Current News

by Sue Minter On February 3, I will run through snow and ice with over 1,200 Vermonters to jump into Lake Champlain for the annual Penguin Plunge. This will be my first time taking the Plunge which is the largest annual fundraiser for Special Olympics Vermont--a statewide organization that is part of a global movement dedicated to transforming the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. I will have to summon all my courage to Plunge into the icy water. But I will be warmed knowing that my action will positively impact so many Vermont families.

Vermont Business Magazine With the US government closed for business for the 19th time since 1976, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States Most & Least Affected by the 2018 Government Shutdown to add some hard data to all the rhetoric. Vermont is relatively low on the list, ranked 41st (New Hampshire, 40th), especially considering that in a separate study the state is ranked one of the highest ranking (5th) in its overall budget dependent on federal finances. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of six key metrics, ranging from each state’s share of federal jobs and contracts to the percentage of kids covered by CHIP.

by Attorney General TJ Donovan Governor Scott’s administration has proposed a new 925-bed prison campus at a cost of more than $140 million dollars. Before we move forward with such a significant undertaking, Vermonters should ask some tough questions about whether there is a better way to address the need for correctional facilities in the State of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has advised that the State of Vermont has prepared for the possibility of a shutdown of the federal government. This week, the Agency of Administration directed agencies and departments to draw down all available federal funds due to the State, ensuring accounts are as current as possible. The Agency of Administration and the Department of Finance and Management have also worked with Treasurer Beth Pearce to confirm the state has the necessary cash-on-hand to endure a short-term shutdown.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and a POWDR company, is New England’s largest electric car charging hub with a total of 45 electric vehicle (EV) chargers throughout the resort’s properties. As a part of POWDR’s Play Forever sustainability efforts Killington Resort and Pico Mountain added additional electric vehicles chargers throughout Killington Resort and Pico Mountain. EV charges were installed across the resort at the Sykeship Base Area, Snowshed Base Area, Snowshed Upper Parking Lot, K-1 Base Area and Pico Mountain Base Area for a total of 45 electric car chargers.

by Agriculture, Food and Markets Secretary Anson Tebbetts As you go about your day, it’s likely you pass a farm – or two or more – along the way. Hidden in hamlets and stretched out in the valleys, Vermont’s farms are part of our daily lives. And although farmers have worked the land for over a century, there may be something unexpected, yet rooted in Vermont, happening behind the scenes.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont will host the 2018 Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference on March 6-8. The Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference will take place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Burlington Vermont with optional excursions planned at Hotel Vermont in Burlington, Trapp Family Lodge Bierhall in Stowe, and Sugarbush Resort in Warren.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Green Building Network’s (VGBN) sixth annual Vermont’s Greenest Building Awards Competition is now open for submissions. This statewide competition recognizes residential and commercial buildings that meet the highest standard of demonstrated building energy performance. 2017 awards will be judged on an expanded definition of “green” building, including the consideration of energy, water, health, transportation, size of residence and affordability.

The awards were designed to recognize buildings that have achieved high levels of energy performance and environmentally beneficial design, construction and operations. These buildings set a new standard for environmentally responsible building in Vermont, raising awareness of the achievements being made in the State’s leading buildings.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for December was 2.8 percent. This reflects a decline of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised November rate. The national rate in December was 4.1 percent. As of the prior month’s preliminary data, the Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan NECTA was tied for the ninth lowest unemployment rate in the country for all metropolitan areas. Overall, Vermont’s unemployment rate was tied for the fifth lowest in the country for the same time period.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott was joined by his Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative Steering Committee (VOREC), Thursday, to present the group’s first report, which recommends strategies to strengthen and expand Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy.

The first report to Gov. Scott follows months of public meetings and comments, and incorporates input from hundreds of Vermonters across the state.

Vermont Business Magazine Business, municipal, and environmental leaders came together today to express shared support for long-term clean water funding via a parcel fee, and the establishment of a Clean Water Authority to collect and distribute those funds to on-the-ground clean water projects.

In a letter to the legislature, the groups voiced their strong support for core provisions in two water quality funding bills introduced this session (S.260 and H.564), which call for the establishment of long-term funding for water quality improvements by creating a Clean Water Authority. However, they called on lawmakers to make critical amendments to both bills to require revenue collection by the Authority itself, rather than through Vermont’s local governments or a State agency.

Vermont Business Magazine ReSOURCE, a multi-faceted organization that creates a marketplace for reuse with proceeds funding new opportunities to the under-skilled and long-term unemployed and providing poverty relief, is pleased to announce its home base is moving from its long-time 266 Pine Street location to a larger facility in Williston’s Taft Corners. The more than 37,000 square foot space at 329 Harvest Lane allows ReSOURCE to secure its own sustainability by housing its reuse store, administrative offices, workforce development programs, and appliance repair and computer departments, under one roof.