Current News
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Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), one of the core of congressmen who helped develop the US EB-5 immigrant investor program, is urging Congress today to reform the program. In his statement below, Leahy points out that wealthy areas of the country, in particular Manhattan, have benefited from the program that is intended to bring much-needed capital to rural and poorer areas of the nation. Developers have been able to do this by "gerrymandering" where they want to build with poor areas in the city to create EB-5 districts that qualify for the lower investor amount of $500,000. A wealthy district would require a $1 million investment from each immigrant investor.
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas Systems announced today plans to offer renewable natural gas (RNG) to customers this year. Renewable natural gas from agriculture and landfills will be offered to participating customers who sign up for the program.
“This is an environmental win-win for our customers. Natural gas is a cleaner and more affordable home heating option for almost 50,000 Vermont families and businesses. Beginning this fall, our customers can further reduce their carbon footprint by choosing to heat their homes and businesses with renewable natural gas,” said Vermont Gas CEO Don Rendall.
Capturing methane from farms and landfills provides dual environmental benefits by preventing an intense greenhouse gas pollutant from entering the atmosphere (allowing the constructive use of a waste product as energy) and displacing other higher-emitting fuels such as heating oil and propane.
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by Jack Hoffman Public Assets Institute Income inequality is a serious problem in Vermont that needs to be addressed on several fronts, and paying people more for their labor, especially those at the bottom, should be part of the strategy. Now political leaders and workers’ advocates who support a higher minimum wage may find they have some unexpected allies. The Washington Post reported last week on a leaked survey of business leaders throughout the country. It found that 80 percent were in favor of increasing the minimum wage. They also expressed strong support for maternity and paternity leave, paid sick time, and paid family leave.
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Vermont Business Magazine Nominations are now open for the 2017 Vermont Teacher of the Year program. The public is invited to join Vermont educators to directly nominate teachers for the prestigious statewide distinction; the winner serves as an advocate for Vermont’s teachers, students and education system. Nominations can be completed through May 31. To encourage more submissions, the process has been simplified to require only the most basic information about the nominator, the nominee, and their school, as well as a short overview of what makes the nominee an extraordinary teacher.
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Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin has ordered flags statewide to fly at half-staff in honor of former Vermont Chief Justice Fred Allen, who passed away this weekend. The governor has ordered flags lowered tomorrow at sunrise through Friday at sunset. The governor issued the following statement.
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Vermont Business Magazine Overall, General Fund (GF) revenues for the month of March were down by -$13.26 million or –13.94%, totaling $81.87 million vs. a monthly target of $95.12 million. This shortfall reflects a clearing out of the backlog of refunds that were not processed in Febru-ary due to fraud concerns. While Personal Income was down -$18.97 million (–71.68%) and Sales and Use and Meals and Rooms were off target by -$0.42 million and -$0.52 million respectfully, they were offset with an up in Corporate Tax +$6.94 million (+33.71%).
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos announced today a new searchable database of Vermont elections results. The new site makes it easier to find results by year, office, or candidate and continues the efforts by Secretary Condos to make information more accessible for Vermonters.
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Vermont Business Magazine An award from the Keep Local Farms Fund is being used by two Vermont farmer organizations, The Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition (CVFC) and DairyVision Vermont, to help Vermont farmers protect water quality with recommended new practices and technology improvements. The $45,000 to CVFC and $12,500 to DairyVision Vermont in scholarship aid is part of awards totaling $104,900 in grants to dairy-related education and other initiatives across New England.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Copley Health Systems, Inc Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that following a thoughtful national search, they have selected Arthur “Art” Mathisen to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mathisen will take over leadership of the hospital when CEO Melvyn Patashnick retires after serving 30 years in healthcare administration; leading Copley Hospital for the last 10 years. Mathisen is currently Chief Operating Officer at Copley Hospital, having joined Copley in July 2015.
Arthur “Art” Mathisen
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Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center’s Safe Recovery Program received a $25,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation. Safe Recovery is a full-time, professionally-staffed recovery center for people living with addiction to opioids. Specifically, the grant will enable the program to provide additional drug treatment options counseling sessions and increased outreach to veterans. The award comes at a crucial time as Safe Recovery has recently been forced to lay off staff, even while the demand for recovery services increases.
"We are very proud to support Howard Center and the essential work they are doing to provide drug treatment options," said Jason Klipa Walmart Director of Public Affairs. "Through its Safe Recovery program, Howard Center is keeping individuals safe during their counseling and treatment. Their work will help save lives."
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Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, with its agency Jennings, have received a 2015 Telly Award for its Partnership is Powerful Medicine campaign video featuring cancer patient John Kasper. In the video, John, an auto detailer in Bennington, shares his emotional story about battling cancer with SVMC’s team. The video was part of a series of patient videos, all of which can be viewed at svhealthcare.org/stories.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health, with support from Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, is offering PFOA blood draw clinics as part of the State of Vermont's response to PFOA contamination of drinking water wells in North Bennington and Bennington. The clinic dates are set for late April through mid-May. Private drinking water wells in the area around the former Chemfab/Saint-Gobain have had detections of PFOA ranging from non-detect to nearly 3,000 parts per trillion, well above Vermont's advisory level of 20 parts per trillion for drinking water.
The blood tests will measure the level of PFOA in an individual's blood, and this can be compared to levels measured by CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for adults and older children in the U.S. Most adults have low levels of PFOA in their blood.