News
by Wendy Wilton It is good news that Auditor Doug Hoffer has scheduled a performance audit of Vermont Health Connect this Spring. The Auditor’s work will be vitally important information for the legislature to consider as it determines the fate of the state’s health insurance exchange, Vermont Health Connect.
Basketball tournaments, spring break vacations and holiday festivities make this time of March an especially busy season for drinking establishments. Some cities and regions, however, are better equipped to handle long lines of thirsty patrons. Vermont ranked 7th with 2.9 bartenders per 1,000 residents.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) says years of work on the goal of restoring passenger rail service between Vermont and Montreal took a major step forward Monday as the United States and Canada signed a long-awaited agreement designed to improve cross border travel and security between the two countries.
Today the leadership of two major statewide business organizations released a joint statement in opposition to the Shumlin Administration’s proposed payroll tax on businesses.
Davis and Hodgdon Associates CPAs conducted its semi-annual economic survey in January regarding the outlook of Vermont-based businesses. Business owners are primarily concerned about what they will face in 2015 which include health insurance costs, tax law changes, and finding qualified employees. These concerns are consistent with last year’s answers to the survey.
Senator Bill Doyle (R-Washington) has released partial results of his Town Meeting Day survey. Because of interest in the tax-related questions, which the Legislature will be gearing up for as they make the long, hard drive toward adjournment in May, Doyle tabulated those four of the 14 questions.
by John McClaughry The House and Senate Appropriations Committees are struggling valiantly to report a balanced General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 2016. The presently estimated shortfall is about $130 million, 8 percent of the proposed General Fund budget.
Mayor Miro Weinberger, Library Director Rubi Simon, and community partners have announced that the City of Burlington’s Fletcher Free Library (FFL) has been selected through a nationwide competitive process as one of 19 US public libraries to host “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?,” a traveling exhibition developed by the Smithsonian’s National
FairPoint Communications, Inc, Vermont's largest telecom provider, today announced it has added a senior leadership position designed to work with economic and community development leaders across northern New England.
The Vermont Public Service Department (PSD) is developing its 2nd annual edition of the Vermont Clean Energy Industry Report. As part of the Report, the Department, through its Clean Energy Development Fund, wishes to again SURVEY the state's clean energy businesses. VMEC has been asked to assist in reaching out and spreading the word about this clean energy business sector opportunity.
Sterling College has earned a STARS Gold Rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. This is Sterling College’s first time participating in STARS.
The Addison County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC) has recently approved financing that will allow 3 businesses to expand and create at least 23 new jobs in Addison County. Middlebury-based Full Sun Company and Good Point Recycling as well as Bristol-based VT Farm Table have all received loans through ACEDC’s revolving loan funds.