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Vermont Business MagazineSenator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and 16 of his Democratic colleagues introduced legislation Wednesday to guarantee health care to every American by expanding and improving Medicare. “Today, we begin the long and difficult struggle to end the international embarrassment of the United States being the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all its people,” Sanders said. “At a time when millions of Americans do not have access to affordable health care, the Republicans, funded by the Koch brothers, are trying to take away health care from up to 32 million more. We have a better idea: guarantee health care to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer health care program.”

Public Assets institute Vermont made progress this year making the kinds of investments that can move the state forward and create an economy that works for everyone. The 2017 Report Card is based on the policy recommendations in last year's“A Framework for Progress." To continue to advance these issues, we compiled this short report card assessing the progress made on each of the recommendations during the 2017 legislative session.

Vermont Community Loan Fund What, you might ask, are those pod-shaped kiosks adorned with adorable baby pics that keep popping up in airports, shopping malls and stadiums? You (particularly you new parents out there) will be interested to know they’re Mamava freestanding lactation suites. They’re making a case for nursing moms and babies on the go, and making a statement that can’t be ignored: nursing is a right, not a privilege.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont saw its scores in standardized testing decline slightly this past year after an increase a year ago. Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe today announced statewide results from the 2016-17 Smarter Balanced Assessments, a set of computer adaptive tests for English Language Arts and Mathematics developed by a national consortium currently made up of 15 states, the US Virgin Islands, and the Bureau of Indian Education. This was the third year Vermont students, statewide, participated in the Smarter Balanced program. Several other consortium member states also reported lower results for this past year. In Vermont, scores were lower in all categories for all age groups except for Grade 11 English.

by Mike Smith It was this headline in VTDigger that probably caught supporters of Governor Phil Scott by surprise: “Scott commits to lake cleanup, even if new taxes are needed.” They weren’t surprised by the governor’s commitment to clean up our lakes but rather his reluctance to rule out new taxes. In fairness to Scott, the story indicated that he would much prefer to find lake cleanup money through existing resources. And frankly, it’s rare for a governor to rule out future tax increases, because caution dictates that unforeseen — even emergency — events may intervene and force them to break such a pledge. But the headline illustrates Scott’s biggest political vulnerability, which, ironically, is his biggest political asset: his commitment to make Vermont more affordable.

Vermont Business MagazineThe perception of the threatof litigation toward business in Vermonthas dropped precipitously in the last seven years, as the state has gone from 25th to second. The2017 Lawsuit Climate Survey: Ranking the Stateswas released today and conducted for the USChamber Institute for Legal Reform by Harris Poll to explore how fair and reasonable the states’ liability systems are perceived to be by USbusinesses. These perceptions matter, the report states, because they can be influential in business decisions about where to conduct/expand/constrict business operations or sales. Vermont was also second in the previous report, released in 2015, after being 25th in 2010. Long-time corporate state champion Delaware, home to numerous domiciles, has fallen to 11th.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) has awarded City Market Co-op a $125,000 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sub-grant to support redevelopment of a brownfields site in Burlington. City Market plans to open its second retail food cooperative in Burlington’s South End by mid-November.

Vermont Business Magazine Executive Director Sarah Carpenter announced Vermont Housing Finance Agency seeks investors for historic "Housing for All" initiative. Proceeds expected to create or rehabilitate 650 homes statewide. Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) invited bids from investorsFridayfor the "Housing for All" initiative passed by Vermont lawmakers earlier this year. The proceeds from this financing will be used to create and rehabilitate an estimated 650 rental and owned homes across the state.

"We've repeatedly heard about how widespread the lack of affordable, decent housing is in many parts of Vermont," said Governor Phil Scott. "By leveraging other funds, this investment will help create much-needed homes affordable for working Vermonters at the middle and lower end of the wage scale."

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Task Force 1 Swift Water Rescue has returned from its deployment to Texas.The team assisted in searches, well-being checks, and other tasks during its mission. The 11-day deployment through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) was at the request of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.The team was on the ground in the Lone Star State from September 2-8, with the rest of the mission spent travelling to and from the impacted area.

Vermont Business MagazineExtending their influence and civic-mindedness across international borders, the Castleton University Nursing Department recently created its own medical brigade chapter under the Global Brigades organization and are set to travel to Honduras in early March for their first medical mission. Tasked with providing sustainable medical and dental care to the local communities, the student led group, accompanied by two faculty and staff advisors, will spend nearly an entire week delivering various healthcare services to more than 1,000 people.

Vermont Business MagazineFollowing seven months of good faith discussions at the bargaining table, the University of Vermont and United Academics declared impasse in their negotiations for a successor contract at9amtoday.United Academics is the union of full and part-time faculty at UVM. The next phase of the process will be to engage a mutually acceptable outside mediator to assist the parties with reaching agreement. In four of the five previous rounds of bargaining between the parties, impasse was declared and a final resolution was achieved through the mediation process. In a statement, UVM said itstrongly respects the collective bargaining process and will continue in good faith to work through the agreed upon process to achieve a successful conclusion.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has appointed Lisa Senecal to serve on the Vermont Commission on Women (VCW), the state’s non-partisan commission working to advance rights and opportunities for women and girls. “Lisa’s background and commitment to raising awareness for issues of importance to women, and leadership in advocating to advance opportunities for women will be a tremendous asset on the Commission and for its important mission,” said Governor Phil Scott. “I thank Lisa for her willingness to serve in this role, and as a leader in Vermont.”