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Vermont Business Magazine Burlington High School (BHS) has become the second high school in the country to fly the Black Lives Matter flag. More than 700 students and staff participated in a brief and optional ceremony held during noninstructional time on Monday afternoon. Flown below the American Flag and Vermont’s State Flag on the school’s only flagpole, the Black Lives Matter flag is flown in honor of black history month and will remain up throughout the year.

by Jack Hoffman Public Assets Institute In his annual letter to the Legislature the tax commissioner announced that a projected 3.9 percent increase in per-pupil spending next year was going to result in a 6.2 percent increase in the average homestead property tax rate. This is the kind of disconnect that really irks local voters and school officials alike.

by Bill Schubart Recently, the leader of a major eastern university observed that 25 percent of his incoming class this year is on some form of prescribed psychotropic medication for ADHD, depression, or anxiety. Seventy percent of all Americans are taking some form of prescription medication, and 10 percent of them are on anti-depressants. Among women between 40 and 50, the number is 25 percent. In fact, antidepressant use in the US has quadrupled in just the last 30 years.

This may be partly because Pharma spent $240 million last year lobbying Congress to deter regulation and competition, $3 billion marketing to consumers and $24 billion marketing drugs to health care professionals. And we just gobble them up, spending $330 billion in 2013 or about $1,000 for every American.

Vermont Business Magazine Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of non-medical, in-home care for seniors, is partnering with the UVM Memory Program to once again offer the Mind Fit Series to UVM Memory Program patients and their caregivers. The series begins Wednesday, February 21^st and runs for six consecutive weekly sessions from 4-5 pm at Home Care Assistance’s office location at 4 Pearl Street, Suite 104, Essex Junction, VT This series is free, open to patients of the UVM Memory Program, and will offer an opportunity to learn proactive ways to enhance cognitive functioning and include fun group activities.

Vermont State Police On late Saturday afternoon, a father and son were killed in a one-vehicle accident on Interstate 89 in Middlesex. Peter Belanger was traveling south on I-89, operating a tractor/trailer unit. The trailer was a tank, with several thousand gallons of fuel.

by Paul Cillo I’m writing about the Ways and Means Committee’s work this session on education funding. I understand the challenges the committee faces in making changes to the system, and it appears that there is a lot about the plan that has not yet been worked out. Nevertheless, I want to share some thoughts about the plan so far based on Public Assets Institute’s analysis of the information the committee has posted on the Legislature’s website.

Vermont Business Magazine David Silverman, President and CEO of Union Bank, and Vermont State Representative Dylan Giambatista will join the Vermont State College System Board of Trustees. Silverman is a 1985 alumnus of Johnson State College and has retained long and strong connections with the college. He has supported internship and career opportunities for students, served on the President’s Roundtable, and participated in panels supporting Johnson as it works with Lyndon State College to become Northern Vermont University. He has been instrumental in making Union Bank one of the most profitable banks in New England. He was founding Chairman of the Community Health Services of Lamoille Valley, President of the Lamoille Economic Development Corporation, and Chairman of the Vermont Bankers Association. He and his wife live in Morrisville.

by Vermont Secretary of Administration Susanne Young Governor Phil Scott recently released the details of a Vermont personal income tax reform plan, the Working Family Taxpayer Protection Act, which protects Vermonters from unintended impacts of recent federal changes. The Administration is taking action because, if we do nothing, Vermonters – mostly working families with children – will pay more in state tax on their 2018 income.

It seems counterintuitive, but while many Vermonters will see their federal taxes go down, about half will see their state taxes increase. Why? Because the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changed the way federal taxes are calculated, which means the way Vermont taxes are calculated will change – increasing taxable income at the state level.

Leonine Public Affairs The crossover deadline is only two weeks away. Around this time bills start to move more frequently and that was the case in the seventh week of the 2018 session. That movement resulted in several significant debates in the House and Senate this week.

by Chris Graff Vermont Business Magazine I first visited the State House in 1967 with my Woodstock Elementary School eighth-grade class. Phil Hoff, a Democrat whose 1962 election as governor shocked the state – he was the first Democrat to win that office since the Civil War – took the time to greet us and shake hands. Dick Mallary, a Republican who was then the speaker of the House, gave a short talk. But what I remember most vividly about the first trip north to see the workings of government is the men’s bathroom in the basement. The room is huge; the fixtures brass, the countertops marble. Its lavish decoration clearly belied its lowly purpose. I was so impressed that I took photographs (and still have them).

Vermont Business Magazine For ice cream lovers who only indulge on special occasions or limit themselves to a weekly treat, Ben & Jerry's has created Moo-phoria, a new line of light ice cream with satisfyingly euphoric flavors. Suddenly, Wednesday is the new weekend! Moo-phoria pints are full of all the wonderful chunks and swirls that fans adore, along with rich and creamy vanilla, chocolate, caramel and peanut butter flavors. What's missing? Sixty to seventy percent fat and at least 35% of the calories found in traditional ice cream. Each ½ cup serving of Moo-phoria has 140-160 calories. And like all Ben & Jerry's flavors, Moo-phoria doesn't have artificial sugar substitutes or sugar alcohols.

Vermont Business Magazine News in Brief for January 2018: Keurig owner snaps up Dr Pepper in $18.7 billion deal; Scott signs bill to legalize marijuana; Hallquist to run for governor as Democrat; St Michael’s College names Sterritt 17th president, first woman; Vermont unemployment rate falls to 2.8 percent; and more.