Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Four times each year, New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) selects four recipient organizations at random to receive $625 each, for a total of $10,000 annually.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce announced today the top 50 Best Places to Work in Vermont 2018. The awards program was created in 2006 and is presented in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management, Vermont State Council, (SHRM), the Vermont Department of Labor and the Vermont Department of Commerce and Community Development and Best Companies Group.

The Best Places to Work in Vermont list has been broken down into three categories this year, Small Businesses (15-99 employees), Medium Businesses (100-249 employees) and Large Businesses (250+ employees).

Of the 50 companies being recognized, fifteen are new to the list in 2018. Two companies, Edward Jones and King Arthur Flour have won the distinction of Best Places to Work in Vermont every year since 2006, the first year Best Companies Group started surveying Vermont companies.

Vermont Business Magazine Once considered out-of-sight, the state’s environmental permitting system recently got a massive makeover that’s making information significantly more accessible. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has launched the Environmental Notice Bulletin (ENB). Now, for the first time, there is an online hub (enb.vermont.gov) that gives anyone the ability to easily track permit applications and add public comments.

DEC issues more than 9,000 permits annually. Nearly half of these permits will be publicly noticed on ENB in the coming year, making the entire process more straightforward and transparent. ENB gives users the power to add comments directly to the website, request a public meeting, and receive notice of the final permit application decision.

Vermont Business Magazine Morgan True is joining Heady Vermont as a writer and editor. He brings more than five years of journalism experience to Heady’s editorial team, most recently as Burlington bureau chief for VTDigger.org. Before that, Morgan was VTDigger’s health care beat reporter. He graduated from Boston University in 2012 with a bachelor of science in journalism, and spent the next several years working for newspapers in Massachusetts and as a legislative relief reporter for the Associated Press in New Hampshire.

A Seattle native, Morgan has spent close to a decade in New England and has found the culture and character of region suits his intellectual and curmudgeonly bent. An avid snowboarder and swimming hole enthusiast, Vermont jibes with his hobbies too.

Vermont Business Magazine Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) today issued the following statement regarding the passing of former Speaker Timothy O’Connor Tuesday at 81. O'Connor was a Democrat from Brattleboro who nonetheless served as Speaker during a Republican majority in the House. He was the first Democrat to hold the post since the 1850s when he took the gavel in 1975. He also has been the long-serving town moderator.

Vermont State Police At approximately 1105 AM troopers from the Vermont State Police and the Montpelier Police Department shot at and killed a male subject identified as Nathaniel Giffin, 32, of Essex, Vermont. The shooting occurred on the athletic field at the Montpelier High School following a bank robbery that Giffin committed at approximately 930 AM.

Vermont State Police Criminal Division detectives responded to investigate and the Crime Scene Search Team to process the scene. Also assisting were detectives from the Barre City Police Department. Preliminary investigation has revealed the following:

[WCAX TV captured the shooting.]

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) issued the following statement ahead of a vote in the Senate Tuesday to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Natural Resources Council is praising a decision by the Department of Environmental Conservation to withdraw a proposed rule that would have imposed restrictions on the use of non-motorized boats on Great Hosmer Pond in Craftsbury, Vermont. DEC drafted the rule last year and indicated its intention to formally move the proposal through the rulemaking process. VNRC on behalf of its members, including a number people that are part of the group Friends of Great Hosmer Pond (FoGHP), objected to the draft rule in October. VNRC raised concerns about the legality of the rule, and the policy of promoting motorized over non-motorized uses of public waters.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Attorney General TJ Donovan joined a coalition of 22 Attorneys General in filing a multistate lawsuit to block what they say is the Federal Communications Commission’s illegal rollback of net neutrality. The coalition filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, formally commencing the lawsuit against the FCC and the federal government.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of 24 Vermonters to State boards and commissions, made in the month of December. Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities. The Governor’s office is currently soliciting applications to fill vacancies and upcoming term expirations. All those interested in serving on a board or commission should visit the Governor’s website at governor.vermont.gov/boards-commissions to apply.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University President Richard W. Schneider announced the promotion of Kathleen Murphy-Moriarty to Vice President of Communications beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Murphy-Moriarty has led Norwich University’s Office of Communications since August 2013, when she was hired as Director of Communications and Marketing. She had previously served as Chief Marketing Officer for the State of Vermont.

Kathleen Murphy-Moriarty. Norwich photo.

Vermont Business Magazine Personal Income Tax revenues for last month surged and are running ahead of projections. General Fund revenues collected for the month of December totaled $139.62 million, $8.19 million above the consensus cash flow expectation for the month. The monthly consensus cash flow targets were established by the Emergency Board on July 21, 2017 and reflect the General Fund receipts estimated to be collected each month. December marks the sixth month and the halfway point of fiscal year 2018.