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Vermont Business Magazine The Personal Income Tax, the most important of Vermont's revenue sources, was again steeply lower than projections and is running behind for the fiscal year. The Corporate Tax, which has helped make up some of the difference, also fell back but continues to stay well ahead of targets. The consumption taxes showed mixed results, with the gasoline tax well behind again and in need of adjustment, the sales tax slightly ahead and rooms & meals off. The Lottery had a big month. Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding released the preliminary November fiscal year (FY) 2015 revenue results today.

Bridging the digital divide and expanding the innovative use of online tools will remain critical for Vermont if it wants to continue building resilience into our communities, keep businesses competitive, and assure that community organizations work more effectively throughout the state. That is the clear message from “Vermont’s Digital Stories”, a new report highlighting some of the successes that were launched by the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s (VCRD) two-year Vermont Digital Economy Project. The examples show the promise that technology offers across many sectors and they can be adapted to expand opportunities across the Green Mountain state.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The word “structural” has entered the lexicon in the pre-legislative rhetoric about the state’s $100 million budget gap. Governor Peter Shumlin is fond of using the word, as are his fellow Democrats in the Legislature, perhaps because it’s a way of soft-pedaling the restructuring of state government, lest they sound too much like Republicans. Right-sizing state government is another euphemism Shumlin is using to sum up what will certainly be a painful budget-cutting exercise in the Legislature this session.

Budget-writers and legislative leaders are talking about making significant long-term changes to the way the state spends money in order to permanently close a $100 million gap in revenues and state expenditures in fiscal year 2016. The state has seen a $30 million to $75 million gap every year since 2010, and has filled the hole with one-time funds.

UVM President Tom Sullivan joined President Obama, the First Lady, and Vice President Biden along with other college presidents and other higher education leaders last Thursday to announce new actions to help more students prepare for and successfully graduate from college. The White House College Opportunity Day of Action helps to support the President's commitment to partner with colleges and universities, business leaders, and nonprofits to support students across the country to help our nation reach its goal of leading the world in college attainment.

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and the University of Vermont held a Youth Climate Summit today. More than 150 Vermont high school students and dozens of teachers from 26 high schools throughout the state worked in small teams to create climate action plans for their high schools.

“Global warming is the planetary crisis of our time,” Sanders told the students. “The scientific community is telling us that we have a narrow window of opportunity to address the crisis of climate change and to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy,” added the senator, a member of both the Senate energy and environment committees.

The high school students took part in workshops organized by 65 UVM undergraduates who had studied ecological economics. Organizing the climate summit for young Vermonters was one of the goals of the college course that also focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy development and greenhouse gas auditing.

Vermont Business Magazine New weekly unemployment claims in Vermont edged above 1,400 last week. Claims had been very low during the summer, trending under 500, but have been high since early October. After five weeks of increases, claims were down for two weeks before again increasing the last two. Levels this year had been running consistently lower than those of last year, but are now nearly the same. For the week of November 29, 2014, there were 1,428 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 422 from the previous week's total, and 37 fewer than they were a year ago.

According to Mathew Barewicz, Economic & Labor Market Information Chief at the Vermont Department of Labor, the cause of the increase was predominately the result of "a seasonal transition. This past week was much higher than the previous week but slightly lower than this time last year."

Skiers and riders who hit the slopes at Bolton Valley this winter can expect to find reduced lift ticket prices compared to last season and a new outlet to purchase them. The resort has lowered its window prices on lift tickets by as much as $10 and will offer online purchasing for daily lift tickets for even more savings.

Daily ticket rates have been dropped by as much as $10 per day over last season. This winter, adults will pay just $49 for midweek days, $59 on weekend days and $69 during peak holiday periods at the ticket window. The reduced window prices will make skiing and riding more affordable for everyone with no need to find a coupon to save on lift tickets.

On September 22, 2014, the Holiday Motel in St Johnsbury learned of potential unauthorized access to its computer systems. Upon discovering this issue, the Holiday Motel immediately launched an investigation into this matter and took steps to prevent any further unauthorized access. To assist with this investigation, independent computer forensic experts have been retained to review the Holiday Motel systems and to determine what information may have been accessed without authorization. Additionally, the Holiday Motel has been working with law enforcement to investigate this matter. Although the investigation is ongoing, it has been determined that malware was placed on the Holiday Motel system leading to the unauthorized access of certain pieces of guests' personal information, including the guest's name, address, phone number, email address (if provided), credit card number and credit card expiration date. This incident affects guests who used their credit card at the Holiday Mot

The Burlington College Board of Trustees announced Dr Carol Moore as Interim President this morning. The Board and Dr Moore met with faculty, staff, and students in a town hall meeting. Moore has spent over 40 years advancing the educational experience — as a professor, an academic dean and most recently, as the former president of Lyndon State College. During her tenure, she successfully led the college through a revision of the mission through strategic planning, increased enrollment and retention, grew academic programs, and completed the college's first major capital campaign, raising $10 million.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Thursday announced $250,000 in awards to four organizations across Vermont to improve housing conditions for low-income rural residents. Two of the grants were given preference because of the Leahy-led Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Zone in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom -- a USDA Rural Development Designation recognizing the unique rural nature of a region that prioritizes the region’s grant applications. Thanks in part to Vermont’s REAP Zone status, Vermont received more than nearly every other state in this round of awards, second only to California.

Leahy said: “These are community-strengthening investments that will make a real difference to families in Vermont. The NEK’s REAP Zone continues to be a catalyst for investment in housing, infrastructure and economic growth in the region.”

Vermont will receive $200,000 of a settlement reached between 45 state Attorneys General and Sirius XM Radio Inc. Sirius XM will pay $3.8 million total and provide restitution to eligible consumers. The settlement resolves claims that the satellite radio company engaged in misleading advertising and billing practices.

“We are pleased to have resolved this situation in a way that will make Vermonters whole and stop Sirius XM from engaging in these bad practices in the future,” Attorney General Bill Sorrell said.

Nine nonprofits, including two churches, a volunteer fire department and Rutland’s Paramount Theatre, will soon begin to generate some of their energy with help from the sun, thanks to grants from Green Mountain Power. GMP, which last week became the first utility in the world to earn B Corporation status - certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards - announced the $155,500 in grants today.

Paramount Theatre during the record-breaking Rutland blood drive.