Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed a proclamation designating October 2017 Farm to School Month in Vermont. "I'd like to recognize how important the Farm to School program is to Vermont. Farm to school has always been a source of pride for our state, and that pride grows from the program as it gets stronger," Scott said. "We have $200,000, that's the most money we have ever had in this program...we continue to lead the nation in this program. Schools and childcare centers should reach out to us to apply for potential money." said Secretary Anson Tebbetts, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Department of Taxes would like to remind Vermonters that the last date to file a Property Tax Adjustment or Renter Rebate Claim isOctober 16, 2017.The Vermont Property Tax Adjustment and Renter Rebate programs assist in making housing more affordable for thousands of Vermonters. These programs provide over $180 million in assistance to Vermonters annually. All Vermont homestead owners must file a Homestead Declaration (form HS-122) even if they are not seeking an income based property tax adjustment. Homestead Declarations filed afterOctober 16. 2017 will be classified as non-homestead. The owner will be charged the higher of the two rates, assessed a penalty, and must pay any additional property tax and interest due.

You may be eligible for a reduction in your property taxes if your property qualifies as a homestead and you meet the following eligibility requirements:

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Joseph Lorman as Family Division Magistrate serving Rutland, Bennington and Addison Counties. The Family Division of the Superior Court has jurisdiction over all family-related legal matters, including divorce, separation, civil union dissolution and parentage. As magistrate, Lorman will preside over and make decisions in family-related proceedings.

Lorman, a Rutland resident, currently serves as the southwest regional staff attorney for the Vermont Office of Child Support (OCS) and has represented the office in numerous hearings in the Family Division.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Police Chief Brandon del Pozo today urged the court system to take stronger action in dealing with repeat offenders. They were reacting to the incident at 4:40 am Saturday, September 30, in Burlington in which Jason Breault cut a Burlington Police Department officer with a knife.

Vermont Business MagazineTwo veteran radio broadcasters will join Vermont’s first female television news director in this year’s Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame class.Radio Vermont’s Tom Beardsley, Catamount Radio’s Brian Collamore and WCAX-TV’s Judy Simpson will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet December 2 at the Hilton Burlington.

Lake Champlain Committee, Burlington Below is the LCC's last weekly report for the 2017 cyanobacteria monitoring season. From September 24 through mid-week, a record-setting heat wave helped spawn or perpetuate blooms at over 20 monitoring sites along the Lake Champlain shoreline. The wet spring and summer had already flushed lots of nutrients into our waterways priming conditions for cyanobacteria to take off during the spate of hot, still weather. Additionally, we observed a genus of cyanobacteria in the area of the Burlington Coast Guard ramp that presents differently than other cyanobacteria (scroll down for pictures and more information about Scytonema).

byMike Smith Here’s the question state officials should be asking themselves: Just because you can do something, should you be doing it?Defrauded investors in Jay Peak Resort are suing state officials for negligence in their oversight of the EB-5 program.

In a court hearing last week, the Vermont Attorney General’s office argued that the state of Vermont is immune from the lawsuit and, as a result, officials are not required to release pertinent information hidden in state files.

Certainly, state government has enormous power and resources to make a legal argument of immunity —and perhaps win — but a more pertinent question is this: Should they?

​Vermont Business MagazineGifford Health Care in Randolph has received three top awards from the Department of Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for quality Primary Care services. One of only 11 Vermont Health Centers to receive the grants, Gifford was the only FQHC in the state to receive the National Quality Leader Award.

by Bill Schubart As human beings we’re living in a time when our evolutionary capacity to understand, regulate, and use technological innovation in a way beneficial to mankind and our planetary home is simply overwhelmed by the relentless speed of discovery and invention. While civilization is about six thousand years old, it was the industrial age that first started taxing our management capacity as humans some hundred and seventy years ago.

Our understanding of natural phenomenon and therefore the pace of technical change accelerated greatly between 1850 and 1950 and has only sped up since that time. Technology, like biology, is an evolutionary process. Only the fit, or in the case of technology, the functional, survive to potentiate new waves of invention and discovery.

by Tom Evslin There is a chance that Vermont will investigate itself and find out how the biggest scandal in the EB-5 program nationwide happened here under state supervision. When asked at a news conference about the idea of appointing a special prosecutor,Scott said“[It’s] the first I’d really contemplated something of that magnitude, but it could be something that could be beneficial. We’ll talk about it.”

Vermont Business Magazine Medical studies indicate that eating healthfully helps women prevent breast cancer. It’s also reported that getting an annual mammogram after age 40 can help catch the disease when it is most treatable. In recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed each October, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has scheduled two events designed to help area women lessen the effects of breast cancer on their lives.

“Breast cancer is serious and touches everyone,” said Rebecca Hewson-Steller, SVMC’s breast health navigator. “We have a remarkable group of women in our community who want to raise awareness but also have fun. That’s what these events are about.”

Recipe Makeover and Tasting Party

by Gabriel C Lajeunesse Columbus Day is observed on October 9. And while it may be true that Leif Erikson and the Vikings beat Columbus to the New World, Columbus Day nonetheless remains important in the public eye, signifying themes such as exploration and discovery. As an investor, you don’t have to “cross the ocean blue,” as Columbus did, to find opportunities – but it may be a good idea to put some of your money to work outside the United States.