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by Elizabeth Hewitt vtdigger.org Vermont correctional officers are consistently working large amounts of overtime, raising familiar questions about balancing the budget and burnout. Figures from the Department of Corrections show that the officers inside Vermont’s seven prisons consistently work many hours beyond the typical 40-hour work week. Over the last six months, correctional officers worked a collective average of 5,894 hours of overtime every two-week pay period. That averages out to approximately 11.8 hours of overtime every two weeks for each of the state’s 501 correctional officers — sometimes it’s scheduled ahead of time, sometimes it’s not.

by Phil Scott At the start of every legislative session since being elected lieutenant governor, I’ve urged legislators to evaluate every proposal based on whether it helps our economy, improves efficiencies or reduces costs. If the answer to any of those questions is “yes,” then I suggested they put it on the front burner. If the answer is “no,” I suggested it go on the back burner. Last November, Vermonters once again said they want lawmakers to focus on the economy, fix property taxes, and mend a broken health care system. Each time they claim to hear the message “loud and clear,” and for a while, it even seems like they take it to heart. Unfortunately, they haven’t followed through.

The Legislature has an opportunity this winter to get back to the fiscal fundamentals. We’re all in this together, so I’ll start the discussion by offering my priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

Set a Clear Standard

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's weekly unemployment claims, surged again to over 700 last week, but remain well below the same time last year, when they eclipsed 1,000. For the week of November 21, there were 795 claims, an increase of 129 from the previous week's total and 211 fewer than they were a year ago. Generally, claims have been running below last year's totals. Total claims were up in all regions of the state for the week, but down everywhere for the year. By industry, claims increased significantly for Manufacturing, and were again high for Construction, as its season wound down. As has been the trend, Services led all categories with 40 percent of all claims, which was down slightly for the week.

Vermont Business Magazine As a result of a claim filed by Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP attorneys Emily Joselson and Michele Patton, the National Federation of the Blind and Scribd, Inc have agreed to work together to provide access and make content available in Scribd’s subscription reading service and website accessible to the blind by the end of 2017. Available on desktop and mobile devices, Scribd’s service provides users access to e-books, audiobooks and other published content for a flat monthly fee. As part of an agreement between the two organizations, Scribd will revise its website to make most subscription content compatible with screen access software for the blind. Screen access software converts text-based content into Braille or spoken words. Scribd will also facilitate access to other types of documents in its collection when requested by blind users.

Vermont Business Magazine Stratton Mountain will open for top-to-bottom skiing and riding on Saturday, November 28 with at least 5 trails ranging from novice to intermediate terrain. Stratton snowmakers took advantage of the window of cold weather and fired up over 250 HKD snowguns Sunday evening when the temperatures dipped as low as 12 degrees and have run at full capacity for over 24 hours straight.

by Mike Faher/The Commons As Vermont Yankee starts down the road of decommissioning, one of the biggest complaints has been the lack of a map. That’s about to change, as the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission on November 19 formally announced its intent to develop new, detailed regulations for decommissioning power plants. An initial public-comment period runs through January 4. Given their concerns about how the Yankee process has played out so far, Vermont officials say they will “lead the way” on pushing for stronger NRC regulations.

However, because the rule-making process will extend until 2019 — and maybe longer — there’s not much hope that the results will come in time to significantly influence Vermont Yankee’s decommissioning.

by Rebecca Holcombe Ask anyone in Vermont about his or her favorite educator, and you are likely to get an animated response. In fact, chances are that if you ask people about who had the greatest influence on them, many will name a teacher. Even Vermont Governor Shumlin has attributed much of his success to the skill and patience of a Vermont teacher. On this Thanksgiving, when you sit down to enjoy a hearty meal with family and friends, take a moment to give thanks to our Vermont educators.

Vermont Business Magazine GasBuddy projects that by Thanksgiving Day the national average will be $1.99 per gallon, nearly 80 cents per gallon cheaper than last year and $1.29 per gallon cheaper than 2013. As prices at the pump have plunged, the number of states seeing average prices under $2 per gallon has more than tripled in the last two weeks, rising to 19 states, with nearly 60% of all US gas stations now selling below $2 per gallon. While some stations in Vermont might drop down to that level, the average price in the state is expected to be just over $2, or a dollar less than they were a year ago ($3.07). Americans hitting the road for Thanksgiving will certainly have something to be extra thankful for: the cheapest gasoline prices since March 2009. The low prices are showing up just in time for millions of motorists that are heading out, saving them $1.5 billion over the five days that GasBuddy’s recent survey found most motorists will be traveling.

Vermont Business Magazine The ribbon is cut at the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting Celebration for Town Fair Tire which opened recently at 162 South Main Street in Rutland. Town Fair Tire has 91 tire store locations throughout CT, MA, ME, NH, RI & has opened its first location in VT in Rutland. Town Fair Tire offers several brands of tires, tire rotation, tire change over, wheels and alignment.

Pictured: Front L to R:

Tom Donahue

Rep. Dave Potter

Rep. Butch Shaw

Nicole Kesselring

Jim Fuller, Regional Manager

Dave Correll

Terry Morton

Marleen Cenate

Glen Novack

Rear L to R:

Paul Crossman

Tom Leypoldt

Alderman William Notte

Alderman Dave Allaire

Trevor Bendig

Sen. Brian Collamore

Vermont Business Magazine Bernie Isabelle, President and CEO of Vermont Federal Credit Union, is pleased to announce the Credit Union has raised $25,420 for United Way. During the month of October Vermont Federal encouraged employees to fundraise for United Way through pledge cards and special events. Pledge cards allowed employees to deduct donations straight from their paycheck over the course of a year or make a one-time donation. In the spirit of involving members, Vermont Federal also hosted a 50/50 raffle event. The total of these contributions allowed the Credit Union to exceed its monetary goal by almost $4,000.

Vermont Federal is proud to support United Way, an organization that helps many communities throughout Vermont and all over the world.

Vermont Business Magazine As Vermonters head into the holiday buying season, Attorney General Sorrell reminds consumers to take steps to protect themselves from being the victims of credit card theft and fraud. Data security breaches and credit card fraud continue to be a significant problem, causing millions of dollars in losses each year. Consumers should take the following steps to protect themselves:

Vermont Business Magazine Skiers and riders will soon return to the slopes of Bolton Valley for the 2015-16 winter season. When they arrive they will be greeted by over $400,000 of improvements. Upgrades were mostly focused around the base areas and include new pavement, work in the base lodge, upgraded hotel rooms and two new restaurants.

“The mountain has been buzzing all summer and fall.” said Josh Arneson VP of sales and marketing. “The first thing guests will notice is the new pavement at the top of the access road and in our main traffic circle. After a smooth arrival we hope everyone enjoys an improved Bolton Valley this season.”

Thirteen suites in the hotel have been renovated. Rooms received new floors, countertops, carpeting, furniture and bedding. The exterior of the hotel received a facelift as well with significant power washing and painting.