Current News

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org After two weeks of intense back and forth, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and lawmakers have agreed to a $29.6 million tax package. Shumlin had insisted that lawmakers find more budget cuts, and he used his bully pulpit to push back on the elimination of income tax deductions proposed by the Legislature.

The University of Vermont will celebrate its 214th Commencement on Sunday, May 17. Since Sunday’s forecast calls for pleasant weather, the University Commencement Main Ceremony and College of Arts and Sciences Ceremony will take place outdoors on the University Green. Graduates and guests are urged to dress appropriately for the weather. Tickets are not required.

Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio Legal Affairs Correspondent, will deliver the commencement address at the Main Ceremony.

UVM Commencement 2014. Sally McCay photo.

Faculty and graduates dressed in academic regalia are asked to assemble for the Main Ceremony academic procession on the Bailey-Howe/Davis Center Green at 7:45 a.m. The ceremony will begin at 8:20 a.m.

Berkshire Bank, America’s Most Exciting Bank®, has announced its winner for “Get Pumped Gas for a Year Sweepstakes.” David and Terrie Churchill of North Clarendon, VT were awarded $2,000 as the winners of the Get Pumped Sweepstakes. More than 2,600 entries were received for the sweepstakes, which included consumers applying for a new or used auto loan, website entries and Berkshire Bank customers with current auto loans.

Whether you're buying a new or used car—or you want to refinance the car you have—Berkshire Bank can help steer consumers in the right direction. Berkshire’s online application takes only five minutes to complete, includes a credit check that does not affect one’s credit score and pre-approves applicants in one hour. The application process informs consumers how much they’re pre-approved to borrow, helping them stick to a budget.

Vermont Business Magazine after three weeks of tumult, weekly unemployment claims in Vermont showed little change last week. For the week, there were 504 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont, a decrease of 11 from the previous week's total and 32 fewer than they were a year ago. Generally, claims have been running below last year's totals.

Altogether 5,543 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 978 from a week ago, and 746 fewer than a year ago. The Department processed 0 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), the same as the previous week.

Quantum physics on tap: Nano-sized faucet offers experimental support for longstanding quantum theory

We all know intuitively that normal liquids flow more quickly as the channel containing them tightens. Think of a river flowing through narrow rapids. But what if a pipe were so amazingly tiny that only a few atoms of superfluid helium could squeeze through its opening at once? According to a longstanding quantum-mechanics model, the superfluid helium would behave differently from a normal liquid: far from speeding up, it would actually slow down.

For more than 70 years, scientists have been studying the flow of helium through ever-smaller pipes. But only recently has nanotechnology made it possible to reach the scale required to test the theoretical model, known as the Tomonaga-Luttinger theory (after the scientists who developed it).

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Negotiations fell apart Thursday night on the budget, tax and health care bills, even as lawmakers got closer to the new magic number: $30 million. That’s the amount budget-writers need in revenue to fill a remaining gap in the General Fund. The number has dropped from $35 million just a few days ago as lawmakers continue to scrub the budget for more savings.

Lawmakers appear to be getting closer to agreement on the money bills, but talks with the governor, who has issued thinly veiled veto threats, didn’t make sufficient headway.

If legislators aren’t able to finalize the bills by this afternoon, prospects for Saturday adjournment could dim. The budget has to be printed later today in order to meet that deadline. Extending the session means appropriating more money to keep lawmakers in the Statehouse beyond the 18 week mark.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine FairPoint Communications, Inc (Nasdaq: FRP), this morning announced workforce restructuring actions that will result in a reduction of approximately 260 positions across the 17 states in which it operates, including the closing of its call center in South Burlington, Vermont. A union representative said 73 unionized workers in Vermont (22 percent) will lose their jobs. According to a FairPoint statement, this action, combined with other headcount reductions over the past two years, approximates the level of voice line loss the company has experienced in that period. FairPoint is Vermont's largest telecommunications company.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted “nay” today as the Senate advanced a proposed 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal. In a floor speech before the 65-33 roll call vote, Sanders detailed four key reasons why the proposal would be bad for American workers and consumers.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership would follow in the footsteps of other disastrous trade pacts. The North American Free Trade Agreement, Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and other trade deals are a major reason why some 60,000 American factories closed since 2001 as manufacturers shifted jobs to low-wage nations overseas and 4.7 million American jobs disappeared. “Why would we approve another trade deal like those that have failed so miserably,” he asked.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine This is different. Thursday morning Bill Stenger and his development group, contractors and associates stuck their silver shovels into a pile of dirt for the ceremonial groundbreaking of AnC Bio Vermont in Newport. On Monday an actual excavator will dig into the ground next to the former Bogner plant to begin the real construction, and right after that, lead developer Bill Stenger will fly off to the Middle East and Africa and try and raise the last $10 million in EB-5 immigrant investor money needed to complete the financing of the $100 million bio-medical facility.

Three Vermont State Colleges (VSC) are among the 100 most affordable small colleges in the United States. Lyndon State College (55th), Johnson State College (61st), and Castleton State College (85th) were each listed as one of America’s 100 Most Affordable Small Colleges by Best Value Schools for providing innovative academic offerings, small class sizes, and good value for the investment.

Best Value Schools’ list of Most Affordable Small Colleges focuses on traditional four-year colleges enrolling under 4,000 undergraduate students and excludes community colleges, graduate schools and specialized schools. Best Value Schools is an online resource that gathers and disseminates information about college cost and value to students and parents.

Teams from schools in Stowe, Halifax, and St. Albans won their respective divisions in the winter-spring 2015 Vermont Stock Market Game competition, announced Art Woolf, president of the Vermont Council on Economic Education.

In the high school division, a one-person team from BFA-St. Albans, Hannah Centabar, took the first place honors by turning an initial investment of $100,000 into $105,670. That team was coached by teacher Edee McArtor. Hannah will receive her award at a presentation at the school on May 26 at 8:10 am.

The middle school division top honors go to Lars Andrews, Liam Fisher, and Matthew Licence from West Halifax School. That team was coached by Joel Howes. They turned their $100,000 into $106,069, which was the highest of any team in the state.

The Vermont Department of Human Resources (DHR) today is initiating warnings to members of the State Employees’ Health Plan about a telemarketing practice promoting compound prescription drugs that can cost thousands of dollars. The telemarketing calls, apparently similar to those received by consumers in neighboring states, market a compounded pain gel or cream. The caller asks whether the consumer is in pain, requests the consumer’s personal information, and then contacts the consumer’s doctor directly to request the medication be prescribed. The prescription is later billed to the consumer’s health insurance, at a cost of several thousand dollars.