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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Commission on Women (VCW) recently announced the addition of the Vermont Early Childhood Alliance and Let's Grow Kids to its Advisory Council. The Council is made up of organizations whose interests align with the Commission's mission to advance rights and opportunities for Vermont women and girls.

Leonine Public AffairsDespite the first year of divided power after six years of Democratic control, elected leaders avoided partisan differences for most of the session. There have been disagreements along the way but with near unanimous votes on the budget and the least controversial tax bill in recent memory, those differences have been minor. That all changed this week.

Vermont Business Magazine Trout habitat will be improved, water will be cleaner and invasive plants will be better controlled, thanks to funding from Vermont's 2017 Watershed Grant Program.The program, established by the legislature in 1998 and financed by a portion of the sales of the Vermont Conservation License Plates, is co-administered by Vermont Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Environmental Conservation. Grants to nonprofits and towns support both hands-on projects and education programs that improve aquatic habitat, water quality and flood resiliency.

Grants totaling $100,000 were awarded this year. Funded projects include:

* Culvert replacement and erosion control on a tributary of the Hoosic River in Pownal (Bennington County Regional Commission).

* Replacement of a culvert with a new bridge that will allow improved movement of fish and wildlife between Hall's Creek and Lake Memphremagog (Town of Derby).

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s statewide energy efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, has been named a 2017 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award winner. The award is given for continued leadership in environmental protection through superior energy efficiency achievements. Efficiency Vermont’s accomplishments were recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2017.

Efficiency Vermont, an ENERGY STAR partner since 2000, will be honored for its leadership in promoting energy efficient solutions to residential customers across Vermont. Key accomplishments in 2016 that led to this award include:

Vermont Business MagazineAs hunters across Vermont gear up for the 2017 turkey season, Vermont’s Ag Secretary and Fish and Wildlife Commissioner are praising the many farmers and hunters, who work together the steward Vermont’s land. “There’s a strong tradition of partnership between Vermont’s farming and hunting communities, who share a natural appreciation for the rural beauty of our state, and a strong conservation ethic,” according to Vermont’s Ag Secretary, Anson Tebbetts, who is both a farmer, and a sportsman.“We have more than 1.25 million acres of farmland here in Vermont. Many of those acres have been opened to hunters, thanks to the special relationships many hunters and farmers have formed over time.”

Vermont Business Magaine TheChittenden Solid Waste Districthas been awarded a grant worth $79,960 by theVermont Department of Environmental Conservation(DEC)to help cover costs for providing facilities and education for the proper disposal of hazardous waste generated by residents and qualifying businesses. The grant is part ofasolid waste assistance fund provided by the state to help towns and solid waste planning entities implement their solid waste plans, as required by state law. The grant is awarded annually totowns by the DEC, an arm of theVermont Agency of Natural Resources.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University in Northfield has been named a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE) by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security through 2022. Also, the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) recently certified Norwich as a National Center for Digital Forensic Academic Excellence (CDFAE).

Both federal certifications designate Norwich’s cybersecurity programs as fulfilling the needs of the federal government as well as addressing major concerns of private industry that runs much of the nation’s critical infrastructure, from banking to healthcare. Upon successful graduation from a CDFAE designated school, students will receive a certificate of completion.

Vermont Business MagazineLedyard Financial Group (Ticker Symbol: LFGP) announced today a regular quarterly dividend of $0.48 payable June 2, 2017 to shareholders of record as of May 12, 2017.Ledyard Financial Group, Inc, headquartered in Hanover, New Hampshire is the holding company for Ledyard National Bank, with offices in Vermont. Ledyard National Bank, founded in 1991, is a full service community bank offering a broad range of banking, investment, tax and wealth management services.

Vermont Business Magazine Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, made personal contributions totaling $1.6 million to eight local non-profit organizations in the communities in which the company operates. Among the recipients is the Stowe Land Trust, which will receive $100,000. The contributions buildon the couple'sprevious commitments to those who are most in need in the company’s resort communities. Vail and Stowe Mountain Resort announced in February that Vail would buy the ski operations at Stowe for $50 million.

Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz and wife Elana Amsterdam. Vail photo.

Vermont Business MagazineHouse Republican Leader Don Turner (R-Milton) and the Vermont House Republican Caucus announced today that they will spend the remainder of the 2017 Legislative Session fighting to save Vermont Property Taxpayers up to $26 million annually through proposed VEHI savings. The result is that the Legislature, which is on the fast-track toward adjournment, could linger insession beyond its mid-May target.

Vermont Business Magazine College of StJoseph has announced that former Vermont Governor Jim Douglas will deliver the commencement address at the College’s graduation ceremony onSaturday, May 13.Douglas is a native of Springfield, Mass. and is a graduate of East Longmeadow High School and Middlebury College, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Russian Studies.

He was elected the 80th governor of Vermont in 2002 and was re-elected for three terms, with a majority of the vote. He announced that he would not be running for a fifth term in 2010.

Vermont Business Magazine The end of the ski season has taken its toll. After weekly unemployment claims fell by over a hundred the previous week, claims increased by nearly 500 to push the total over 1,100. This was still lower than the same time last year. As expected, by industry, Services reported the most claims (61 percent of the total), while Manufacturing also increased (148 up from 69). Services typically reports the most claims.

For the week of April 22, 2017, there were 1,141 claims, up 495 from the previous week's total and 27 fewer than than they were a year ago. Claims typically have been running below last year.

Altogether 6,248 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 127 from a week ago, and 673 fewer than a year ago.