Current News

by Simeon Chapin, Director of Community & Social Development at VSECU Vermont has more than 6,000 charitable organizations, all with important missions that help better the lives of our neighbors and improve our communities. For organizations that rely on charitable giving to sustain their missions, we are entering a very important time of year for fundraising. With 18% of all donations occurring in December, it is by far the most popular month of the year for giving.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) is excited to kick off its 2015 Fall Solicitation with writer and beloved New England storyteller Willem Lange as Honorary Campaign Chair. “Nearly 10 years ago, Will chaired a campaign for CVHHH that helped raise over $50,000 in donations to support what was then our new telemonitor program,” says Daniel L. Pudvah, CVHHH’s Director of Development. “We are grateful for Will’s service again as our Honorary Chair this fall.”

Vermont Business Magazine The People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced today that it has awarded $2,500 to the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, Inc. (WWHT). Windham & Windsor Housing Trust’s mission is to strengthen the communities of southeast Vermont through the development and stewardship of permanently affordable housing and ongoing support and advocacy for its residents. The grant from People’s United Community Foundation will support WWHT’s Homeownership Center, which offers education and financial coaching to prospective homeowners and provides resources such as down payment assistance grants and home repair loans.

by Mike Polhamus vtdigger.org Harold Deering and his father raise just under 200 dairy cows on one of about 2,500 small farms that must comply with new rules the state is drafting to protect Vermont’s water bodies from excess phosphorus. Joining nearly 100 other farmers gathered in Middlebury last Thursday to review the new rules, Deering said he and his father had been preparing for them for years. Like several others at the meeting, Deering said he hopes Vermonters understand that farmers want clean water as much as anyone else.

“The public needs to know that we’re out – the farmers – are out not to add it to the lake, they’re already trying to keep it contained and monitored in levels that benefit them the most, because it is beneficial to everybody to keep it in the soil, in the crops, to help grow your dairy cows, to make milk, to make vegetables,” he said. “We’re not just out there dumping it into the lake.”

by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Last Thursday, the US House of Representatives voted to make it almost impossible for people from Syria and Iraq, fleeing the brutality of ISIS and Bashar al-Assad, to find refuge in the United States. It is worth reflecting on what this means for our country. Just a few weeks ago the world came together, stunned and heartbroken over the image of a three-year-old Syrian child’s lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach. His tragic death focused our attention on the desperate plight of so many Syrians who have fled the horror of ISIS and Assad’s army. We called it the humanitarian issue of our day. We called forth images of the Statue of Liberty and our proud history as a safe haven for those fleeing persecution and war.

Just days later, we hear calls to slam the door. To shut down our borders. To ignore that great symbol of refuge standing in New York Harbor.

Vermont Business Magazine The People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced Friday that it has awarded $3,500 to Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL). Since 2004, the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link has worked to expand availability and access to locally produced foods, bolster the greater Rutland region’s agricultural economy, and increase community appreciation and understanding of the positive impact of farms and farmers on the Rutland region. Through its programs, RAFFL, in collaboration with statewide partners, is helping to conserve Vermont’s working landscapes for future generations.

by Public Assets Institute Vermont’s unemployment rate, which counts only those actively looking for work, remained steady at 3.7 percent last month. But that’s not the whole story. In October the number of Vermonters working, including the self-employed, slid to its lowest point since 2003. Based on household surveys, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 332,440 Vermonters employed in October — 2,000 fewer than in September and a drop of about 4,500 since July.

by Elizabeth Hewitt vtdigger.org In a crowded Statehouse conference room, the Senate Government Operations Committee roughed out a sketch of what a regulated cannabis market in Vermont could look like. Legislative attorneys anticipate getting a first draft of the bill to committee chair Senator Jeanette White, D-Windham, by the end of the month. The tight timeline will give lawmakers just enough time to prepare the legislation for lawmakers’ return to Montpelier in early January. The preliminary legislation proposes a five-tiered licensure structure that would allow some Vermonters to cultivate plants at home in a 100-square-foot plot. Other licenses would regulate transporters of marijuana, product manufacturers, researchers and retailers.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General William Sorrell joined with eight other state attorneys general in urging leadership of the nation's largest credit card issuers to speed up implementation of chip and PIN technology, which is widely considered a more secure means of processing credit card transactions than that used with traditional magnetic-stripe payment cards.

Vermont Business Magazine Janice St Onge, President of the Flexible Capital Fund, L3C, announced Thursday an investment of $600,000 in two Vermont companies to accelerate growth in the renewable energy and natural resource market sectors. Northern Reliability, a renewable and distributed energy systems provider located in Waitsfield, received a $400,000 royalty (revenue share) loan for permanent working capital. Pulmac Systems International, a testing equipment manufacturer for the pulp and paper mill industry based in Colchester, secured a $200,000 term loan plus royalty.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's weekly unemployment claims, which had surged to over 700 the last couple of months, fell back modestly last week, after their historically low run at the end of the summer. For the week of November 14, there were 666 claims, a decrease of 38 from the previous week's total and 126 fewer than they were a year ago. Generally, claims have been running below last year's totals. Total claims were up in most regions of the state for the week, but down nearly everywhere for the year. By industry, claims decreased significantly for Manufacturing, but nearly doubles for Construction, as its season wound down. As has been the trend, Services led all categories with 48 percent of all claims, which was down for the week.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Despite no change in Vermont’s unemployment rate for October, the seasonally adjusted supporting numbers are actually worse, as there was a loss in both the workforce and the number of employed. However, there was no change in the number of unemployed. The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for October was 3.7 percent. This is the same as the revised September rate (3.7 percent). The national average in October was 5.0 percent. Vermont remains tied for eighth lowest in the nation and second lowest east of the Mississippi; New Hampshire's rate is 3.3 percent.