Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called Wednesday on President-elect Donald Trump to keep his promise to protect Medicare and Social Security. During his campaign for president, Trump repeatedly promised to protect Medicare. But he nominated Representative Tom Price (R-GA), who has a long history of supporting cuts to Medicare, to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

Vermont Business Magazine Devonwood Investors LLC, owner and developer of the Burlington Town Center (BTC), today announced that PC Construction of South Burlington has been selected as general contractor for the $200-plus million Burlington Town Center redevelopment project. The redevelopment will reconstruct much of the existing Church Street mall, rebuild Pine and St Paul streets and add an apartment and office tower. Construction is expected to commence in the first half of 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine Today Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) sent a letter to President-Elect Donald Trump outlining practical steps he can take to steady wildly fluctuating milk prices and restore stability to the dairy industry. “Dairy farmers are imperiled by wildly fluctuating milk prices that threaten the very existence of many farms. Just in the last two years, producers have experienced a 40 percent drop in milk prices. Many dairy farms are selling milk below the cost of production and are on the brink of selling their herds. This boom and bust cycle has taken a substantial toll on Vermont farmers,” Welch writes.    

The letter suggests the following steps for stabilization:

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) surpassed 5 million "likes" on his Senate Facebook page Tuesday. The enormous grassroots following is greater than any other member of Congress, according to Facebook data. It comes on the heels of his massive following during his presidential campaign, where he led all candidates in individual contributions.

Vermont Business Magazine South Carolina-based J M Smith Corporation has entered into a merger agreement with Burlington Drug Company and will also purchase certain operations assets of Pharmacy Health Services (PHS). Once the agreement is completed, in early 2017, they will operate as subsidiaries of J M Smith Corporation. Burlington Drug Company will continue to manage all operations, customer service and sales functions out of the current facility in Milton, Vermont. PHS facilities will continue to serve customers at their existing locations. Financial terms were not released.

This business combination will enable J M Smith Corporation to expand market offerings to the important Northeast market of the United States, while giving Burlington Drug Company customers access to a variety of new tools, services and products that w ill create additional growth opportunities for their businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) proposed an amendment Tuesday to lower the cost of prescription drugs by letting Medicare negotiate drug prices and allowing for the importation from other countries of low-cost prescription drugs – both proposals advocated by President-elect Donald Trump. Republicans blocked the Sanders amendment.

Vermont Business Magazine The USDOL Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance in Washington, DC, issued a determination on November 15, 2016, approving the Vermont Department of Labor’s (VDOL) request for Trade Certification for the August 2015 laid-off workers from Keurig Green Mountain in Waterbury and South Burlington. Approximately 200 workers were laid off. The certification has authorized all workers of Keurig Green Mountain in Waterbury and South Burlington, who meet the eligibility criteria, to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance under Chapter 2 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.

Eligible workers include:

Vermont Business Magazine Governor-elect Phil Scott today chose the head of the Green Mountain Care Board and an assistant attorney general to fill two key cabinet posts. He also announced additional policy staff on his senior leadership team. Susanne Young will serve as Secretary of the Agency of Administration. Al Gobeille will serve as the Secretary of the Agency of Human Services. These are the two most demanding cabinet posts.HS includes all the social welfare programs, Corrections and Vermont Health Connect. The Administration secretary is the de facto CFO for all of state government.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has launched a new program called the Catamount Commitment guaranteeing that all Vermonters receiving federal Pell grants will pay no tuition and no comprehensive fee to attend the university, beginning with the class entering UVM in the fall of 2017. The program will also provide a range of support services for Pell-eligible Vermont students, many of whom are first-generation college students, designed to help them succeed at the university. To be eligible for a Pell grant, students must have demonstrated financial need. In the fall of 2016, 26 percent of all Vermont undergraduates attending the university were Pell-eligible.

Pell-eligible Vermonters currently pay no tuition to attend UVM, because of  institutional, federal and state grants, but do pay a comprehensive fee, estimated to be $2,259 in the next academic year. They also pay an acceptance fee of $495.

Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of State Jim Condos announces that there will be a meeting of the three Vermont Electors of the President and Vice President of the United States on: Monday, December 19, 2016, 10:00 a.m., Room 11 of the State House in Montpelier, Vermont. At that meeting the Electors will take their oaths of allegiance and oaths of office, organize by electing a President, Clerk, and Messenger, cast official ballots for the President and Vice President of the United States, and complete a Certificate of Vote to be sent to Washington. The three Electors for Vermont are: Martha W. Allen, Canaan; Timothy Jerman, Essex; and Peter Shumlin, Putney.

Vermont Business Magazine During the most recent quarter, the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) approved over $17.4 million in financing for economic and agricultural development projects throughout Vermont totaling $30.2 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Judiciary Committee members led by Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) are calling on all senators to support a bipartisan amendment to benefit consumers and deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace. Leahy, joined by other leading members of the panel, filed an updated version of their bipartisan Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act as an amendment to the 21^st Century Cures Act, which the Senate is debating this week.