Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House on Tuesday gave approval to the Paid Family Leave insurance bill on a voice vote. The bill, H196, enables Vermonters to take time off from work to care for an infant or an elderly relative without balancing that family need against the necessity of a paycheck. It creates a Family Leave Insurance Program within the Department of Labor that will provide employees with up to six weeks of paid family leave through employee contributions through a payroll deducation of just under 1 percent of wages.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc(ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with an office in Vermont, today reported quarterly earnings nearly unchanged for the first quarter of 2017. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, was $1,006,669 or $0.99 per share compared to $1,005,045 or $0.98 per share for the same period in 2016, an increase of $1,624.

Vermont Business MagazineThe House gave preliminary approval to ethics legislation Monday (S8). The bill debated on the floor establishes a State Ethics Commission and standards of governmental ethical conduct. The bill creates new requirements for personal financial disclosure, including for the official or lawmaker's domestic partner. The legislation is also intended to reduce the "revolving door" between lobbyists and government officials, as they hop back and forth between public and private jobs. An elected official would have to wait a year to become alobbyist.

Vermont Business MagazineSpider silks, the stuff of spider webs, are an engineer’s dream: they can be stronger than steel at a mere fraction of weight, and also can be tougher and more flexible. These silks also are nearly invisible to the human immune system. Some even inhibit bacteria and fungi, making them potentially ideal for surgery and medical device applications. However, exploitation of these natural marvels has been slow, due in part to the challenges involved in identifying and characterizing spider silk genes.

Vermont Business MagazineOn April 26, 2017, Gifford Health Care Pediatrics was recognized by the Vermont Immunization Program for achieving high immunization coverage rates and meeting CDC’s Healthy People 2020 goals for all recommended vaccines for children two to three years of age. Jan Eberly, Public Health Nurse for the State of Vermont, presented thePediatrics team with a framed certificate and a copyofEpidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases.

Gifford was one of nine practices in the state to receive recognition for exceeding the Healthy People 2020 target of 90 percent immunizations coverage for two to three year olds. Appropriately, the recognition came on National Infant Immunization week,an annual national observance to promote the benefits of immunizations and improve the health of children two years old or younger.

by Rob RoperFolks celebrated Earth Day this year with a “March for Science” around the nation. The marchers’ message is, ostensibly, that policy should be based on science and not things like emotion, morality, or politics. But is this really what they’re after? Or is this more of an attempt to legitimize their own emotions, morality, and politics by claiming for them the label of “science”?

It’s ironic that nationally and locally the science marchers’ most visible spokespeople, Bill Nye and Bill McKibben respectively, are not actually scientists (nor is Al Gore for that matter). McKibben is a journalist, and Nye got his big television break performing as a stand up comedian. Nye calling himself “the Science Guy” instead of “the Scientist” is kind of like the cereal Froot Loops using creative spelling to avoid a fraud lawsuit over the fact that there isn’t any real fruit in them.

Vermont Business Magazine In an address to the Brattleboro Area Chamber of CommerceMonday, Governor Phil Scott highlighted an opportunity for the state to realize up to $26 million in savings a year. The federal Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama put high valued health plans at risk of a Cadillac tax. The Vermont Education Health Initiative (VEHI) is transitioning to new plans, which are projected to cost substantially less than existing plans and will not be subjected to the federal penalty.

Vermont Business MagazineBrattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) and Community College of Vermont (CCV) are launching an accelerated program to prepare qualified candidates for jobs as Certified Medical Assistants. Enrollment in the one semester program will be limited to twenty participants. Classes will be held on the CCV Brattleboro campus, and all clinical aspects of the course work will be completed at BMH. As part of the joint initiative, BMH is providing full scholarships for eight successful applicants to the program. Scholarship recipients will have their CCV tuition covered and will be hired as Medical Assistants at BMH upon successful completion of the academic program and licensure exam.

Vermont Business Magazine BioTek Instruments continues to strengthen their commitment to sustainability by announcing the opening of their second solar facility. In addition to the company’s existing 500 kilowatt solar farm in Whiting, Vermont, a new, 88 kilowatt photovoltaic solar energy farm is now on line in Milton, Vermont. The new facility was developed in agreement with ABJ Property Management, LLC, and installed by Norris Brothers Solar Development, LLC.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch (D-VT), joined by a bipartisan group of 67 House colleagues, sent a letter to President Trump advocating for swift action to ensure Canada upholds dairy trade agreements.Last week, the president called out Canada’s dairy trade practices as unfair to US dairy farmers. However, the Canadian ambassador took umbrage with the entire US stance, noting that no new trade barriers have been put in place and that Canadaimports more dairy from the US than vice versa.

Vermont Business Magazine Members of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance and Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced more progress towards their shared goal of eliminating homelessness in Chittenden County, with this year’s Point in Time count indicating a 12 percent drop in the number of homeless individuals. This progress includes a reduction in both the number of families experiencing homelessness and those who are chronically homeless. The 12% drop brings the overall decrease in homelessness to 45% over the past four years. The January count found 291 people in shelters, other temporary housing options, or completely unsheltered.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Monday released a 51-page summary of the fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill that totals $1.070 trillion in discretionary spending in compliance with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The bill funds the government through September 2017. Negotiators reached agreement late Sundy night.

In addition, it includes $8.2 billion of disaster relief and emergency funding related to natural disasters; $77.0 billion for Defense Overseas Contingency Operations, including a $15 billion supplemental, half of what President Trump requested; $16.5 billion for foreign assistance Overseas Contingency Operations, and $1.96 billion for program integrity.