Current News

Vermont Business Magazine All three broad-based measures fell in July's unemployment report, as the number of those looking for work declined in Vermont, but so too did the labor force and total employed, both for the month and year-to-year. The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for July was 3.1 percent.

Vermont Business MagazineWeekly unemployment claims fell slightly last week to remain at a low summer-time level. Claims had been falling steadily since early July. Claims also are lower than they were the same time last year, which has been the usual case for most weeks in 2017. For the week of August 12, 2017, there were 366 claims, down 26 from the previous week's total and 184 fewer than than they were a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine Step Ahead Innovations, Inc, creators of the revolutionary MindStream aquarium water monitoring system, has announced that it has completed a recent $1.5 million capital round, which moves the firm aggressively towards bringing its innovative water monitoring technology to market. This latest round brings the total amount raised by the Burlington company in seven rounds of funding to over $7 million, a substantial amount for a Vermont technology start-up.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today joined local, state and federal partners to announce a $1 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the Town of Bennington. The federal grant will help redevelop the historic Putnam Block, which will include six properties and more than four acres, in downtown Bennington.

The Putnam Block redevelopment project is scheduled to begin this fall, with federal grant funding from the Town targeted to the first phase of the project, including site acquisition, environmental mitigation, demolition of blighted and unsafe commercial buildings, infrastructure improvements, and the renovation of existing historic buildings.

Governor Scott: “This is a very concerning time for our nation, and many Vermonters have asked my thoughts about the events in Virginia, as well as the President's response. Rather than issue another written statement, I wanted to take just a few minutes to respond personally. “First, I'd like to offer my condolences to the families of Heather Heyer, the courageous young woman who lost her life, and Virginia Troopers Cullen and Bates who died in a helicopter crash while keeping watch on the rally."

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Representative Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Representative Peter Welch of Vermont, a senior Democrat on both the Oversight Committee and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent letters to seven pharmaceutical companies requesting information about their pricing strategies for drugs used to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

“We are launching an in-depth investigation to determine why drug companies are dramatically increasing their prices for drugs used to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which is a disease of the central nervous system that often has devastating and disabling effects on patients,” Cummings and Welch wrote. “We believe no American should be forced to struggle to afford lifesaving medical treatments, especially when drug companies increase prices without warning, cause, or justification.”

Vermont Business MagazineFor the second consecutive year,New Hampshireranks as the Number 1 state for families to live richer lives, finds a new study by personal finance website GOBankingRates. Vermont ranked Number 9. Vermont ranked highly because of education, median household income and safety. But its rank was lowered by its cost of living.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard destination in Eastern North America, announced that tickets for the 2017 Audi FIS Ski World Cup will go on sale Thursday, September 7 at 9 am ET at www.killington.com. Taking place November 25-26, the World Cup will once again bring the women’s giant slalom and slalom races to Vermont and is expected to attract US Ski Team superstar Mikaela Shiffrin to compete against the best women’s technical alpine skiers in the world.

Vermont Business Magazine Under a bold Shop Local initiative, the Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce is bringing Vermont residents new reasons to shop local, and enabling Vermont businesses with new tools and resources to differentiate and grow. The chamber has launched OVRCCMall.com, where resident businesses can join instantly and make it easier for shoppers to find, locate, and transact locally and beyond, in this first of its kind one-stop-shop regional shopping marketplace deployed on SharedMall.com.

"SharedMall is one of the best avenues to expand your business. My experience with SharedMall and the associates has been a pleasure", says Anette Sarkissian, Owner of Ann N Eve Designer Western Wear Collection.

Businesses across any industry can readily launch independent storefront and simultaneously have their goods and services searchable in the marketplace, irrespective of current online capabilities.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) announced Thursday that 11 federally qualified community health centers in Vermont received $816,251 to help improve access to affordable health care throughout the state. The federal grants are part of $105 million in funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded throughout the country.

More than 155,000 Vermonters – about one in four people in Vermont – obtain health care at federally funded community health centers. “Community health centers not only provide high-quality and affordable care where it’s needed and when it’s needed, they do it in a very cost-effective way,” said Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate subcommittee on primary health and a strong supporter of community health centers.

Vermont Business Magazine As the future of recreational and medical marijuana remains uncertain, the national hemp industry is growing and Vermont remains one of seventeen states where hemp cultivation is legal under state law. Forbes recently reported that the legal CBD hemp market is estimated to grow 700% by 2020 alone — to say nothing of hemp oil fuels, plastics, food products, paper, fabric, building materials and other markets that continue to develop as more states allow production of agricultural hemp.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the major disaster declaration he requested for Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Orange, Rutland, Washington, and Windsor Counties has been signed by the President. These seven counties suffered substantial damage by flooding between June 29 and July 1, 2017.A Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) by FEMA, which started onJuly 12, identified $4.7 million in public infrastructure damage, far exceeding the $1 million minimum Vermont must show to be considered for a disaster declaration. Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Orange, Rutland, Washington, and Windsor Counties each exceeded the $3.61 per capita threshold needed to qualify cities and towns in those counties for assistance. The damages identified in the PDA are only a partial accounting of the total damages suffered from the storm and the final tally will likely be higher.