Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) announced today that a five-year, $305 billion transportation bill agreement reached Tuesday by House and Senate negotiators will deliver nearly $1.1 billion to Vermont to improve the state’s roadways. As a member of the committee with primary jurisdiction over federal road and bridge programs, Sanders successfully fought for a funding formula that helps Vermont. The final agreement includes a 5 percent increase in funding for Vermont in the first year and a total increase of 15 percent over five years.

“While this legislation does not have everything I would have hoped for, I am pleased it includes more than $1 billion for Vermont’s roads and bridges in the coming years,” Sanders said.

Vermont Business Magazine The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday held a hearing on the impact of trade secret theft on American businesses. At the hearing, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) noted that Vermont businesses rely on trade secrets to protect their intellectual property and emphasized the importance of those protections. “In Vermont, trade secrets protect the specialized knowledge of woodworkers and artisans who have been crafting heirloom products for generations. They protect the secret recipes for Vermont craft brews and closely guarded customer lists for our top tourist services. They protect cutting-edge technologies that Vermont businesses are developing in plastics, complex manufacturing, software and green technology,” Leahy said.

Vermont Business Magazine The Emergency Board on Tuesday approved Governor Peter Shumlin’s recommendation to increase the cap on the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive for projects in economically distressed regions of Vermont. The approval allows for consideration of proposals that could, if approved, create 200 new full-time jobs and $6.5 million in new payroll. The E-Board is comprised of the governor and the chairs of the four money committees in the Legislature.

“I want to thank the members of the Emergency Board for joining me in support of job creation and investment in parts of Vermont that need it most,” Gov. Shumlin said. “Allowing increased incentives for these regions of the state means job creation and opportunity for Vermonters where it is most needed without additional cost to the rest of the state.”

Vermont Business Magazine Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott officially launched his campaign for governor Tuesday evening at the Sheraton Burlington. Scott had previously announced he was running. The construction company owner and race car driver joins Bruce Lisman on the Republican side, while former VTrans Secretary Sue Minter and former state Senator Matt Dunne are running for the Democratic nomination. Scott's campaign counted 700 supporters at the event. The text of his speech follows.

Vermont Business Magazine The Automaster has completed the final details of their BMW showroom renovation and celebrated its completion with a ribbon cutting ceremony held on November 11, 2015. Deconstruction began on November 24, 2014. The total renovation included stripping the existing building down to the structural steel and rebuilding a completely updated showroom, with an expansion of 980 square feet of new showroom space to the existing footprint. Construction of the new state-of-the-art facility was completed in June.

“The new BMW showroom features an open, airy and welcoming space for both our guests and our employees,” said Dale Fillion, General Manager of The Automaster. “The renovation included the addition of many new amenities, like the Isetta bar (a complimentary refreshment bar) and a lot of new, state-of-the-art technology, like the new iDisplay ,” Fillion noted.

Vermont Business Magazine Following years of planning and development with the Southeastern Vermont region’s business and non-profit community, residents and municipalities, the work of developing the Green Building and Services Economy in the Brattleboro area is under way. The work began with the development of the region’s federally recognized strategic economic development plan (CEDS), and continued through a lengthy funding process with Vermont state and federal partners. On Wednesday, December 9, Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) will convene approximately 50 businesses, organizations, local and state government officials for a series of initial workshops during the official launch of the region’s Green Economy Cluster project.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today announced a pilot program to test in Vermont a new treatment option for opiate addiction. Under the pilot, offenders coming out of Marble Valley Correctional Center in Rutland will now be offered naltrexone, an injected, long-acting medication that reduces the urge for opioid drugs like heroin or prescription painkillers. Naltrexone works by blocking the body’s opiate receptors, preventing the effects of opioid drugs from getting to the brain. A person must be opioid-free for at least a week before receiving the injection of naltrexone, which is then administered monthly, to support recovery. The Health Department has trained more than 50 health care providers in the protocols for administering naltrexone. Naltrexone is not an opiate, and is not a replacement or maintenance medication like methadone or buprenorphine.

Vermont Business Magazine Property tax rates and public education spending will both go up next year, but both slower than the current year. The Commissioner of Taxes has released forecasts related to education tax rates for the upcoming fiscal year, FY2017. The statutorily required forecasts are a joint effort between the Agency of Education, Department of Taxes, and Joint Fiscal Office. This year the forecast shows that the projected average homestead property tax rate will rise by 1 cent to $1.535 per $100. The projected average nonresidential property tax rate will rise by three tenths of one cent to $1.538. The projected average income rate will go down slightly from 2.74% in FY2016 to 2.72% in FY2017 (which begins on July 1, 2016). The average tax bill for all three types of payers is projected to increase 1.12%.

Vermont Business Magazine Cathedral Square was recently awarded a $100,000 affordable housing grant through the TD Charitable Foundation’s Housing for Everyone grant competition. The grant will be used to help fund the construction of Elm Place, a new affordable housing community in Milton, Vermont. Cathedral Square’s Elm Place will be a service-enriched senior housing community located on a smart growth site in the heart of Milton’s downtown. This thoughtfully positioned property will sit adjacent to UVM Medical Center’s Milton Family Practice and near the senior center, pharmacy, grocery store, churches, and library, with sidewalks providing walking access to all of these services. Features will include a community room with kitchen, lounge, elevators, laundry facilities, storage, underbuilding parking, and an outdoor courtyard for social gatherings. The building will be energy efficient and the first certified Passive House multifamily building in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $15.6 million to the State of Vermont to help finance improvements to water projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment. The funds will be primarily used to upgrade sewage plants and drinking water systems, as well as replacing aging infrastructure, throughout the state. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program, administrated by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Vermont Bond Bank, received $6.8 million. EPA’s funding provides low-interest loans for water quality protection projects to make improvements to wastewater treatment systems, control pollution from stormwater runoff, and protect sensitive water bodies and estuaries.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont National Guard announces that 5 personnel from Vermont's Operational Support Airlift (OSA) Detachment are deploying to the Horn of Africa in support of United States Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM). "The Vermont National Guard is very proud of their contribution to regional security and stability in the Horn of Africa," said Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, the adjutant general. "It's important to remember that America's military is still forward deployed across the world performing numerous missions to include not only combat operations but humanitarian and training missions. The Vermont National Guard's deployment to the Horn of Africa is a testament to the strength, professionalism and readiness of our National Guard as an asset to the Total Force."

Today, on World AIDS Day, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) condemned price gouging by pharmaceutical companies on lifesaving drugs to treat the disease. “The biggest problem in caring for those with AIDS is no longer mainly a medical or scientific problem – the crisis is access to affordable drugs,” Sanders said. “People are dying in America because they can't afford to pay the outrageous prices for medicine they need to live. In the richest nation in the world, we must do everything possible to get people the medicine they need at a price they can afford.”

Last year, one in five Americans – 35 million people – were unable to afford to fill their prescriptions. The price of Daraprim, a drug taken by AIDS patients, was recently increased 5,000 percent overnight.