Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) is making available up to $60,000 in Local Food Market Development (LFMD) Grants to assist eligible Vermont farmers, businesses, and value-chain facilitators to reach new markets. VAAFM works to support market opportunities with an institutional or other wholesale focus in Vermont.

This year the agency has engaged a public/private partnership with philanthropic partners to augment these efforts and match up to $30,000 from the Vermont legislature for this grant effort.

“The strong program similarities between the VAAFM’s Local Food Development Grant Program and the priorities of philanthropic partners’ farm to institution initiatives, provides an opportunity to grow economic success for Vermont agricultural businesses, while providing quality food to institutions like schools, colleges and hospitals,” says Secretary Anson Tebbetts.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan, in partnership with the Department of Financial Regulation, issued a report to the Vermont General Assembly that recommends regulation of the Data Broker Industry, otherwise known as “Big Data.” If the Assembly adopts the recommendations, Vermont would become the first state to implement Data Broker regulation.

“I have traveled all over the state and heard from many Vermonters who are frustrated and concerned that businesses are collecting their personal information, and people have no say in the matter,” said Attorney General Donovan. “Privacy is a fundamental value here in Vermont, and I look forward to work with the Assembly to draft a bill that will restore some balance in this area.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of the Grafton, Vermont-based Windham Foundation announced today that former Vermont Creamery CEO Bob Reese has been elected as a member of its Board of Trustees. Reese founded Vermont Creamery with Allison Hooper in 1984, where they led the company until 2017, when the company was acquired by Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) issued the following statement Monday regarding the end-of-year spending bill: "As I have stated many times, Congress must not break for recess unless it addresses some of the major crises facing this country. While Republicans believe that tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations is the nation's major priority, I strongly disagree. Here are some of the issues that Congress must deal with now. "We must act now to prevent 800,000 Dreamers, young people who were raised in this country and know no other home, from losing their legal status. Any end of the year spending agreement must address the fear and uncertainty unnecessarily caused by the administration's reckless actions, and a clean Dream Act must be signed into law.

Vermont Business MagazineComcast and Mobius have openedthe voting process for the 2018 Vermont Mentor of the Year Award. Voters can read the full nominations for each candidate, and submit their choice for one of the 10 finalists by clicking the link below. Public voting is open through Thursday, January 4, 2018, and will narrow the field down to three finalists. The final award winner will be determined by a selection committee of local mentoring supporters, and Comcast will present the award to the winning mentor at Mobius’ annual Mentoring Celebration at the Statehouse later in the month.

Vermont Business MagazineFollowing last week’s decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gutting the 2015 Open Internet Order, which prohibits content restrictions, website fees and the creation of internet ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ lanes by internet providers, Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos released a statement condemning the decision, calling it a devastating blow to open information access and free speech.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan and 14 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit December 5 accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of violating the Clean Air Act by delaying air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution. Ground-level ozone causes asthma and other respiratory problems. The EPA determined a new standard, adopted in 2015, would have public health benefits worth an estimated $2.9 billion to $5.9 billion.

The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to designate areas around the country that do and do not meet the new standard within two years of its adoption. Areas that do not meet the standard face strict limitations on industrial and commercial facilities that are sources of compounds that lead to the creation of ground-level ozone.

by Mike Smith Republicans deserve what they got in Alabama last week when voters rejected their candidate for the US Senate, Roy Moore. This Senate seat should have been a slam dunk for Republicans. In Alabama they hadn’t lost a Senate race to a Democrat in over two decades. In fact, they had a candidate in Luther Strange who likely would have won the general election easily, but Moore defeated Strange in the primary.

Republicans decided to run a flawed candidate against Democrat Doug Jones even before sexual misconduct accusations surfaced.

Moore was removed from the state’s Supreme Court for defying judicial orders not once, but twice. He also said Muslims should not be allowed to serve in elective office and that homosexuality should be illegal. He even raised the notion that African-American families were better off under slavery.

Vermont Business MagazineWeekly unemployment claims as expected fell dramatically last week as holiday hiring picked up. Volatility is typical this time of year. Claims also remain lower than at the same time last year, as they have been for most weeks in 2017. Holiday hiring will see a reverse after Christmas, when claims typically spike again. For the week of December 9, 2017, there were 586 claims, 293 fewer than than they were last week and 80 fewer than they were a year ago.Altogether 4,161 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 766 from a week ago, and 940 fewer than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine If the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program is not funded by Congress, 24 Federally Qualified Health Centers in Vermont and New Hampshire, providing primary care to over 260,000 residents, will lose 70 percent of their funding beginning in January. The Health Centers have halted planned service expansions, including much-needed treatment programs for substance use disorders. Hiring freezes have been implemented, staff morale is low, and patients are wondering if their health center will still be there in the future.

In response, the governors and congressional delegations from Vermont and New Hampshire have made an extraordinary effort to avoid the impending loss of jobs and access to health care in both states by writing joint letters to Congress urging reauthorization of funding for at least five years for the Community Health Center program.

by ANR Secretary Julie Moore There’s been a lot of conversation lately around how to fund long-term clean water efforts in Vermont. Having personally worked on waterway clean-up in Vermont for 15 years, I am deeply aware of the long-term nature of the challenges we’re facing. We are a small state with a big task ahead of us and while this work is not insurmountable, finding solutions that have broad-based support won’t always be easy. There is one piece of this puzzle that just makes sense: TDI’s New England Clean Power Link project.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Burlington's Yankee Medical, Inc, a longtime local supplier of equipment such as wheelchairs, hospital beds and prosthetic limbs, has become part of the University of Vermont Health Network. The Network's affiliated hospitals include The University of Vermont Medical Center. UVMHN said in a statement that the partnership will make the transitions from hospital to home as smooth and beneficial to patients as possible. UVMHN paid $1 million for Yankee Medical, which will continue to operate under its own name under president Scott Wells. The medical device supplier employs 22.

UVM Medical Center photo.