Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Secretary of State’s Poster and Essay Contest is an annual event to promote awareness of Vermont history, the Vermont Constitution, and the importance of civics among students in Grades K-12. The program was started in 2000, making this its 16th year. The essay topics this year, for older students, focus on youth involvement in politics and governance and asks students to imagine creative ways in which we can encourage and increase their participation. The younger students, in keeping with tradition, are asked to create their own rendition of state symbols and posters by thinking about what Vermont means to them.

Every year, we receive great submissions from students across the state. We then select winners in each category and invite their entire class to join us for a day in Montpelier where they tour the State House, the Vermont History Museum, and are recognized in an awards ceremony.

Vermont Business Magazine As first reported by the Rutland Herald Thursday, long-serving Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donahue is leaving that position for the Rutland-based BROC - Community Action in Southwestern Vermont. He will be responsible for both Rutland and Bennington Counties in one of five Community Action Agencies in the state. Donohue has been with the Chamber for 21 years and has served on many business and community organizations in the area. BROC's goal is to allow disadvantaged members of the community "to develop and use their capacities and abilities so they can share in the promise of this nation."

Vermont Business Magazine Conagra has joined Kellogg's, Mars, General Mills and Campbell's Soup saying that it will label its products with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) nationwide in response to Vermont’s GMO labeling law, which goes into effect July 1. The US Senate on March 16 rejected a bill that would have prevented Vermont from implementing its GMO (aka, GE or Genetic Engineering) labeling law. Since then, major food producers have said they will label their foods. Campbell's made its announcement before the vote in January.

Vermont Business Magazine Buoyed by a string of decisive primary wins this past Tuesday, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hold a commanding lead in New York State, where a victory in the April 19 primary could effectively seal the presidential nomination for both candidates, according to an Emerson College (Boston) poll released today. With Marco Rubio out of the race, Trump leads his closest rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, by 52 points (64% to 12%). Rubio received 4% of the vote before suspending his campaign. Ohio Governor John Kasich earned just 1%, getting no bounce from his recent home-field victory in the Buckeye State. In a hypothetical, two-man matchup between Trump and Cruz, Trump leads 69% to 25%.

Vermont Business Magazine The House overwhelmingly supported the so-called Ban the Box (H261, An act relating to criminal record inquiries by an employer) bill and sent it to the Senate today. The roll call vote on Thursday was 138-5 with six absent. The "box" refers to a check box that sometimes appears on employment applications that asks if the applicant has a criminal record. The bill stipulates that an employer can ascertain that information as the hiring process moves along, but not on the initial application.

H261 states that, “An employer shall not request criminal history record information on its initial employee application form. An employer may inquire about a prospective employee’s criminal history record during an interview or once the prospective employee has been deemed otherwise qualified for the position.”

by Governor Peter Shumlin Last month, the Vermont Senate passed a bill to end the failed War on Drugs policy of marijuana prohibition in Vermont. This was a big step forward for our state. Bringing marijuana out of the shadows of prohibition is a smarter approach to regulating a substance that over 80,000 Vermonters admit to using on a monthly basis. It makes no sense that we tell those Vermonters that possessing an ounce of marijuana is no more serious than speeding, but then we tell them they must go buy it from a drug dealer who could care less what else they sell or how young their customers are.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims bounced back up last week after a steep fall the week before, as the disappointing winter tourism season nears its end. For the week of March 12, 2016, there were 758 claims, up 285 from the previous week's total and 78 more than they were a year ago. By industry, claims were down in most industrial sectors except Services, which typically has the most claims. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce invites locals and visitors to participate in a weeklong culinary event.  “Restaurant Week” is an initiative the Chamber is launching to help local restaurants and dining establishments see some extra foot traffic in the beginning of spring.  Diners can visit any participating, Chamber member restaurant from Saturday, March 19 through Sunday, March 27 and enjoy a delicious meal for only $20.16. Each participating restaurant will offer a unique culinary menu that fits within that price.  Some may offer single lunches, lunches for two, and/or a 3-course dinner meal.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today applauded House and Senate action supporting divestment from coal and Exxon Mobil assets, which he called for in his State of the State Address in January. The governor also called for a number of steps to ensure the objectivity of the process the Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC) will undertake to achieve the goals laid out by him and the Legislature. The VPIC would ultimately decide on divestment. State Treasurer Beth Pearce, who also is a member and vice-chair of the VPIC, opposes divestment because of her concern for the financial health of the state retirement funds. She also took umbrage with what she described as inaccuracies in the governor's statement.

Vermont Business Magazine A $25,000 grant that the National Life Group Foundation awarded to the Vermont Foodbank will help to support the Backpack program. Under the program, students who might otherwise go hungry on weekends are given backpacks filled with nutritious food to help feed their families on days when they aren’t in school. “Kids can’t learn when they’re hungry, and that includes when they’re hungry on the weekend,” said Beth Rusnock, president of the National Life Foundation. “The Vermont Foodbank’s Backpack program is an effective and proven way to help keep a family fed when school lunches aren’t available.”

Vermont Business Magazine As the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), Norwich University will celebrate ROTC’s centennial anniversary with the “ROTC Centennial Symposium: Preparing the Next Generation Leaders in a Complex World” April 21-23, 2016. The two-day academic symposium kicks off on Thursday, April 21, at the Vermont Statehouse with a morning event and reading of a State of Vermont proclamation by Governor Peter Shumlin marking the milestone. That evening U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley will deliver a keynote Todd Lecture, which is free and open to the public.

Vermont Business Magazinne Governor Peter Shumlin met Wednesday evening with North Bennington-area residents concerned about the contamination of a number of private wells by a potentially harmful chemical known as PFOA. The public water source has been tested multiple times in the last month and is not impacted. At a community meeting at Bennington College, Governor Shumlin and his team of environmental and health officials shared the results that have come back from the initial testing of roughly 190 private wells in a 1.5 mile radius around the former Chemfab plant.