Current News

by Bruce Lisman Our governor has declared the legislative session a victory for Vermonters. I disagree—it represents further evidence of a government not listening to its citizens. There are many ways a government can fail its people but usually only one result—the people will pay. The Administration offers a narrative that presumes Vermonters might believe nearly $60 million in new taxes, increased general fund spending of nearly 6 percent in an economy that is growing at less than 3 percent is a victory.

Education costs are another critical budget item where voters’ pleas for spending restraint went largely unanswered. Instead of credible, concrete measures to address education spending, politicians created a constitutionally dubious scheme which introduces further complexity and further distorts an already opaque system.

At Darn Tough Vermont, which is expanding and adding 300 full-time positions in the next five years, Governor Peter Shumlin today signed an economic development bill that will give a boost to Vermont’s growing economy by increasing access to capital for startup business, expanding proven incentives to grow jobs, and encouraging job seekers to come to Vermont. Based in Northfield, Darn Tough is famous for making high-end recreational socks that are guaranteed for life.

Vermont Business Magazine The preliminary approval for a power line that would travel from Quebec and run nearly 100 miles under Lake Champlain, before terminating in eastern Vermont, will now head to the public comment phase of the process. TDI New England announced Wednesday that the United States Department of Energy has issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is now available for public review, for the New England Clean Power Link electric transmission line.

by Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos Vermonters deserve good government - and that includes an open and transparent government! We are proud of our State and our collective ability to overcome any difficult issue we may encounter. As Vermonters, when we see a problem, we know we can fix it through hard work and a dose of common sense. We expect the same of our government.

Vermont’s constitution (Chapter 1, Article 6) states that the power is “derived from the people, therefore, all officers of government, whether legislative or executive, are their trustees and servants; and at all times, in a legal way, accountable to them.”

The public’s access to open and transparent government is key to our democracy.

This sacred trust must not be taken lightly. We must either restore that accountability or risk Vermonters’ faith in our ability to govern.

After nearly eight years at the helm of the largest community development organization in the region, Merten Bangemann-Johnson is leaving the Northeast Kingdom nonprofit. Bangemann-Johnson first came to RuralEdge in 2007 as its CEO, offering more than 15 years of experience in local, national, and international housing and community development – experience he used to vastly expand RuralEdge’s scope of services and work. RuralEdge will appoint an interim CEO while the board continues to search for a permanent hire.

Founded in 1986, the nonprofit was first known under the name Gilman Housing Trust, and focused on creating quality, affordable housing throughout the Northeast Kingdom. Merten was at the forefront of the in-depth strategic planning process that led to the organization’s re-brand in 2012 to RuralEdge.

The Senate on Tuesday passed the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act of 2015, an historic bill coauthored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) to rein in surveillance authorities for the first time since passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee last Congress, Leahy convened six high-profile hearings on surveillance authorities. The Senate’s Tuesday passage of his bipartisan and bicameral measure comes after two years of work and close consultation with partners in the House. In a rare break from his colleague, Vermont's other US senator and presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, voted against the measure, saying that while the bill was better than the PATRIOT Act, but still allowed too much infiltration into the lives of ordinary citizens.

Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law today the education reform bill that he said would help ensure educational quality for all Vermont students while bending the cost curve on education spending to address Vermonters’ calls for property tax relief. The governor signed the bill, H361, at the Smilie Memorial Elementary School in Bolton, which serves as an example of the type of reform the legislation is designed to facilitate. The bill offers financial incentives for small schools to merge, which in turn could save money and lower property taxes.

Vermont is below the US average in the percentage of women-owned businesses and near the bottom in the growth of such businesses since 1997. Vermont has an estimated 23,300 women-owned firms, employing 13,200 and attributing to roughly $2,062,300 in revenues according to the fifth annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, a comprehensive report released today analyzing the 1997, 2002, and 2007 data from the US Census Bureau’s quinquennial business census, the Survey of Business Owners. Vermont is ranked 46th (36.8%) in growth of number of firms over the past 18 years and 42nd (57.1%) in growth of firm revenue between 1997 and 2015.

Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has increased 74% since 1997. Much of that growth has been driven by multicultural enterprises.

Successful behavioral and mental health treatment relies on understanding the status of a patient's physical health as well. In order to make more informed decisions about patient care, Northwestern Counseling & Support Services, Inc (NCSS) Behavioral Health Division recently joined 1,000 other Vermont providers who utilize a secure portal to access their patients' health information. The provider portal, known as VITLAccess, was developed by Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc, the legislatively-designated operator of the Vermont Health Information Exchange (VHIE).

Vermont will receive over $179,000 as its share of an $8 million consumer protection settlement reached between 22 States and Classmates, Inc, Florists Transworld Delivery, Inc and FTD.com Inc. The multistate investigation into the misleading advertising and billing practices of Classmates and FTD focused on the companies’ relationship with third parties who used “negative options” to sell third party membership programs to consumers doing business online with Classmates and FTD. A negative option is an arrangement where goods or services are charged to you automatically unless you tell the seller you do not want them.

“This settlement will result in important protections to ensure that Vermont consumers are not deceived into paying for unwanted goods or services through negative option marketing,” said Attorney General William H. Sorrell.

A report released by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) confirms that Vermont continues to be a national leader in the fight to end childhood hunger, especially during the summer months when free school meals are not available. The “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation” report shows the largest nationwide positive increase in participation in summer nutrition for children since 1993, with an average daily participation increase of 7.3%. The national Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which has made outreach on summer nutrition a priority along with state partners such as Vermont’s Agency of Education and Hunger Free Vermont. Vermont ranks 4th in the country for utilization of this program.