Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Ram Hinsdale and President Pro Tem Baruth gathered with Representative Sims, Representative Stevens, Commissioner Hanford, and a broad coalition of Vermonters, businesses and housing advocates to mark the momentum on housing opportunity legislation. S100, which passed unanimously from the Senate Committee on Economic Development and is currently being reviewed in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, seeks to address Vermont’s housing crisis by enabling more housing opportunities that reduce sprawl and protect our forests and farmlands.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP), on Wednesday applauded people with diabetes for organizing to force Eli Lilly and Company to reduce the cost of insulin by 70 percent. Sanders also sent letters to other major insulin makers – Sanofi and Novo Nordisk – calling on them to follow suit. In 1923, the inventors of insulin sold their patent for $1 to save lives, not to make pharmaceutical executives extremely wealthy. Today, insulin costs just $8 to manufacture. Despite this, Eli Lilly has increased their insulin prices by 1,200 percent to $275 since 1996. Meanwhile, 1.3 million Americans were forced to ration insulin last year because of the unaffordable cost of this lifesaving drug.

by Trine Bech Before I retired as an attorney, I had been professionally involved in all sides of the child protection system: represented children and parents, run a child protection agency, and advocated for changes in the system to better serve children and families. I believed that the State had an important role in the protection of children. But never did I think that we would come to a point where our government would include one out of every 26 people on their list without ever going to court. This list is called the Child Protection Registry.

Vermont Business Magazine At his weekly press conference today, Governor Phil Scott and Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore discussed S5, The Affordable Heat Act, which is currently before the Senate. They addressed the potential significant financial hardship the proposal could inflict to low- and moderate-income Vermonters, and the need to thoroughly plan how to make a transition to carbon-free heating alternatives – a goal the governor said he shares. The governor agreed with the ultimate goals of reducing carbon emissions and with it cost savings, which modeling suggests will be achieved over time. But he emphasized that initial costs will be significant, especially to those who can least afford it. S5 does not directly address those startup costs which are likely much greater than the millions already set aside for heating upgrades, like weatherization and heat pumps.

Vermont Business Magazine Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Representative Julia Brownley (D-CA) today introduced legislation to lower costs for veterans traveling to receive medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). By increasing the VA’s travel reimbursement rate, the Driver Reimbursement Increase for Veteran Equity (DRIVE) Act will make it easier for veterans to receive essential health care and ensure reimbursement rates keep pace with future inflation and fluctuations in gas prices. The bill is particularly important for veterans from small and rural communities, many of whom travel long distances to receive essential medical care through the VA.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Board of Trustees today re-elected Ron Lumbra to serve as chair and welcomed three new members following a special meeting. Lumbra, who is scheduled to serve on the board until March 2028, was re-elected as the board’s chair for a fourth one-year term. Lumbra is a partner in the CEO & Board Practice of Heidrick & Struggles and based in New York. Previously, Lumbra was managing partner of the firm’s Centers of Excellence Americas region. Lumbra has more than 22 years of executive search and succession consulting experience and an extensive track record of recruiting board directors and chief executive officers to a broad variety of clients. Born and raised in Vermont, in St Albans and Montgomery respectively, Lumbra completed his undergraduate studies at UVM, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University.

Vermont Business Magazine Williston-based iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50-years of experience accelerating the adoption of innovative electrical technologies, today announced that preliminary revenue for the full year 2022 was approximately $74-76 million, 63%-68% higher than the $45.3 million reported for full year 2021, and at the high end of the revenue range of $70-75 million forecasted in November 2022.In addition, iSun expects total revenues for full year 2023 to be approximately $95-100 million, a 27%-33% increase over preliminary full year 2022 total revenues, reflecting the increased new business awards the company secured across its business in the second half of 2022 and its progress in working through its backlog.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, and the Rutland Area NAACP will be co-hosting a Hate-Free Vermont Forum in St Albans on March 13, 2023 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. This forum will be the third held in an ongoing series; last year, Hate-Free Vermont Forums took place in Rutland and Bennington.

Vermont Business Magazine Regarding S100 (An act relating to housing opportunities made for everyone) now being considered in the Legislature, Vermont Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Government Affairs, Megan Sullivan: “For an economically secure, sustainable, and equitable future, Vermont needs more people to be able to move here to live and work. S100, the ‘HOME’ bill, would make meaningful progress to create more housing, but only if the legislation is not stripped of its essential zoning reform elements.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Wednesday announced that next week the committee will hold a vote on issuing a subpoena for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to provide testimony about his company’s lack of compliance with federal labor law and to authorize a committee investigation into major corporations’ labor law violations. The subpoena and investigation votes will take place during an executive session of the committee on March 8 at 10 a.m. ET and will be followed by a hearing on defending the constitutional right of workers to organize a union and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. It will feature AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry, and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien.

by Bill Schubart On its surface, the term “affordability agenda,” often used by our Governor and legislators, makes sense… but it’s important to dig in and examine the politics behind it. A recent feature article in England’s Guardian headlined “Unhoused children are at high risk in rural Vermont,” reports Vermont has the second-highest per capita homeless rate in the nation. It further shows that a majority of Vermonters can’t afford to live here in reasonable middle-class comfort. Unfortunately, the administration and some legislators choose to see this only as the result of taxes, fees, and regulatory restrictions rather than inadequate investments in people, families, and communities.

Union Mutual Insurance Company was recently named one of the 2023 Best Places to Work in Vermont. This is the 10th consecutive year that the Company has received this award, which is based in part on anonymous employee surveys. The 17th annual list of the Best Places to Work in Vermont was created by Vermont Business Magazine, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Department of Economic Development, the Vermont Department of Labor, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – Vermont State Council and Best Companies Group.