Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and State Treasurer Beth Pearce today announced a new partnership and formation of a Financial Literacy Working Group to improve State agencies’ and departments’ delivery of personal finance resources to Vermonters. The Working Group, which will be led by the Treasurer’s Office and Department of Financial Regulation, is one of a series of actions to increase the financial well-being of Vermonters.

Treasurer Pearce and Governor Scott share a laugh while announcing their financial literacy program at the State House Thursday. Screen grab, click image for video.

Vermont Business Magazine You'll no longer have to worry about getting a parking ticket at a meter late at night in Burlington. In advance of a festive and busy downtown holiday season, the Burlington Department of Public Works (DPW), the Burlington Business Association (BBA) and Church Street Marketplace (CSM) have announced a series of significant parking upgrades, improvements and a holiday season promotion. Many of these upgrades and improvements were made possible by the City’s new Sustainable Infrastructure Plan, the 2015 Downtown Parking and Transportation Plan and by Mayor Miro Weinberger’s and his Administration’s focus on improving the parking experience in Burlington, including lessening the time involved in finding and paying for parking, making parking as safe as possible and raising public awareness on additional parking opportunities in light of the Burlington City Place parking structure demolition.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort has received a positive snow control announcement from FIS (Internal Ski Federation), the governing body of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, thus confirming the women's World Cup slalom and giant slalom events will go ahead as planned the weekend after Thanksgiving. Last year, Vermont high school grad Mikaela Shiffrin (Burke Mountain Academy) won the inaugural slalom race, which was internationally televised. Killington is the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and part of the POWDR adventure lifestyle company.

Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department notified the State of Vermont and the City of Burlington that the Department believes they have laws, policies or practices that violate 8 USC 1373, a federal statute that promotes information-sharing related to immigration enforcement. In all, the Department cited 29 jurisdictions, sometimes derided as “sanctuary cities,” that are being threatened with the withholding of funds. Specifically, the Department is questioning whether the State of Vermont and the City of Burlington comply with requirements of the fiscal years 2016 and 2017 Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (Byrne JAG). The Department is threatening to withhold Byrne JAG funds.

Vermont Business MagazineSunwealthhas announced the completion of the World Learning School for International Training (SIT) solar project installation.The 196.5 kW project, located on World Learning’s SIT Brattleboro, Vermont campus, will help the national non-governmental organization achieve $10,000 in energy savings per year. The project will also mitigate 183 metric tons of carbon in the first year of operation and produce approximately 260,200 kWh of renewable energy annually – equal to burning 211,866 pounds of coal per year.

by Ellen Kahler, Executive Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs FundVermont’s struggle to grow its workforce weakens our economy, inhibits the ability for Vermont businesses to expand their operations, and threatens the ability for Vermonters and future generations to grow and thrive here in the Green Mountains. An aging workforce, stagnant wages in jobs without career ladders, the cost of housing and childcare, the opioid epidemic, and a need for more young adults entering the workforce are all contributors to our workforce dilemma.

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Attorney General TJDonovan has joined with five other state attorneys general to oppose the USDepartment of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s plan to roll back an important Greenhouse Gas Performance Measure. The Measure went into effect on September 28, 2017. It requires all states to track on-road greenhouse gas emissions, to set locally-appropriate performance targets, and to ensure consistency in data collection. The coalition of attorneys general filed comments on proposed rulemaking by FHWA that would repeal the Greenhouse Gas Performance Measure.

In their comments, the attorneys general underscore the need for the Measure given our rapidly changing climate, and call for it to be kept in place and enforced.

Vermont Business Magazine Earlier this year the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), based in Brattleboro, inaugurated a new recognition program – the Environmental Sustainability Leadership Awards. Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director explained that, “This is an exciting new initiative that we are delighted to launch in conjunction with our 30th anniversary.”

by Jeffrey RWakefield, UVM There was no golden dome on the top of the Davis Center, but the fourth floor of the UVM’s student center bore more than a passing resemblance to the Vermont State House on Monday morning. Nearly 50 state legislators took up residencefor UVM’s fifth annual Legislative Summit.After addressing education, climate change, the Vermont economy and healthcare policy in past years, the summit’s topic this year was “Water: How Will We Ensure That It Is Clean and Plentiful.” The summit was divided into three sub-areas: groundwater contamination, causes and consequences of algal bloom and Lake Champlain as sentinel.

Vermont Business MagazineFood law and policy experts this week launched a nationalHealthy Food Policy Project(HFPP) that identifies and elevates local laws and policies that promote access to healthy food and contribute to strong local economies, improved environmental quality, and health equity. The project, which focuses on socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups, is available athealthyfoodpolicyproject.org.

Audubon Vermont Things are starting to return to normal at Audubon. We're seen some snow, our trails are open, and we're entering the season of Turkeys.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) invites communities interested in charting a path to a more prosperous and self-sufficient future to participate in the 2018 Climate Economy Model Communities Program. A collaboration of VCRD, Efficiency Vermont, Vermont’s utilities and other partners, the Program works with two communities annually to help build and implement locally developed plans that increase economic opportunity, affordability, and resilience in the face of climate change. The Program kicked off in 2017 with Pownal and Middlebury being the first two communities to join the effort.