Current News

The University of Vermont is one of four new sponsors supporting the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (the Food Systems Journal), along with three other leading North American university programs focused on food systems.

BioTek Instruments was recently honored with the 2013 Worksite Wellness Gold Level Award from the Vermont Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. As a three-time winner, BioTek will receive the award from Governor Peter Shumlin at the Worksite Wellness Conference, to be held March 27, 2014 at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center in Burlington, VT.
"Our BioFit wellness program enhances a culture of well-being for BioTekkers that includes physical, nutritional, emotional, social, financial, career and community service activities and education," notes Kathy Gendron, BioTek's Vice President, Human Resources. "This program is embraced at all levels of the company, and it strengthens us, not only as individuals, but as a team."

By a vote of 255-161, the House of Representatives today approved a House-Senate conference report on a five year Farm Bill. The Senate is expected to begin debate on the legislation later this week or early next week. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) voted for the legislation which includes several important priorities for Vermont’s agricultural sector.
After House Speaker John Boehner blocked the inclusion of dairy reforms championed by Vermont’s dairy farmers and the Vermont Congressional delegation, House and Senate conferees reached an important compromise under the leadership of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), a conferee and the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

The Vermont Realtors released a study on Tuesday that shows overall spending for education has increased dramatically over the last 15 years, and during that same period school enrollments statewide have dropped by 1,000 students a year.
Isaac Chavez, the CEO of the Vermont Realtors, called on Statehouse leaders to begin reforming the state’s education delivery and finance systems this legislative session.
The Realtors association says the rising cost of education is hurting the economy. Lowering property taxes, realtors say, would make Vermont a more attractive place for business and more affordable for young people who want to live and work in Vermont.

All but four states now post at least partial information online showing which companies are receiving economic development subsidies. But the quality and depth of that disclosure varies widely, both among and within states. Three-fourths of major state development programs still fail to disclose actual jobs created or workers trained, and only one in eleven discloses wages actually paid. The best disclosure practices are found in Illinois and Michigan.
These are the key findings of Show Us the Subsidized Jobs, a report issued today by Good Jobs First, a non-profit, non-partisan research center based in Washington, DC.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org A group of tripartisan lawmakers is pushing for an ‘economic bill of rights,’ a set of proposals that would, they say, address the income inequality gap between wealthy and poor Vermonters.

The legislative proposals include a hike in the state’s minimum wage to $12.50 to $15 per hour, a requirement that employers provide workers with earned sick time and family leave, a rental housing registry, and a ‘just cause’ provision that would eliminate the state’s ‘at-will’ employment law, which allows employers to lay off workers without cause.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org The House Ways & Means Committee heard Tuesday from solar developers, downtown business advocates and accountants, all of whom weighed in on proposed changes to state taxes in the Miscellaneous Tax Bill.
Some solar developers and municipal representatives disagree over how small-scale solar energy installations should be taxed ‘ or exempted from taxes. The state’s Department of Economic, Housing & Community Development made its case for $500,000 of additional funding for its downtown development tax credit program. And tax professionals protested stricter requirements for the self-reported ‘use tax.’
No action was taken Tuesday, as lawmakers wanted more information on several issues before deciding how to handle the requests. The Miscellaneous Tax Bill also may impose a new tax on telecommunications services to equalize impact in an age of digital technology and increase the health care claims tax.

After a roller coaster year, Vermont employers ended 2013 with 3,000 more payroll jobs (does not include farm, non-profit or government) than they had at the end of 2012. The latest figures released today showed no new jobs created in December, following a big jump of 2,100 payroll jobs in November. Meanwhile, Vermont’s labor force shrank by 950 workers, which led to a decline in Vermont’s unemployment rate.
Rebounding Income Taxes
It took five long years, but in fiscal 2013 Vermont’s personal income tax receipts exceeded their pre-recession level. Final figures released last week show the state collected $661 million during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. That was the first time income taxes rose above $600 million since fiscal 2008. Income tax receipts are forecast to grow 5 percent this year and more than 6 percent in fiscal 2015.
More Jobs and Better Pay for Men

The Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition slated for’ February 15 and 16, 2014’ in Brattleboro, Vermont, will feature more than 40 of the world’s top jumpers from the US, Europe and Canada. One contender is Chris Lamb of the Andover Outing Club, who won the 2010 and 2013 Harris Hill competitions and holds the hill record for the longest jump, 335 feet. Lamb says he’s looking forward to competing at Harris Hill and retiring the Fred Harris Trophy. The Fred Harris Trophy has only been retired five times.
Lamb is only one of a number world-class jumpers who have competed at Harris Hill’some as recently as last year. Of the recently announced members of the U.S. Olympic ski jumping team all have competed at Harris Hill. This includes Nick Alexander, Nick Fairall, Peter Frenette and Anders Johnson.

Hobby Lobby Stores, a privately held national retail chain of craft & home decor stores, is set to open a new store in Rutland. Construction and renovations have begun on this 47,000 square-foot building formerly occupied by Hannaford, located at South Main Street and Curtis Avenue.’
This is Hobby Lobby’s first location in Vermont, which is projected to open at the middle of March. The location will bring about 35 ‘ 50 jobs to the community paying $14 per hour for full time and $9.50 per hour for part-time associates. ‘ ‘
‘We are excited to bring our unique store to the community. Customers new to Hobby Lobby are pleasantly surprised at the size of the store as well as the crafts and home decor selection of merchandise we carry. Shopping at Hobby Lobby is a truly unrivalled experience in value and service,’ stated John Schumacher, Assistant Vice President of Advertising.’

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc, (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and beverages with its innovative Keurig brewing technology, today detailed its new K-Carafe capability for its Keurig 2.0 Brewing System, available for sale in Fall 2014. Keurig 2.0 brewers will be the first system to brew both one cup using a single serve pack and a carafe of coffee using the new Keurig’® K-Carafe’¢ pack.
"Both current Keurig brewer owners and non-owners told us the brewer functionality they wanted most was the ability to brew both a single serving and a pot of coffee from one system with Keurig speed, convenience and brand choice. Our next generation Keurig 2.0 brewers will do just that," said Brian P. Kelley, President and CEO of GMCR.

Northern Power Systems (www.northernpower.com), a next-generation renewable energy technology company based in Barre, Vermont, reports that 2013 has been its most successful year in its core business ever. Northern Power broke its previous sales records of the NPS 60 and NPS 100 wind turbines with triple digit orders, in terms of number of units, coming from its European markets.
Production at the company's US manufacturing facility in Barre is nearing full capacity and sources are actively being identified to meet additional demand. As a result, Northern Power expects its global fleet of distributed wind turbines to grow beyond 400 units by the end of 2014.