarterly magazine was third in General Excellence, the highest honor category, for specialty publications.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott’s Communications Director Rebecca Kelley today issued the following statement on H911, a bill that would combine the Governor’s Working Family Taxpayer Protection Act and his social security tax relief proposals with the House Ways & Means proposal to raise income taxes to fund education.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine If the skies seem a bit quieter around Burlington International Airport these days, it’s because the Vermont Air National Guard’s F-16s have been flying fewer sorties. And it will keep getting quieter for about the next 18 months, which will include, starting next March, about six months of no F-16 activity. But for the next few days, the political noise will get louder, and who knows when that might quiet down.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced Friday, March 2, 2018, three potential changes to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, that will ultimately reduce tax rates for employers beginning July 1, 2018. These anticipated changes will also reduce the taxable wage base amount that employers currently pay on unemployment taxes by $2,000, beginning January 1, 2019, and on the benefits side, claimants are expected to see an increase in the maximum benefit amount effective July 1, 2018. Unemployment claims have been falling in Vermont the last few years. The Great Recession (2008-2009) led to Vermont falling into deficit in its unemployment trust fund. The state then had to borrow money from the federal government. The fund has since recovered allowing for a cutting of rates to employers and an increase in benefits to laid off workers.