Current News

Castleton Polling Institute The 2016 Vermont gubernatorial race is just getting underway. To assess the starting position of the candidates—those declared and some who may potentially run—the Castleton Polling Institute measured the public’s awareness of 8 potential candidates. The poll followed up with respondents who have heard of a candidate by asking the respondent’s views of that potential candidate, whether they have a favorable or an unfavorable view.

Vermont Business Magazine Gathered in the backyard of Ben Cohen’s home on the evening last Wednesday, 200 Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) members and guests celebrated the group’s 25th anniversary and the remarkable achievements of Duane Peterson, cofounder of SunCommon, Vermont’s largest residential solar company. Peterson was honored with the Terry Ehrich Award for Excellence in Socially Responsible Business. Named for the late owner of Hemmings Motor News and a founding member of VBSR, the award is given to a VBSR member who best exemplifies Terry Ehrich’s commitment to the environment, workplace, progressive public policy, and community.

Vermont Business Magazine Washington Monthly ranked the University of Vermont 15th among 402 colleges and universities in the Northeast on its "Best Bang for the Buck" list in the magazine’s annual College Guide issue, published in September. No other Vermont colleges were in the top 100. The magazine describes the list as showing "which schools in the Northeast are the best value for your money based on 'net' (not sticker) price, how well they do graduating the students they admit, and whether those students go on to earn at least enough to pay off their loans."

Schools on the "Best Bang for the Buck" list, grouped into five regions, were chosen from a total pool of 1,540 four-year colleges in the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power, the first utility to become a B-Corp, and Boston-based Yeloha, a peer-to-peer Solar Sharing Network, have announced a groundbreaking partnership with a mission to unlock the benefits of solar energy for everyone -- by sharing it. Yeloha and GMP will make it possible for individuals who don't have a roof suited for solar to subscribe online to power produced by other homeowners and businesses, essentially going solar on someone else's roof. Those who do own suitable roofs will be offered to host the panels free of charge in exchange for sharing some of their solar power. The partnership marks the first utility-adopted Sharing Economy platform to offer its customers the opportunity to generate their own energy and share it with other residents online. The companies said the initiative represents a beacon of change for energy nationwide.

Vermont Business Magazine With the help of two recent National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaling close to $1.2 million for him and collaborators at top universities, Saint Michael’s College astrophysicist John O’Meara will try to “join two powerful tools for exploring the universe: observations from the largest telescopes in the world and simulations from the most powerful supercomputers.”

“The point of the fundamental research is understanding the universe better -- understanding how atoms that make us up got here,” said O’Meara, who regularly uses the Hubble Space Telescope and some of the world’s largest ground telescopes in Hawaii and Chile for his work. This semester, he’s also teaching an astronomy course and Introduction to Physics for Saint Michael’s undergraduates.

NSF only approves about 11 percent of the submitted proposals that it reviews, so this would be a big deal for any scientist, he said.

by Governor Peter Shumlin It is all too easy for those of us who care about protecting our environment, combating climate change, and preserving a sustainable planet for our kids and grandkids to lose hope that we can win the fight. At the national level, powerful fossil fuel interests and their climate-denier allies in Congress prevent meaningful action and work to preserve the status quo. Here in Vermont, however, we are showing that progress can be made and that there is a model for energy that is good for our economy and our environment.

Vermont Business Magazine In October, the Community College of Vermont will begin offering several free workforce development courses and workshops at five of the College’s academic centers across the state. These new training programs are designed to equip students with technical skills and industry certifications in high-demand sectors, with a focus on manufacturing, technology, business applications, and health and human services. These courses will give students and current workers the core skills desired by many Vermont employers, and will allow them to advance their careers in growing fields. CCV has worked with business leaders around the state to assess the practical needs of employers and develop training and credential programs that prepare Vermonters to enter the 21st century workforce.

by Elizabeth Hewitt vtdigger.org Lawmakers are looking to prioritize accommodations that will be needed to house Vermont’s aging prison population. A panel of legislators toured the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield on Thursday, with an eye toward the supports available for inmates with serious mental illness and complex medical needs. The medical needs of Vermont’s prison population are increasingly complex as inmates age and the portion of incarcerated people with mental health conditions grows.

Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield. File photo by Amy Ash Nixon/VTDigger

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin's office released a statement Thursday that he and Katie Hunt were recently engaged. The statement said they plan to marry within the next year although they have not yet chosen a specific date. Following the governor’s final term in office they will live in Westminster West, in southern Vermont near where he grew up in Putney. Hunt is an artist and landscape gardener who grew up in southern Vermont and is currently finishing her degree at Mount Holyoke College where she is in the Frances Perkins Program.

Courtesy photo.

“Peter is my best friend and the love of my life,” Hunt said. “I could not be happier to continue on together living in the state we both grew up in and love so much.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of Chief Medical Examiner relased its premilnary report on the cause of death for Vermont State Trooper Kyle Young, stating "death was accidental and the result of 'exertional heat stroke' due to 'strenuous physical activity in high environmental temperature.' Governor Shumlin has ordered the Vermont state flag to fly at half staff for three days starting at sunrise on the day of Trooper Young's funeral, which will be Wednesday, September 23 in Brownville, NY (details below).

Vermont Business Magazine Once again, a national rating firm has discovered that Vermont has relatively high taxes. Kiplinger’s yesterday released its rankings of the most tax-friendly states and least tax-friendly states—with Vermont placing seventh on the "least" list. Surprisingly, New Hampshire was not among the "most." The rankings were released as part of Kiplinger.com’s newly launched 2015 Tax Map, which compares taxes across all 50 states. In a statement released with the results, Kiplinger’s said that many taxpayers can save thousands of dollars per year just by moving to a different state. Kiplinger’s has released its ranking of the most and least tax-friendly states. The list was unveiled as part of Kiplinger’s third annual Tax Map—available at Kiplinger.com/links/taxmap—which offers an easy-to-use visual guide that compares income tax, sales tax, gas tax, “sin” tax (for products such as alcohol and tobacco) and other tax types, rules and exemptions across all 50 states.