Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Below is the reaction of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to President Trump’s decision to tighten restrictions on travel and trade between Americans and Cuba. Leahy, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on the State Department and Foreign Operations, for two decades has led in pressing for reform of the failed five-decades-old U.S. policy on Cuba. Leahy and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) are the lead sponsors of legislation to restore Americans’ freedom to travel to Cuba. Leahy’s statement follows:

"This is a hollow retreat from normalization that takes a swipe at Americans’freedom to travel, at our national interest, and at the people of Cuba who yearn to reconnect with us –all just to score a political favor with a small and dwindling faction here at home.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General Thomas JDonovan, Jr, is working with a bipartisan coalition of a majority of Attorneys General from across the country in an ongoing investigation to evaluate whether manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids. The Attorneys General are investigating what role the opioid manufacturers may have played in creating or prolonging this epidemic. The coalition of Attorneys General is using its investigative tools, including subpoenas for documents and testimony, to determine the appropriate course of action to address this opioid epidemic. Nationwide and in State of Vermont, opioids—prescription and illicit—are the main driver of drug overdose deaths.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims rose a moderate amount last week but remain under 400, which is low even for the typically low summer-time claims. There still could be some volatility coming soon after school lets out. Claims spiked to over 1,100 seven weeks ago and then again two weeks ago before falling steeply. Claims 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 June 10, 2017, there were 369 claims, up 40 from the previous week's total and 87 fewer than than they were a year ago.

Altogether 3,816 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 117 from a week ago, and 471 fewer than a year ago.

Claims during the summer usually hold at a relatively low level because of vacation hiring, until the next transition when school resumes in September.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) announced Thursday that Vermont will receive $3 million from the National Housing Trust Fund. The funds will be used to build, preserve, and rehabilitate affordable rental housing. Sanders helped lead a 15-year effort to pass and fund the National Housing Trust Fund. Last year, the first year of the new program, Vermont was also awarded $3 million to help provide housing for extremely low-income families.

“Increasing the availability of affordable housing in Vermont has consistently been one of my top priorities,” Sanders said. “After more than 15 years of fighting for the National Housing Trust Fund, I am very pleased to see all 50 states receive funds to provide housing for people who are most in need. I am pleased that, once again, Vermont will receive $3 million from the National Housing Trust Fund.”

Vermont Business Magazine Springfield Regional Development Corporation announced that it has received financing of $625,000 from the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) to assist with the redevelopment of roughly 35,000 square feet of the former Bryant Grinder facility in Springfield. SRDC will utilize the VEDA funds to continue repairs to the southern portion of the building to prepare it for future occupancy. Bob Flint, SRDC Executive Director, said that the support from VEDA comes at a critical time.

“The north and south ends of the building are in the best condition and can be put back into use. The VEDA financing will allow us to have usable space to market for commercial use for Springfield,” Flint said.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont dairy workers will lead a historic 13 mile march through the state’s iconic rural landscape, culminating at the Ben & Jerry’s factory and tourist destination.Organized by Migrant Justice, workers and allies are calling on the ice cream company to source its milk in compliance with the human rights of dairy workers by joining Migrant Justice’s Milk with Dignity Program.

Vermont Business Magazine The board of the JWarren & Lois McClure Foundation, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, announced that it has electedLois McClure as president emerita, Barbara Benedict as president, and Rebecca Henry as vice president. The transition brings together three generations of the McClure family to lead the foundation and its work to make career and college education accessible to all Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine The JWarren & Lois McClure Foundation, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, has announced $381,395 in grants for the 2017-18 school year to programs promoting career and college education for Vermonters with a focus on low-income students, first-generation college students, adult learners, and veterans. The McClure Foundation is guided by a vision of a vibrant Vermont economy in which no promising job goes unfilled for lack of a qualified applicant.

Vermont Business Magazine1,225 Vermonters were found to be literally homeless on a single night in January. The 2017 Point-in-Time Count Report, released by the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness and the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, showed anoverall increase inhomelessness by 11%compared to the 2016 Point-in-Time Count.While there was an overall statewide increase, there were striking regional differences, including decreases in Chittenden (-12%) and Franklin (-17%) counties. Included in the total were 306 children, representing 25% of the entire homeless population counted.

Vermont Business Magazine Bluehouse Group, a digital marketing and web design firm, has hired Michelle Massa as the company’s marketing director. Massa brings nearly 20 years of marketing and business development experience in local and global markets. She will manage marketing operations within Bluehouse Group and provide expanded online marketing services to help clients reach their marketing goals.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued Executive Order 11-17, establishing the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC), a task force to strengthen and expand Vermont’s $2.5 billion outdoor recreation economy. The governor announced the initiative at a press conference Thursday, which highlighted the decades-long work of land managers, nonprofit recreation and conservation groups, and outdoor recreation businesses to build this important industry.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will deliver the commencement remarks during Champlain Valley Union High School’s graduation early afternoon on Friday at the University of Vermont.