Current News

By Scott Giles Governor Phil Scott’s budget request to invest an additional $1 million in the nondegree grant program will pay off in real opportunities for Vermonters who need education and training for jobs that are waiting to be filled. In fact, over the next decade, seven out of 10 of the high-pay, high-demand jobs created in Vermont will require education or training after high school, according to Vermont’s Department of Labor. Education is the key to a better and more prosperous life and it’s the most powerful tool we have to end generational poverty and reverse social inequities.

But too many Vermonters don’t have the education and training they need now and that will be required in the future for the new workplace. For Vermonters, continuing education or training after high school isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.

Preparing Vermonters for the future

Vermont Business Magazine Sterling College has once again been confirmed as the top college in the United States that serves food on campus that is local, sustainable, humane, and fair-trade. This is the third consecutive year Sterling has had this achievement. This classification comes from the Real Food Challenge, which surveyed over 200 colleges and universities throughout the United States. After reviewing all of the food used in the Sterling College kitchen from July 2015 to June 2016, the college found that 65% of its food met the real food qualification for production methods.

This year’s survey also revealed that 53% of Sterling’s food comes from farms within a 150-mile radius of the College; this includes the 35% of food that comes from its own on-campus farm, one of the first collegiate farms in the country. The campus-grown food is up from 20% last year.

Vermont Business Magazine The region’s premier design and construction event kicked off today in South Burlington. More than 1000 building, design, and clean energy professionals gathered for Efficiency Vermont’s 16^th Better Buildings by Design Conference taking place over the next two days. This year’s conference kicked off with keynote speaker Ann Edminster, an award winning author and international sustainable residential construction and zero-net energy expert.

The winners of Efficiency Vermont’s Best of the Best Awards were announced during the opening remarks of the conference. Given annually, the awards recognize high achievement by architects, engineers, builders, and contractors using energy efficiency and sustainability practices to construct or renovate Vermont buildings.

Vermont Business MagazineLast week, the Vermont Department of Taxes and the IRS began accepting tax returns for the 2016 tax year and there are a few changes the department would like taxpayers to know about. The department continues to experience a rise in attempted tax refund fraud, an alarming trend that mirrors what is happening in other states and at the federal level. State revenue departments and the IRS are implementing procedures to help protect the taxpayer’s money. Vermont taxpayers will be asked to provide a Vermont driver’s license or state-issued identification card number when filing. If the information is not provided and the department cannot verify your identity, this may delay the processing of a refund.

Vermont Business MagazineVermont business associations representing small, medium and large, businesses and their employees across Vermont find the recent Executive Order signed by President Trump to be contrary to the economic and humanitarian values that have defined our state and our country since its inception. The statement was issued jointly by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce (LCRCC), the Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR), the Vermont Chamber of Commerce (VCC) and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR).

As a state whose history is steeped in the legacy of those fleeing religious and political oppression, and as a state whose history is woven throughout the American Revolution's fight for personal liberty and freedom, our Associations reject the underlying assumption that one's race, religion or culture should create an automatic bar to entry into our country.

Senator Bernie Sanders The Supreme Court plays an enormously important role in American life. Unfortunately, in recent years, that role has been largely negative. I look forward to questioning Judge Gorsuch about his positions on the most important issues that impact Vermonters and all Americans and his views on recent Supreme Court decisions. In recent years, the disastrous Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates on campaign cash and let corporations and millionaires buy elections. The court tore up the Voting Rights Act and cleared the way for Republican governors and state legislatures to suppress the vote and make it harder for poor people, people of color, young people and senior citizens to vote. This is the court that in a long string of cases was far friendlier to big business than to the needs of workers. This is a court that let Exxon off the hook for $5 billion in fines for a disastrous oil spill in Alaska and stymied efforts to combat global warming. This is a court that has chipped away at a woman's right to control her own body.

Senator Patrick Leahy In light of the unconstitutional actions of our new president in just his first week, the Senate owes the American people a thorough and unsparing examination of this nomination. I had hoped that President Trump would work in a bipartisan way to pick a mainstream nominee like Merrick Garland and bring the country together. Instead, he outsourced this process to far-right interest groups. This is no way to treat a co-equal branch of government, or to protect the independence of our Federal judiciary.

by Leigh Cole Dinse Knapp McAndrew You may be getting questions about the Executive Order (EO) "Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals” affecting citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. With the caveat that events are changing rapidly, here are my immediate recommendations with respect to individuals from these countries:

Vermont Business Magazine During the 2016 holiday season, Burlington Telecom partnered with Burlington-based charities to highlight the amazing work being done in the community to support those in need. Each new customer subscribing to BT services could direct a donation of $100 to a local non-profit. Customers had the choice to direct BT’s donation to one of five organizations: Committee on Temporary Shelter, Community Health Centers of Burlington, Howard Center, Spectrum Youth & Family Services, and Steps to End Domestic Violence.

“This type of promotion was a first for Burlington Telecom and we received a great deal of positive feedback from the community. BT’s operational values aim to reflect the people we serve. The results of this campaign clearly demonstrate that our customers value the health, well-being and safety of all Burlington residents.” - Abbie Tykocki, Burlington Telecom Director of Marketing

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the Q1 2017 outlook results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey and Index.

Overall Finding
The latest survey, which was conducted during the first two weeks of January 2017, achieved a response rate of 71 percent overall and included a 50 percent or greater response rate from 13 of 14 represented sectors within the membership. Survey results show that:

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Electric Department and Vermont Gas Systems today launched a new residential energy efficiency program that challenges and encourages homeowners and renters in Vermont’s largest city to take power over their energy use. The new residential program is the next step in the unique Vermont Gas-Burlington Electric energyChamp partnership, first announced in June 2015, to offer incentives to owners of multi-unit residential rentals who committed to improving the energy efficiency of their buildings.

Vermont Business MagazineVermonters who were deceived into sending payments to scammers using Western Union’s wire transfer service may be entitled to compensation in a multi-statesettlementreached by Attorney General TJDonovan, 48 other states, the District of Columbia, and Western Union. The State of Vermont will receive a significant payment of $400,000 from Western Union in recognition of its role in leading the multi-state investigation. Western Union will pay a total of $5 million to the participating states and the District of Columbia to resolve these claims.