Current News

by Rob Roper In response to a lawsuit by sixteen Democratic and one Independent attorneys general (Vermont’s Bill Sorrell among them) claiming that Exxon Mobil committed “fraud” in regard to that company’s non-alarmist position on climate change, a group of thirteen Republican AGs made a salient counterpoint in an open letter to all Attorneys General: “If minimization is fraud, exaggeration is fraud.” What’s sauce for the goose could turn out to be sauce for the gander.

If Exxon and/or think tanks that question the alarmist talking points on climate change can be sued for making statements that minimize the burning of fossil fuel’s influence on global temperatures or extreme weather events, then organizations that have raised money, sold products and services, or applied for government grants with claims such as, “Act now, or the polar ice caps will be gone by 2014!” can also be investigated and prosecuted. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today at Union Elementary School in Montpelier celebrated a law that guarantees access to pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds in Vermont. The law, which the governor signed in 2014, goes into effect July 1 and will ensure all Vermont kids have access to Pre-K this coming school year. Vermont is the first state in America to guarantee access to Pre-K for all three and four year olds.

Governor Shumlin at Union Elementary School in Montpelier Thursday morning. Education Secretary Rebecca Holcomb is to the far left. Courtesy photo.

by Guy Page This spring advocates of divestment of fossil fuel stocks by public pensions, led by Governor Peter Shumlin, pushed the legislature to legally change the Vermont Pubic Investment Committee (VPIC) mandate from maximizing returns for beneficiaries to making toothless political statements with public assets. Thankfully the administrators of Vermont’s public pension, who have studied divestment thoroughly, determined that making politically reflexive decisions is not a responsible way to manage public workers’ retirement security.

In the course of this debate several pensioner groups, including the Vermont State Employees Association and the Vermont Troopers Association, expressed their opposition to divestment and passed resolutions indicating that investment decisions should remain with VPIC, and not with the legislature.

Vermont Business Magazine The following message was shared with the University of Vermont community at about 10:30 am Thursday morning. A construction worker died after an early morning fall at a new residence hall construction site. The worker's name has not yet been released.

Vermont Business Magazine The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed an amendment to the State Department and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill that would fund the Green Climate Fund, an essential part of the international climate agreement reached in Paris last fall. The amendment was cosponsored by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Susan Collins (R-ME), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

The Green Climate Fund is an international fund set up to help nations worldwide – particularly developing nations – adapt to climate change and transition to clean energy sources. This fund is an essential component of the framework that the international community developed in order to work together to take on climate change.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets (VAAFM) has announced its adjusted fee schedule, from register and inspect lime products (up $10) to maple processor's fee (2,500 gallons or more for repackaging, up $50) to certification of seed potatoes (up $10 plus $1 per acre) to wild plants – ginseng licensing (up $15) to meat retail large vendor (up $40) to frozen dessert manufacturing (up $5) to many more. The Legislature approved the new fee schedule and it will go into effect Friday, July 1, 2016. VAAFM manages more than 50 fee-based programs. Most, but not all, fees increased. The Agency said in a statement that these services provide value to Vermonters, in accordance with the Agency’s mission: to support the growth and viability of agriculture in Vermont while protecting the working landscape, human health, animal health, plant health, consumers and the environment. The new fee schedule is available at the end of this article.

Vermont Business Magazine In May the Bennington Select Board adopted three new business and residential incentive programs that will directly impact the community’s downtown core. The three programs use funds already earmarked for economic and community development efforts, but put a fine point on a broad brush as to how a portion of these funds can be applied.

Vermont Business Magazine While gold prospecting is a fun summertime activity, the Agency of Natural Resources reminds the public that while anyone can pan for gold by hand, a state permit is required when using a sluice box. Recently, Environmental Enforcement Officers and Game Wardens made contact with several recreational mineral (gold) prospectors in and around streams in southeastern Vermont.  Most prospectors were complying with Vermont law.  However, three people were issued Environmental Citations for using sluice boxes in streams without a permit from the agency.

The waiver penalty for an unpermitted sluice for first time offenders is $150.  Penalties for other or repeat offenses can be higher.  Before heading out, prospectors must have permits for sluice boxes. Annual permits for Vermont residents are $25, non-residents $50.  Landowner permission is also required, and suction dredging is prohibited. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has announced the syllabus of 2016-2017 migratory bird hunting seasons is now available. A printable copy of the regulations can be downloaded from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com). A printed version also will be available from license agents and post offices by mid-July. A statewide Vermont open hunting season for Canada geese will occur September 1-25. The daily bag limit is five Canada geese in the Connecticut River Zone and eight in the rest of the state during this September season. The purpose of the September season is to help control Vermont’s resident Canada goose population prior to the arrival of Canada geese migrating south from Canada. 

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Wednesday announced that Vermont will receive more than $7 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help Vermont communities with prevention and preparedness. Leahy said:  “Enhancing our security means supporting not only our border control and law enforcement, but also improving critical infrastructure.  First responders in Vermont are on the front lines every day, protecting our communities, securing our borders and ports of entry, and keeping Vermonters safe.  As our country’s infrastructure continues to feel the strain of budget constraints, these grants are an investment in Vermont’s safety and security.  Prevention and preparedness are vital to this mission.”

Vermont Business Magazine The City of South Burlington received word this afternoon that Judge Crawford approved the motion for the City of South Burlington to participate as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the F35 National Environmental Policy Act Litigation—Zbitnoff et al v. Deborah Lee James. Pursuant to a resolution passed by the South Burlington City Council at a special meeting held June 22, 2016, the MEMO below was filed in Federal Court Tuesday. The MEMO sought entrance to the Zbitnoff et al v. Deborah Lee James litigation to participate as amicus curiae.

Vermont Business Magazine RSG has been named (#79) one of FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Workplaces for Millennials” – a list determined entirely upon employees’ own feedback and selected from a database of more than 600 Great Place to Work-Certified organizations. To create the list, Fortune asked Great Place to Work to survey more than 88,000 millennials (born 1981 or later), who rated their organizations on 58 workplace quality questions. Employees considered the sincerity of managers’ support for people’s personal and professional lives, how transparent communication is, people’s ability to be themselves at work and to invest in their lives outside work, and the meaning they get from their jobs, among many other factors.