Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims rose slightly last week but remain low. Overall, claims have been static and are running marginally higher in 2016 than in 2015. For the week of September 24, 2016, there were 353 claims, up 3 from the previous week's total and 67 more than they were a year ago. By industry, claims were nearly unchanged from last week, with Manufacturing accounting for the small increase in claims, as Services, the usual leader, led the way with 50 percent of all claims. 

Altogether 2,9991 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 22 from a week ago, and 65 fewer than a year ago.

The Department processed 0 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08).

by Mike Smith This past week Governor Peter Shumlin surprised many when he announced that he would select and appoint a replacement for retiring Vermont Supreme Court Justice John Dooley. Here’s why it was a surprise: Justice Dooley will be retiring from the bench at the end of March, almost three months after Shumlin has left office.    

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Lottery Commission (VLC) announced today the resignation of Executive Director, Greg Smith, effective October 14. Smith is pursuing another opportunity after running Vermont's Lottery for over four years. A statement from the Lottery Commission said he is pursuing a new opportunity in Chicago, but did not say exactly where he is going or what the position is.

Greg Smith. Vermont Lottery Commission photo.

During Smith's tenure, Vermont Lottery sales and profits have grown by almost 20 percent, resulting in over $26 million being contributed to Vermont's Education Fund in the last fiscal year.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce announced Friday the selection of Bill Stritzler as its 2016 Citizen of the Year. Stritzler’s contributions to Vermont will be celebrated at an awards dinner on Wednesday, November 16 at Smugglers’ Notch Resort. Stritzler was selected by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce for the Citizen of the Year Award for his extensive community involvement and continual devotion to the betterment of Vermont.

A Cambridge resident, Stritzler is the owner and managing director of Smugglers’ Notch Resort. Stritzler currently serves on the advisory board of Butternut Mountain Farm and the Vermont Business Roundtable (where he is past chair). He is past chair of the Nature Conservancy of Vermont, Vermont Public Television, Vermont Economic Progress Council, the Lamoille Economic Development Corporation, and Copley Health Systems. He is also a past board member of the School for Northern Studies. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) has announced the distribution of $500,000 in patronage capital funds to member-owners in 2016. Patronage capital is each member’s share of remaining funds after the cooperative utility pays its operating expense. The VEC Board of Directors determines annually whether the co-op is in a strong enough financial position to return portions of patronage capital to members, and, if so, they decide which years and what percentage from those years to refund. Including this distribution, VEC has returned $2,350,000 in patronage capital dollars to active and former members.

Patronage capital is being distributed to active members as a credit on their September electric bill. Former members with a refund of at least $10 will be sent a refund check. Both active and former members have the option of donating their patronage capital dollars to VEC’s Community Fund to support local organizations.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont property owner William Jennison of Johnson settled claims that he filed a false lead paint compliance document for his rental property in violation of Vermont consumer protection and lead laws. “The Department of Health and Attorney General’s Office continue their vigorous enforcement of Vermont’s lead laws. This is another warning to landlords who try to dodge their lead paint responsibilities,” said Attorney General William Sorrell.

Vermont Business Magazine Jill Mazza Olson has been appointed Executive Director of the VNAs of Vermont, the 10-member association of non-profit home health and hospice agencies serving all Vermonters. Olson, who worked most recently as the Vice President of Policy and Legislative Affairs at the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS), assumes the role on October 10. As Executive Director of the VNAs of Vermont, Olson will call on her policy background and advocacy experience to reposition the VNAs in the state's health and payment reform conversation.

Jill Mazza Olson

Vermont Business Magazine In honor of Farm to School Awareness Month, which begins October 1st, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) gathered Thursday with Vermont Farm to School leaders at Winooski School District to celebrate the impacts of Farm to School programming and to announce new grant funding for Universal Meals in Vermont schools.  Among the celebrants were Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Ross, State Senators Sirotkin and Zuckerman, Winooski Schools Superintendent Sean McMannon, Farm to School partners, teachers, students, and administrators. Following the celebratory remarks, event attendees were treated to a “local food taste test” featuring Nepalese and Somali cuisine served by Winooski students.

Vermont Business Magazine Phil Scott for Vermont spokeswoman Brittney Wilson today issued the following statement on the Vermont Democrat Party’s waste of taxpayer resources, regarding the decision by the Vermont attorney general not to pursue an investigation of illegal collaboration between the Scott campaign and an independent organizational over a TV ad.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, as expected, the Vermont State Colleges System Board of Trustees voted unanimously to unify Johnson and Lyndon State Colleges into a single accredited college with two distinctive campuses, following preliminary approval at its July 22, 2016 meeting. The Board’s decision to create a larger, stronger institution is intended to expand opportunities for students, strengthen institutional finances, and ensure continued access to high-quality, postsecondary education in the northern region of Vermont. The Vermont State Colleges system continues to be strained by budget shortfalls, a lack of state budget support and a general shrinking of high school-aged students in Vermont and the Northeast, which makes admissions even more competitive.

by Mike Faher/The Commons The controversial Stiles Brook Wind Project proposal is about to change. Developer Iberdrola Renewables has scheduled two public meetings to discuss revisions to the project’s size and its economic impacts. Currently, plans call for a 28-turbine wind energy site that would be Vermont’s largest. The sessions are scheduled for 6 pm to 8 pm October 4 at Windham Elementary School, and 6 pm to 8 pm October 5 at Grafton Elementary School. Prior to those meetings, the developer isn’t detailing its proposed changes at Stiles Brook.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has concluded that the facts presented in a complaint which merely suggested the general possibility of a Vermont campaign finance law violation were not sufficient to trigger a civil investigation. The complaint theorized that three video advertisements run by A Stronger Vermont, an independent-expenditure-only political committee, featuring film footage of gubernatorial candidate Phil Scott were unlikely to have been made without coordination with Lieutenant Governor Scott. The complaint did not provide evidence of prearrangement or coordination between A Stronger Vermont and the Scott campaign.