Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued a statement in support of proposals to supply the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with 1,000 MW of electricity via the TDI New England Clean Power Link (NECPL). The TDI project would run from the Canadian border, under Lake Champlain for nearly a hundred miles before connecting to the New England grid in Ludlow. The $1.2 billion Power Link would supply nearly twice the power that the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant did before it was shut down in 2014. It is expected to go online in 2019, as long is it gets the permits and power contracts needed to proceed. The permits are mostly in place. A deal for power in Massachusetts would push the project closer to fruition.

Vermont Business Magazine A gang of investors on motorcycles will ride into Brattleboro onAugust 2to hear business pitches and award prizes. Strolling of the Heifers and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation invite the public to attend the 2017 FreshTracks Road Pitch at the River Garden on Wednesday, August 2 at 3:00 P.M. Light refreshments will be served.The Road Pitch, a gang of motorcycling business investors and advisors, is stopping in Brattleboro on the afternoon ofAugust 2to hear funding pitches from local businesses that are ready to scale up.

Vermont Business MagazineA bipartisan group of 10 governors, including Vermont Governor Phil Scott, wrote a letter late Wednesdayto Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) uring defeat of the"skinny repeal"of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) on the same day the Senate failed to pass an outright repeal of the ACA, 45-55. The so-called skinny repeal would largely continue to fund Medicaid but get rid of mandates for the individual and employer markets.

Vermont Business MagazineA Burlington-based energy start-up and a new social impact investment firm has announced a capital investment that will fund operations and growth into the future.Vermont Works Management Company, LLChas become the anchor investor inPacketized Energy’scurrent fund raising effort,according to founders of both firms.

Vermont Business Magazine Seventy-two percent of Vermonters engage in outdoor recreation from skiing to hunting to water sports and more. They spend $5.5 billion, which employs 51,000 and accounts for$1.5 billion in wages and $505 million in state and local tax revenue. The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) hasreleased the state-level Outdoor Recreation Economy Report featuring economic data for all 50 states acrossthe United States, the largest and most comprehensive state-by-state report of its kind. The data underscores a growing economic force that generates billions in consumer spending and directly contributes millions of good-paying, American jobs in communities across the country.

Vermont Business RoundtableThe Roundtable and strategic partnersin the Vermont Talent Pipeline Managementproject (VTPM) are heavily involved in the roll out of two employer collaboratives, one in construction and the other health care, aimed at increasing the availability of and access to skilled workers for the most critical roles in these vital industries. Taken together, over 50 geographically-diverse companies have agreed to engage in a demand planning process that creates short-term projections of job openings based on a set of assumptions chosen by the employers. Those data will be aggregated and talent flows analyzed to determine where their best hires are being produced, then competencies and credentials will be communicated to the education and training provider communities across Vermont with the express goal of closing our workforce gaps. Already, 40+ public/private/not for profit educators and workforce training providers have stepped forward to indicate their strong willingness to partner on VTPM.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Better than expected results from the Corporate Income Tax helped push revenues ahead of expectations for both the month of June and the fiscal year as a whole. However, the three largest revenue sources were all down for the period and the year. General Fund revenues collected for the month of June totaled $134.10 million, $1.97 million ahead of the consensus revenue targets adopted by the Emergency Board on January 19, 2017, according to Secretary of Administration Susanne Young. The better than expected performance in June was driven by $3.83 million above target revenues in the Corporate Income Tax and a slight increase in the Property Transfer Tax of $0.69 million. These gains were partially offset by an underperformance across all other revenue types.

Public Assets Institute Washington State is better than Vermont. Well, on one measure anyway: paid family and medical leave. This month Washington became the fifth state to enact a paid family and medical leave program, offering up to 12 weeks of time off to care for a new child or a sick family member, or to take care of personal health issues. The program is paid for through an insurance program funded by both employees and employers.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) issued the following statement Tuesday after Senate Republicans voted to begin debate on a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act: "The vote today to proceed on the health care bill is a step toward passing the most dangerous and destructive piece of legislation in the modern history of our country. If this bill ends up resembling the House bill, 22 million people will lose health insurance, Medicaid will be cut by nearly $800 billion over the next decade, premiums for older Americans will increase and 2.5 million women will lose health care as a result of defunding Planned Parenthood. Make no mistake about it, thousands of Americans every year will die unnecessarily if this legislation is passed.

Vermont Business MagazineSouthern Vermont College (SVC) in Bennington has received a $1.35 million pledge from the James Hand Irene MHunter Charitable Trust as the lead gift to support the construction of a new Center for Student Success and Wellness. The pledge includes a gift of $1 million and a $350,000 challenge grant to match additional gifts of $.50 to the dollar up to $700,000. SVC has begun a fundraising campaign to fully fund the construction costs of the building and will announce a groundbreaking ceremony when targets have been met.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business MagazineThe Canadian owner of one of Vermont’s most recognizable maple syrup bottlers has been sold to one of Canada’s leading food companies. Rogers Sugar Inc announced July 10 the acquisition of L.B. Maple Treat Corporation, the parent company of Highland Sugarworks in Websterville, for $126.35 million (CD $160.3).

by RobRoper Ethan Allen Institute We can all agree that baring someone who is eligible to vote from doing so is a grave injustice. It robs a citizen in our representative republic of their voice in the process of governance. This is unacceptable. However, allowing somebody to vote who is not a legally eligible voter has the exact same effect, and is equally unjust. Allowing an ineligible voter to cast a ballot cancels out the vote of a legal voter, effectually erasing that legal voter’s vote. The outcome is the same as if the legal voter had been physically blocked from entering the polling place. This is also unacceptable.