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Vermont Business Magazine The National Life Group (NLG) Foundation will honor Black History Month by matching donations through GIVING BACK with BUILD, Black History Month Fundraiser in support of Communities In Schools of the Dallas Region (CIS). A National Life Group community, BUILD was chartered to commit to the increase of Black agents and leaders in the insurance industry. According to Marsh, only 4% of independent agencies have an African American principal or senior manager. This lack of representation can interfere with the ability to effectively reach and create connections with a diverse and growing prospective audience.

Vermont Business Magazine On Saturday, February 18, David Glidden was unanimously elected as the new chair of the Vermont Democratic Party. He takes over this role from former VDP Chair Anne Lezak, who announced she was stepping down earlier this month. Glidden has deep roots with the VDP and has risen through the ranks of the party over the years. He began his political career as a field organizer in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties in 2016 for the Democratic Coordinated campaign. In 2017 he was elected State Party Assistant Treasurer, and in 2021 he was elected Vice Chair of the VDP.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) on Thursday sent two letters to the leadership of the United States Postal Service (USPS) demanding answers and accountability regarding postal issues affecting workers and service in communities across Vermont. These letters – one to the USPS Board of Governors and one to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy – were the first sent by the newly-formed Vermont Delegation in the 118th Congress, continuing ongoing delegation efforts to resolve postal issues across the state.

Vermont Business Magazine New Breed, the premier revenue performance management partner for the world's fastest-growing companies, today announced that it has been named HubSpot's 2022 North America Partner of the Year. New Breed is now the only partner in HubSpot's Impact Award Hall of Fame to be a three-time recipient of the North America Partner of the Year award. HubSpot, a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform for scaling companies, uses the award to recognize members of its Solutions Partner Program who meet specific criteria that contribute to their growth and the growth of their customers.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine With personal and corporate income taxes again leading the way, General Fund tax revenues again surpassed recently updated targets. Personal income taxes were a whopping $11 million ahead of targets and corporate income was over $6 million ahead, or by more than 50 percent. The state’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts in January were a combined $345.8 million, or 6.5%, above monthly consensus expectations. This continues the trend of the first six months of the fiscal year, where combined revenues across all three funds were 6.3% above the consensus target set at the July 2022 Emergency Board meeting.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported February 15, 2023, that COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations were largely unchanged again over the last week. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations decreased to 41 last week (they were as low as 30 last fall). Total cases fell slightly to 495. There were five COVID-related deaths in the last week for a pandemic total of 910 as of February 11.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) Interim Superintendent Lori Madden returned to her role as Assistant Superintendent at Northwest State Correctional Facility (NWSCF) in St Albans on February 10. Effective February 20, Amy Jacobs, Interim Assistant Superintendent at NWSCF, will assume the role of Interim Superintendent at NSCF in Newport. This transition took place following a January 25 letter from Vermont State Employees’ Association Inc (VSEA) expressing a “vote of no confidence” in Madden.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, in a huge victory for climate action and addressing Vermont’s second largest source of climate pollution – the thermal heating sector – the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 5-0 to advance the Affordable Heat Act (S.5). This legislation is the culmination of years of work and analysis, represents a key pillar of the state's adopted Climate Action Plan, and is a top priority in the 2023 Environmental Common Agenda – a policy agenda signed onto by 19 environmental organizations. The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee has taken weeks of detailed testimony and made many notable improvements to the policy to ensure that it helps build an equitable and affordable transition to a local, clean energy economy by keeping dollars spent on energy here in Vermont – and requiring that the majority of residential clean heat services go to low- and moderate-income Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine In advance of Town Meeting Day, March 7, Burlington School District (BSD) has published a number of resources designed to help voters have all the information they need to vote on the School District’s proposed budget, which is increasing 6 percent. BSD’s 2022 Annual Report is now available online along with a budget one-pager that explains next year’s FY 2024, $104.1 million proposed budget (FY 23 $98.2 million). The BSD stated that spending at this level could produce a property tax rate increase of 4.03% (current estimate).

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Senate gave final approval to S.3, a bill that would prohibit paramilitary training camps. The bill passed second reading on a vote of 29-1 yesterday. The passage of this bill follows a rise in concern across Vermont and the country about the increase in extremist paramilitary organizations and the lack of adequate prevention, intervention and enforcement authority in Vermont. President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth and Senator Sears, Chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, spoke about the importance of this measure.

Vermont School Library Association "We are collectively appalled by the decision by the leadership of the Vermont State College system to eliminate their print collections, repurpose their physical spaces, and lay off librarians. We are calling on the leadership of Vermont State University (VTSU) to reverse this decision. We believe that all Vermont students should have access to robust and well-funded library programs that include access to professional librarians who work in partnership with faculty and in support of students. Ample research, both quantitative and qualitative, shows that students at all levels thrive with the help of these library programs."