Current News

by Timothy McQuiston Secretary of State Jim Condos and others are right to call for transparency and open government. But they’re wrong about calling for an Ethics Commission. Presumably, such a panel would rule independently and keep an eye on government officials. It would act like the Public Service Board, which is a quasi-judicial, appointed board that regulates utilities. But I just can’t see why it’s necessary since most ethics complaints regard the revolving door or personal relationships.

This is Vermont. It’s a small state. Frequently the best person for the job is someone who’s married to someone else who’s in an important position, or is someone with an area of expertise who worked outside of government, or someone who once worked in government, worked outside and then came back. If there’s a revolving door involved but everyone knows it, then it’s not a big deal.

by Governor Peter Shumlin When Julia Dunn arrived at middle school, she learned something troubling about education in her community. Students from certain towns were well prepared in math, and students from some other towns were not. Some students had strong arts education in elementary school, and others did not. Some had studied foreign languages, and some had not. The preparation her peers received — or didn’t — in elementary school affected their choices in middle school and beyond. Not addressing this inequity when it is so obvious, she observed, sends the message that we support inequity.

Vermont Business Magazine Representatives from Rutland Young Professionals (RYP), Castleton Downtown and the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) have finalized the schedule for the first-ever Young Professionals Summit of Vermont and announced the list of expected guests. The Summit will be hosted at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland on Saturday, September 12 from 10:00am to 4:30pm. Any Vermonter in their 20s, 30s or 40s, regardless of their job, is invited to attend the event.

by Mike Faher vtdigger.org Eighteen years ago, Mary Ellen Copeland began drawing up a new method for dealing with mental illness. She was looking for a way to reclaim her own life after years of battling anxiety, depression and mood swings, and Copeland decided “personal empowerment” – allowing a person to take charge of his or her own treatment – was key. The Dummerston resident’s WRAP program, standing for Wellness Recovery Action Plan, was the result.

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) is pleased to announce the availability of over $500,000 in grant funds for the 2016 program year. The application period will open on October 1, 2016, with grants targeting essential, catalytic investments in Vermont’s farm and forest economy. Grants will be available to Vermont agriculture and forest sector businesses, as well as service providers that provide the critical technical assistance needed for business growth.

The two investment areas are as follows:

1. Business Investments

The health care-regulating Green Mountain Care Board anticipates the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will outline the parameters of an all-payer model by the end of the month, according to Al Gobeille, the board’s chair.

Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) Mixed conditions were reported again this week on Lake Champlain, Lake Carmi and Lake Iroquois, however there were no toxin detections. Temperatures are predicted to rise during the weekend and stay high through much of next week. Areas that have been experiencing alert conditions are likely to continue to see blooms and scums appear throughout the week. Conditions can change frequently and within short distances so please keep a watchful eye. Blooms persist in northeastern bays and scattered other areas. Please see the weekly report on conditions below for further details.

If you see or suspect a bloom:

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Friday announced a $375,000 federal grant to the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State College to improve access to education for Vermont students. The grant helps to leverage more than $1 million to expand AmeriCorps service and to advance educational opportunities to first-generation, low-income students across the Green Mountain State.

Leahy, the senior-most member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped to establish the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students in 2009 in an effort to improve the factors that influence the education and occupational aspirations of rural, first-generation students. Since its founding, the Leahy Center has been instrumental in supporting the educational and economic aspirations of Northeast Kingdom residents.

Vermont Business Magazine All three of Vermont's major tax funds were off in August, with the vital Personal Income tax off more than $3 million, or 7.1%. Overall, General Fund (GF) revenues totaled $88.84 million for August versus the monthly target of $92.40, -$3.56 million or –3.85% short. The shortfall was primarily due to those lower-than-expected Net Personal Income taxes (-$3.07 million behind) and some softness in the other categories. Corporate Income Taxes were the one area of strength and exceeded the monthly target by +$1.14 million, or +145.92%. Cumulatively, General Fund receipts of $194.19 million are -$2.46 million, or -1.25% below the year-to-date target. However, the cumulative results through August exceed the prior fiscal year results for the same period by +$4.83 million, or +2.55%. Sales and Rooms & Meals taxes were also both off.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont fell slightly last week, and remain at their typically low summer totals. There were 347 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont, a decrease of 17 from the previous week's total and 29 fewer than they were a year ago. Generally, claims have been running below last year's totals. Claims were down slightly in nearly all regions of the state and in most industry categories, except manufacturing, which more than doubled.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Education has announced the 16 supervisory unions and districts that have volunteered to be a part of shaping the course of the Education Quality Review process by piloting the Integrated Field Review during the 2015-2016 School Year. "These participating educators will contribute to drafting the protocols and procedures that define Vermont's commitment to educational equity and quality for years to come," said Amy Fowler, Deputy Secretary at the Agency of Education.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has received a $4 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent overdose deaths related to prescription opioids, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Health Commissioner Harry Chen announced today. The funding is part of the Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program. Vermont will be one of 16 states to receive yearly funds of up to $1 million over the next four years to improve safe prescribing practices to better prevent opioid drug misuse, dependence, diversion and overdose.

The Health Department will partner with the Department of Vermont Health Access, Vermont’s Blueprint for Health, the University of Vermont Office of Primary Care, and an advisory group of stakeholders.

The funding, which is allocated through CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, will support: