Current News

Just prior to the start of the 2014 Vermont Brewers Festival, a sold-out event this past weekend that drew thousands to Burlington’s Waterfront to celebrate the state’s craft beer industry, Governor Peter Shumlin was joined today by lawmakers, restaurant and bar owners, and distributors to celebrated a new law legalizing sampler flights of beer, wine and spirituous beverages.

“This new law is yet another way that we can support Vermonters making the best beer in the world, as well as fostering our growing wine and spirits industry,” Shumlin said at the outside beer garden at the Farmhouse Tap and Grill in Burlington. “This is a great example of legislation that directly supports our economy and draws attention to the artisans that are so important to our way of life here.”

In the second quarter of 2014, the Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) loaned over $347,000 to Vermont's small businesses and child care programs. The loans have helped create and preserve Vermont jobs, and to create and preserve high-quality early child care and education for Vermont’s children.

“VCLF’s great emphasis on helping Vermont’s families access high-quality, affordable child care, essential for the development and success of Vermont’s children, is well-served by these new child care programs. The businesses we’ve loaned to this quarter promise to build jobs and the Vermont economy,” said VCLF Executive Director Will Belongia.

Projects financed include:

Berry Patch Holistic Childcare, Moretown

Starting at 7 am Tuesday July 22 the main entrance road to Central Vermont Medical Center on Fisher Road in Berlin (at the traffic light to the mall) will be closed for reconstruction and repaving of the entrance road. There will be a temporary entrance road between Buildings C and D. This will be well marked and there will be officers and flaggers to help direct traffic. The main entrance to the Emergency Department off of Fisher Road will remain open

Vermont Business Magazine Employment in Vermont’s only large county, Chittenden, increased 0.4 percent from December 2012 to December 2013, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2012 annual average employment.) The three counties in Vermont with the highest wages were Chittenden ($994/week), Washington ($895/week), and Franklin ($815/week), with Grand Isle ($624/week), Essex ($660/week), and Orleans ($676/week) the three lowest, meaning the wealthiest and poorest counties in the state are all in the northern half. As a state, Vermont's overall increase in wages ranked it fourth in the nation for growth, but 36th overall in average weekly wage.

SEE TABLES BELOW

Vermont Business Magazine New unemployment claims in Vermont barely budged last week both week-to-week and year-to-year. For the week of July 12, 2014, there were 584 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 2 from the previous week's total, and 25 more than they were a year ago. Claims have been generally lower than were at the same time last year.

Fletcher Allen Health Care announced today that Fitch Ratings, one of the major New York City-based bond rating services, has upgraded the institution’s bond rating from 'BBB+' to ‘A-’ with a “Stable” outlook. Fitch based its decision not only on Fletcher Allen’s financial performance but also on the way that Fletcher Allen Partners was successfully able to integrate the New York-based hospitals into the system without any negative impact on the system’s operating or financial metrics.

Fletcher Allen Health Care: Hospital right, medical school, left. Courtesy of FAHC.

by Guy Page State officials celebrated Vermont getting a “pass” after the US EPA announced June 2 its state-by-state plan to reduce power-related carbon emissions 30% nationwide by 2030. Lacking any full-time fossil-fuel powered electricity generating plants, it is not surprising that Vermont is exempt from the new rule. While this may seem like a victory for the Green Mountain State, our energy policy has actually left us “browner,” more vulnerable to price increases from the new rule, and virtually powerless over how our electricity is generated.

Gov. Peter Shumlin joined members of the Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program (VFFVP) on the Sizen Farm Thursday to announce $384,831 in grant awards to 17 farmers for projects to construct, expand, repair or upgrade facilities to improve herd management, working conditions, and cow health.

“These Dairy Improvement Grants are aimed at improving both milk production and the financial viability of Vermont dairy farms,” the Governor said. “With support from Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy and the assistance and cooperation of the funding entities in securing tax credit equity, this public/private partnership is providing assistance that our farmers can use to improve the bottom line in the very competitive world of dairy farming.”

Vermont Business Magazine All the key metrics were negative last month as the Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for June 2014 was 3.5 percent. This represents an increase of two-tenths of a percent from the previously reported May rate (3.3 percent). The equivalent national average was 6.1 percent, which decreased by two-tenths of a percent from the previous month’s estimate. The seasonally adjusted Vermont data for June show the Vermont civilian labor force increased by 150 from the prior month estimates. The number of employed decreased by 750 and the number of unemployed increased by 900. However, the number of employed is up 2,900 from a year ago.

Citizens Bank announced today that it will award $60,000 to six organizations in Vermont and New Hampshire as part of the Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money initiative. Overall, the bank is donating $1.5 million to nonprofits supporting financial education across its 11-state footprint. The selected organizations were chosen in a competitive application process announced in April based on their track record of success providing financial education programs, a need for financial support and a demonstration to incorporate sustainability in their future plans.

They are:

by Don Baker, President, Vermont Market, KeyBank When we talk about the cost of college education and student loan debt, we often talk in terms of rising tuition rates and the total amount of money borrowed by recent graduates. We do this for good cause: the cost of college is becoming unaffordable for too many students, and the average amount of debt — $29,400 per borrower, according to the Institute for College Access & Success — is a heavy burden for our youngest workers. Rarely do we talk about the student loan debt shared by parents, but we should because it’s significant.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank, the average student loan related debt for borrowers older than age 50 is $22,700. In addition, more and more parents are financing their children’s education, from $700,000 in 2005 to more than $2 million in 2012.

Vermont home sales were up in June, while median prices fell slightly as the market in the state and in the region showed a modest increase. In New England, year-over-year home sales increased 1.6 percent according to The RE/MAX of New England June Monthly Housing Report. This is the first month of recorded increases following five consecutive months of year-over-year declines in 2014. Pending sales were up 33.9 percent over June 2013. Month-over-month, the warmer weather and strengthening economic outlook has helped contribute to an uptick of 21.8 percent in home sales, with pending sales up 18.9 percent. Across the region, homes are staying on the market an average of 10 fewer days, while median price is up 6 percent on average.

· In Connecticut, the number of total transactions is up 4.1 percent year-over-year and median price declined -1.3 percent. Pending sales were up 16.4 percent year-over-year.