Current News

Vermont Business MagazineA law just passed in Vermont that will provide protections for employees experiencing healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies who need workplace accommodations such as having access to water, access to a chair, longer or more frequent restroom breaks, or avoiding heavy lifting.

“Everyone benefits from laws that support a fair work-family balance,” said Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan, whose office will enforce the new law in the private sector. “For decades, Vermont employers have been doing a great job accommodating workers with disabilities. Applying that same positive mindset to helping out expectant or new mothers makes sense and is the right thing to do.”

Vermont joins nineteen other states (including Washington, D.C.) in passing similar legislation, and currently, at least seven states have similar bills pending.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation today announced the Town of Bennington is required to pay $15,000 for failing to maintain its wastewater treatment facility over the past several years. The facility’s disrepair caused foul odors and several releases of partially-treated wastewater into the Walloomsac River.

The Town of Bennington has a permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to discharge treated wastewater into the Walloomsac River. Prior to discharge, units known as rotating biological contactors (RBC) biologically treat the wastewater. In the late summer of 2016, failure of two-thirds of the facility’s 32 RBC units caused discharge water to be released into the river with bacteria levels above allowable standards.

Vermont Business MagazineAs part of its ongoing transformation of the 65-acre Berlin Mall site into a mixed-use town center, Heidenberg Properties Group announced today that it will be developing a five story, 120-room hotel with 15,000 square feet of meeting and special event space along with a freestanding restaurant. Both the Berlin hotel and restaurant will be nationally-franchised, branded operations. With easy access to I-89 and an abundance of free parking already available on the site, as well as additional parking that will be constructed for the hotel and restaurant, this will be a particularly attractive venue for the full range of business, civic and social functions serving the needs of central Vermonters.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business MagazineThe Legislature is still in sessionin large part due, if not wholly due, to Governor Phil Scott's big push to form one health insurance risk pool for all of the state's teachers, which he sayscould save the property taxpayers $26 million a year. The House could reconvene on Tuesday (May 16) and the Senate will come back on Wednesday or Thursday to try and sort out what could turn into the governor vetoing the budget. In any case, the Legislature will miss its adjournment deadline, which had been anticipated for May 6.

by Mike Smith The newest columnist for The New York Times, Bret Stephens, caused quite a kerfuffle among climate change advocates when he recently wrote: “Claiming total certainty about the science [of climate change] traduces the spirit of science and creates openings for doubt whenever a climate claim proves wrong.”

Stephens went on to write, “Censoriously asserting one’s moral superiority and treating skeptics as imbeciles and deplorables wins few converts.”

He asserts that none of this is to deny the severity of climate change but he concludes his column this way: “Perhaps if there were less certitude about our climate future, more Americans would be interested in having a reasoned conversation about it.”

After his column ran many took to social media to express outrage. They labeled Stephens a climate change denier. There were calls for him to be fired. Some ended their subscriptions to the Times.

Leonine Public AffairsWe will not write a report this week because many bills are in flux, but we will provide a full legislative wrap up within a week of adjournment.The Vermont General Assembly will not adjourn on Saturday, May 6th as originally anticipated. The Legislature will reconvene onWednesday, May 10thto complete its work.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power crews worked through Friday night to restore power to 15,000 customers following a severe wind storm that devastated many areas of the state, especially southern Vermont and the City of Rutland. About 5000 werewithout power Saturday.

Crews from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont Electric Cooperative, Burlington Electric and Stowe Electric assisted GMP crews in the restoration effort, and additional crews from Canada and New Hampshire are arriving today. More than an army of 500 lineworkers, tree trimmers and support staff are involved in restoring power.

Vermont Business Magazine Phoenix Books Burlington will host journalist Garrett Graff for a talk on Raven Rock, the eye-opening new title that explores the government’s secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil, on Thursday, May 25th at 7pm. Every day in Washington, DC, the blue-and-gold 1st Helicopter Squadron, code-named “MUSSEL,” flies over the Potomac River. As obvious as the Presidential motorcade, most people assume the squadron is a travel perk for VIPs. They’re only half right: while the helicopters do provide transport, the unit exists to evacuate high-ranking officials in the event of a terrorist or nuclear attack on the capital. In the event of an attack, select officials would be whisked by helicopters to a ring of secret bunkers around Washington, even as ordinary citizens were left to fend for themselves.

Vermont Business Magazine Dealer.com, a Cox Automotive brand, today announced it has been awarded with the 2017 Global Channel Partner of the Year North America Award by Microsoft at its inaugural Global Bing Partner Awards ceremony. The awards honor individuals and organizations behind some of the most impactful, innovative and performance-driven work from Bing Ads' Partners inNorth America,Europeand APAC.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of Undergraduate Research has announced the first two winners of its new Mentoring Award: Robert Hondal, associate professor of biochemistry and chemistry, and Denise Youngblood, professor of history. “Both faculty members have been outstanding scholars, teachers and mentors for many years,” said Ann Kroll Lerner, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “It’s a privilege to be able to give them this recognition.” Hondal came to UVM in 2002. Youngblood began at the university in 1988. She is retiring this year.

Vermont Business Magazine Efficiency Vermont, Vermont’s statewide energy efficiency utility, has proposed a decreased budget for its next three-year performance period. The utility’s proposal aims to cut the Energy Efficiency Charge by 5 percent in 2018 and hold it flat for the remainder of the three-year period while delivering the same level of savings. The rate decrease comes as Efficiency Vermont is aiming to meet growing demand from customers and address unmet needs across electric and heating and cooling efficiency.

“We’re filing this budget decrease as part of our mission to deliver maximum value to ratepayers,” said Efficiency Vermont Director Liz Gamache. “We will provide the same level of service and savings at a time when Vermonters are feeling financial pressure and uncertainty about their economic futures. This rate cut is one way Efficiency Vermont can provide some predictability for customers and help them save money.”

Vermont Business Magazine Michael S Pieciak, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), announced a settlement today in which LPL Financial (LPL) will reimburse $460,000 to eight Vermont investors and has paid the state a penalty of about $11,000. The settlement was the result of a multi-state investigation conducted by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).