Current News

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.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Electric Department (BED) and Vermont Gas Systems announced today that their popular Energy Champ Challenge efficiency program, aimed at increasing energy efficiency in some of Burlington’s biggest residential rental units, has reached its increased goal of scheduling 100 energy audits. BED and Vermont Gas partnered to roll out the Energy Champ Challenge last June with the ambitious, preliminary goal of scheduling 50 audits by the end of 2015, and with the ultimate goal of encouraging 50 rental landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings by the end of 2016. Just a few months later, the companies announced that they had increased that goal to 100 scheduled energy audits, after easily surpassing the 50 scheduled audits goal.

Vermont Business Magazine ALTOUR, the largest independently owned travel management company in the United States and one of the largest travel management companies globally and Milne Travel, based in Barre, have announced that they have formed a partnership to provide enhanced worldwide travel management and superior systems and technology solutions. The partnership is majority-owned by ALTOUR and will continued to be managed by Scott Milne and operate under the name, Milne Travel American Express, an ALTOUR Company. Milne, a Republican, lost narrowly to Peter Shumlin in the race for governor in 2014. He is expected to announce soon that he will will challenge Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy for his US Senate seat in November. 

by Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable Art Woolf’s latest critique of K-12 education spending and outcomes, and Act 46 implementation in particular (“Is VT getting what it pays for in education?” Burlington Free Press 3/10/16) made me remember some important milestones along Vermont’s path to education reform. 

Vermont Business Magazine Seven Days, Vermont’s free, independent weekly newspaper, has announced the dates of the 7th Annual Vermont Restaurant Week, a celebration of the state’s vibrant local-food culture. For 10 days, from April 22 to May 1, 2016, restaurants throughout Vermont will offer special prix-fixe dinners at three price points — $20, $30 or $40 per person. Lunch and breakfast specials at select locations will also be available. Participating restaurants range from renowned eateries such as Burlington’s Hen of the Wood and Michael’s on the Hill in Waterbury Center to local faves the Farmhouse Tap & Grill in Burlington and Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier. Several southern Vermont restaurants have signed on this year, too, including duo Restaurant in Brattleboro and Popolo in Bellows Falls.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont will host the 14th Annual Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop March 22 to 24 at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington. The international conference, launched in 2002 by the National Weather Service’s Climate Services Division, will bring together a diverse group of climate researchers, climate product developers, and climate information users to share developments in research and applications of climate predictions. The goal of the workshop is to put new information and tools in the hands of end-users with the goal of improving decision making at all policy levels.