Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced legislation Thursday to expand Social Security benefits and strengthen the retirement program for generations to come. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced a companion bill in the House.The legislation would ensure that Social Security could pay every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 61 years, according to a new analysis Thursday by the retirement system’s chief actuary.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims remained relatively flat again last week. By industry, Services were slightly higher than Construction, which had reported the most claims over the last few weeks. Most times of the year, Services record the most claims. The spikes in the graph below reveal the volatility in hiring and firing around the holidays.

For the week of February 11, 2017, there were 554 claims, down 8 from the previous week's total and 23 more than than they were a year ago. Year-to-year claims have been lower the last several weeks.

Altogether 6,781 new and continuing claims were filed, an decrease of 35 from a week ago, and 504 fewer than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bank partnered with WARMTH again this year to help prevent low-income Vermonters across the state from going without heat this winter. Merchants Bank matched dollar-for-dollar donations raised for WARMTH throughout the month of December. Coupled with the Merchants Bank match of $35,000, the Vermont community raised $154,037.

“The minimum wage may have increased, but the projections for a stronger economy haven’t reached these Vermonters. The donations we receive through the WARMTH Program go directly to keeping families warm.These gifts bridge the gap.When all other funds are exhausted, it is our Vermont community that keeps the heat on.We are so grateful,” says Jan Demers, Executive Director.

Vermont Business Magazine One of Vermont’s Rising Stars is about to start marketing one of Vermont’s rising regions. Mondo Mediaworks, headed by Luke Stafford, a 2016 Vermont Business Magazine Rising Star, has been selected from a field of nearly two dozen bidders to create regional marketing campaigns aimed at rebranding the greater-Rutland region, putting to bed myths about a lack of local jobs, and reversing downward population trends.

Luke Stafford, Mondo Mediaworks.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont now ranks among the top 25 institutions nationally for its pass rate on the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) exam, based on the latest rankings from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. The university’s 78.6 percent first-time pass rate is based on the scores of 49 students, primarily graduates of UVM’s Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program in the Grossman School of Business, and ranks among the top three percent nationally, well above the U.S. and international pass rate of 54.4 percent. Overall, UVM improved from No. 40 to No. 23 (out of 858 institutions), and moved up five spots to No. 4 among the 283 medium-sized programs with 21-60 CPA exam candidates.

by Bill Schubart If current political events have taught us anything, it’s how vulnerable we all are to misinformation and innuendo. And if 80% of us don’t trust our own government, we must then ask how many Americans even understand how their government works or their own role in a vibrant democracy. Three quarters of Americans can’t name the three branches of government and one third can’t name even one branch. An electorate that condemns its own government without understanding its functions and purpose can hardly be counted on to participate with informed voting and advocacy.

Vermont Business MagazineThe University of Vermont Health Network (UVMHN) and Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) announced today additions to their respective leadership teams. UVMHN announces five new Board of Trustees appointments, whose four-year terms became effective Jan. 1, 2017. They replace five members of the 17-member board whose terms ended at the close of 2016.

Vermont Business MagazineAttorney General Thomas J. Donovan, Jrreached asettlementyesterday with the Grand Buffet restaurant in Essex Junction. The investigation arose from security breaches where at least one employee stole customers’ credit card numbers. The thefts, which took place in 2014, involved at least 100 customers. The resulting credit card fraud totaled approximately $35,000.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger today released new principles and announced the pursuit of new initiatives to address the deepening opioid crisis in the region that has resulted in a significant 38 percent increase in opioid-related deaths in Vermont from 76 in 2015 to an estimated 105 in 2016. In Chittenden County, indicators such as retail theft and opioid-related arrests also show a growing crisis. The City is moving on numerous fronts to organize a sustained local effort to turn the crisis around, and announced today new partnerships with the University of Vermont Medical Center, the Chittenden County State’s Attorney, and metro area police departments.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Himalayan Cataract Project, based in Waterbury, is one of eight groups named as semi-finalists in100&Change,a global competition for a single$100 milliongrant from the John Dand Catherine TMacArthur Foundation. InJune 2016, theMacArthur Foundationlaunched thecompetition, offering a$100 milliongrant to fund a single project which makes measurable progress towards solving a significant global problem. The winner will be announced later this year.

​Vermont Business MagazineA $30,000 grant from theNational Life Group Foundationwill benefit youth food programs of theVermont Foodbank.The grant will help to support the Backpacks program, in which children are given backpacks filled with nutritious, tasty food to take home on weekends when they and their family might otherwise go hungry.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University President Richard W Schneider along with Distinguished Leader in Residence General Gordon R Sullivan, USA (Ret) ’59 will launch the Center for Global Resilience and Security (CGRS) with roundtable discussions focused on community resilience and security, on Friday, March 3. The Center for Global Resilience and Security (CGRS) is a Norwich University research center of excellence dedicated to the advancement of the interrelationships between human resilience and sense of security in the face of global challenges. CGRS is focused on challenges in the areas of climate change, water, energy, and infrastructure and their impact on resilience and security. CGRS will craft creative, innovative, and sustainable solutions for building resilient communities, through inter-disciplinary research and design collaboration.