Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims fell last week as the typical holiday season volatility continued. For the week of December 1, 2018, there were 862 claims, 293 fewer than they were the previous week, and 17 fewer than they were a year ago. The holiday season sees wild swings in claims, as retailers in particular hire and layoff workers in spikes in November and December.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Pico Mountain, part of the POWDR adventure lifestyle company, is scheduled to kick off its 2018-19 winter season at 9 am on Friday. The sixth annual Opening Weekend Food Raiser will take place December 14-16, 2018, offering discounted lift tickets in exchange for food donations for low-income Vermonters. The Food Raiser is a partnership with Pico Mountain and local nonprofit organization BROC Community Action, which feeds 600 families each month through the BROC Community Food Shelf. Discounted single-day lift tickets will be available Friday through Sunday at the Pico Sales Center for $39 (regularly $81) for all ages with a donation of three non-perishable food items.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Thursday that the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) will receive a $20 million federal award from the US Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program.  The funding will support the rehabilitation or replacement of 31 rail bridges along 53 miles of the Vermont Railway.  The work will be done on the southern section of the state-owned rail line that runs in Vermont between Rutland and Bennington, continuing on to Hoosick, NY.  Leahy hailed the award as significant for the impact it will have in bolstering the state’s economic development and climate change goals.

Vermont Business Magazine Kerrick Johnson has joined VEIC’s leadership team. As the new Strategy and Corporate Affairs Director, Johnson brings more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry to VEIC. Johnson was most recently Co-Founder and Chief Ecosystem Officer for Utopus Insights, a New York-based energy analytics startup acquired earlier this year by Vestas Wind Systems A/S. Prior to that he served as Vice President of Strategy and Communication for Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO). 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Climate Economy Action Team (CEAT) today announced their 2019 agenda for advancing economic progress and making Vermont more affordable by helping Vermonters use energy more efficiently and meet their heating and transportation needs with renewable energy sources.