Current News

by C.B. Hall Vermont Business Magazine With a frustrating ski season receding into the past, Vermont's tourism sector is turning attention to how well it will fare as the rest of 2016 unfolds. Were there underlying factors this winter, beyond the weather, that are poised to take a bite out of summer travel, too? Or will tourism rebound as the gray landscape takes on a vernal green?

by Mike Smith Being a US senator is a heady job. It provides stature, power and privilege that few Vermonters will ever enjoy or can even relate to. In fact, it is such a lofty position senators are often insulated from the public and media by large staffs and the considerable geographic distance between the home press corps and their official duties. As a result, US senators can become easily annoyed when challenged or just routinely questioned by the media, a constituent, or even a political opponent, and sometimes can lose sight of what is the right thing to do. This seems to be the case with Senator Patrick Leahy and the call to release his EB-5 emails.

Senator Leahy — who has written numerous endorsements of the media’s “Sunshine Week” to promote government transparency — flatly refused a request by his presumptive general election opponent, Scott Milne, to release all of Leahy’s (and his staff’s) emails related to the federal EB-5 program.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, May 12th more than 325 business and nonprofit leaders, legislators, students, state employees, and activists came together for a day of education around socially responsible practices in the workplace. Gathering the LEED certified Davis Center at the University of Vermont in downtown Burlington, attendees of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s (VBSR) 26th Annual Spring Conference experienced a robust and varied agenda.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont College of Medicine has announced the winners of the 2016 Medical Alumni Association Awards to be presented during its annual Medical Alumni Reunion, Friday June 10, 2016, on the UVM College of Medicine campus. The Medical Alumni Association of the College of Medicine has, for four decades, honored the accomplishments of its members for their work caring for patients, creating new advances in the laboratory, and contributing to their communities. The A Bradley Soule Award, established in 1983, honors an alumnus/a whose loyalty and dedication to the College of Medicine most emulate those qualities found in its first recipient, A Bradley Soule, M.D.'28. The 2016 award winner is John Jerome Saia, MD ’66.

Vermont Business Magazine The USDOL Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance in Washington, DC, issued a determination on April 20, 2016, approving the Vermont Department of Labor’s (VDOL) request for Trade Certification for the laid-off workers of NTT Data, Inc, in Montpelier, Vermont. The number of laid off workers was not immediately available to VBM. NTT does IT work for National Life Group on a contract basis. NTT acquired Keane Inc in 2011, which had been doing IT work for National Life. Subsequently, NTT, an international company based in Japan, laid of some workers in Montpelier, where National Life is headquartered.

The Trade Certification refers to jobs lost to foreign trade or to jobs moved offshore. The certification has authorized all workers of NTT Data Inc in Montpelier 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 Billing Tree, Inc, an Arizona company that processes electronic payments, will pay $178,000 to settle claims that the company violated Vermont consumer protection laws. Between 2012-2014, Billing Tree processed debits from 3,903 consumer bank accounts in Vermont on behalf of at least 43 online lenders of high-interest loans. The annual interest often exceeded 100-300% even though Vermont law prohibits annual interest above 24%. None of the 43 lenders had a license to make loans in Vermont. As of May 2014, Billing Tree ceased processing payments in Vermont involving any online consumer loans.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) received a $230,000 grant Friday to bolster economic development in 11 Windham and Bennington communities. BDCC will provide technical assistance to local non-profits and long term strategic economic development planning for the region with the funding.

“The Southern Vermont Economy Project seeks to engage the relationships built during the post Irene recovery and enhance the capacity of these on-the-ground organizations to deliver economic development services to areas in need,” said USDA Rural Development Vermont and New Hampshire State Director Ted Brady. “BDCC recognizes that communities are stronger together than apart and will use this project to rebuild southern Vermont’s economic foundation.”

Vermont Business Magazine EPA has announced it will be awarding $15,994,000 in Brownfield grants to municipalities and organizations working in all six New England states to protect people’s health by assessing and cleaning up contaminated parcels in New England communities. Vermont's share will be $800,000, which will be split between the Windham and Chittenden regional planning commissions. The grants, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup grant program, provide communities with the funding they need to assess, clean up and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.

Vermont Business Magazine With all the major indicators suggesting a strong trend, the Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for April was 3.2 percent. This represents a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised March rate (3.3 percent). The number of employed and the labor force were up versus both the previous month and the previous year and the number of unemployed was down versus both time indicators. The national rate in April was 5.0 percent. Overall, Vermont’s unemployment rate was tied for fifth lowest in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine - I scream, you scream, we all scream… for voting rights. Ben & Jerry’s, the ice cream maker known for its progressive values and fun as much as their chunk and swirl laden ice cream, is back at it again. The company, which has never shied away from controversy, is tackling a not so new challenge: the nation’s democracy. The company chose North Carolina to launch its newest flavor and “Democracy Is In Your Hands’ campaign because it is at the epicenter of the fight for voting rights in the United States. Almost immediately following the 2013 Supreme Court decision invalidating a critical section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, North Carolina passed a package restrictive voting policies that disproportionately impact black, Hispanic, and younger voters.

Vermont Business Magazine - David Silverman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank is pleased to announce the opening of its first loan office in Washington County. The new loan production center officially opened for business on May 13^th with a ribbon cutting celebration to be held at a later date.