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by Joyce Marcel. Photos by Randolph T Holhut. Vermont Business Magazine When you think about Vermont's economic destiny, do you first think about a crumbling old barn? Probably not. But Paul Bruhn does. “Vermont is really defined by its historic resources, its downtowns and village centers, the barns that dot the countryside – these define Vermont's character and are a very much part of Vermont's brand,” insists Bruhn, who has been the executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont since its founding in 1980. “And, as a result, they are the real foundation of our economic well-being.”

by Timothy McQuiston and Charlotte Lyman Vermont Teddy Bear President Bill Shouldice doesn't take a break from his shift on the packing line at the Shelburne plant to explain the dilemma his company faces. On the one hand, sales are great. You couldn't play Pandora before Christmas without hearing about PajamaGram, another VTB brand. On the other hand, he needs seasonal workers in a region of the state in which the unemployment rate hovers around 2 percent. You couldn't listen to local radio without hearing Shouldice in an ad looking for employees.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has announced matching grants will be awarded to the Schooner Lois McClure and the General George Stannard House. The grants, totaling $80,000 and funded by the state legislature, support the restoration and rehabilitation of two important resources that are vital to the telling of Vermont’s maritime and Civil War histories. The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation is proud to administer the matching grants on behalf of the State of Vermont. The Division will present the grants at a ceremony on December 28, 2017 at the State House in Montpelier.

“I’m pleased to announce this funding, which supports preservation of our proud history, as well as our tourism sector – an important contributor to the Vermont economy,” said Scott.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) joined a letter led by Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and signed by Tom Carper (D-DE), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Al Franken (D-MN),Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) are calling for the reversal of reported internal policies across the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) that ban the use of seven words, including “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Taxes has been working diligently to assess the impending impacts of federal tax changes. Coordinating closely with other departments and agencies, the department is focused on determining how aspects of the proposed bill will impact Vermonters, and what the magnitude of that impact may be. Douglas Farnham, Tax Department Economist and Director of Policy is coordinating a discussion across all state agencies and departments to ensure that the administration has a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the federal changes.

“The impacts of this bill go well beyond taxes, working with our partners in other agencies and stakeholders, we will explore the impacts, both positive and negative, and provide this analysis to the Governor, along with the policy responses worthy of consideration in the short and long-term,” Farnham said.

Public Assets Institute In November 550 more workers were employed. But over the longer term the trends have been different for different age groups. The biggest change is for the youngest Vermonters, ages 16 to 24. After a long decline, the share who had jobs climbed more than 6 percentage points from 2012 through 2016—from 52.2 percent to 58.6 percent. Meanwhile, the percentages of prime-age (25-54) and older (55-plus) workers employed has remained about the same since the end of the recession in 2009.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for November was 2.9 percent. This reflects no change from the revised October and September rates. Jobs grew in both the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data for both the month and year-to-year. The Labor Force also increased. However, the unadjusted unemployment rate for the state and in every Labor Market increased for the month, but are still below where they were a year ago. The national rate in November was 4.1 percent, also unchanged. 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 November. New Hampshire was tied for third (2.7 percent, unchanged from October, see chart below).

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Secretary of Administration Susanne Youngissued a directiverequiring all executive branch employees participate in sexual harassment training classes offered through the State of Vermont Department of Human Resources (DHR). In response to the national dialogue around the prevalence of sexual harassment, Governor Phil Scott called on DHR to review the State’s sexual harassment policies and procedures and recommend any necessary changes. Policies were found to be current and in line with best practices, and the Department identified an opportunity to improve training requirements to increase effectiveness.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power is preparing for a series of storms that are forecasted to hit Vermont startingFriday. Forecasters say theFridaystorm could bring 3-8” of snow, with the heaviest snowfall in Southern Vermont. Then another storm is set to impact Vermont earlySaturdaymorning with rain, freezing rain, and sleet.

“Our crews are preparing now and are ready to respond quickly to any outages from these storms,” said Kristin Carlson, GMP’s Vice President Strategic & External Affairs. “Early preparation is key to making sure we can get the lights on quickly and safely for customers.”

Safety is most important during winter storms and GMP reminds Vermonters to be careful on the roadways especially, as these storms will cause hazardous travel conditions.Sundayis forecasted to be clear, but GMP is tracking another snow storm forecasted for Christmas Day.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Attorney General and the Vermont Human Rights Commission have released their Report onAct 54 - Racial Disparities in State Systemsto the Joint Justice Legislative Oversight Committee.Section 3 of Act 54charges the Attorney General, together with the Human Rights Commission and interested stakeholders, with developing a strategy to address racial disparities within the state systems of education, labor and employment, access to housing, healthcare, and economic development.The over-arching theme was that in order for Vermont to successfully address and reduce racial disparities, it will need to change the underlying culture of our state with regard to race.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Public Utility Commission today approved Green Mountain Power’s rate increase of 5.02 percent for 2018. An average homeowner will see his electric bill go up about $5 a month (the average bill now is $97 and it will increase to $102). GMP and the Public Service Department had worked out a memorandum of understanding in early November that settled on a slightly higher rate than GMP’s original request of 4.98 percent by eliminating three capital projects that would have generated revenues for the Colchester-based utility. GMP is the largest utility in the state. The new rates will increase total revenues for GMP by $29.8 million, with residential accounting for $12.9 million of that.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) voted unanimously to approve OneCare Vermont’s $620 million 2018 Accountable Care Organization (ACO) budget. The budget was approved with a series of conditions that the ACO must meet to better ensure that quality improvement and cost containment efforts are successful. The Board also voted unanimously to submit a Medicare rate trend factor of 3.5 percent for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) approval, resulting in a blended rate increase, inclusive of Medicaid and commercial insurance, of less than 3.0.

This new wellness program called "All-Payer" willcover an estimated 120,000 Vermonters, or about 20 percent of the population, beginningJanuary 1, 2018. The idea is by keepingpeople healthier, there will be less chronic disease, fewer major health events, and ultimately a healthier population with resultant lower costs.