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Vermont files amicus brief to protect asylum-seekers

Fri, 12/07/2018 - 11:52am -- katie

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General T.J. Donovan yesterday joined a multistate coalition to file an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU to protect asylum seekers. The suit challenges the federal government’s efforts to prevent people who have not entered the country at a designated “port of entry” from applying for asylum in the United States. Over 6,000 Central American immigrants, including over 1,000 children, are currently stranded outside California ports of entry waiting for an opportunity to present their asylum claims to federal immigration officials. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Governor Phil Scott highlights Route 15 wildlife underpass project in Wolcott

Fri, 12/07/2018 - 11:41am -- katie

Event part of Governor’s “Capitol for a Day” initiative

Vermont Business Magazine As part of Governor Phil Scott’s “Capitol for a Day” initiative, he toured a wildlife underpass project along Route 15 in Wolcott on lands owned by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The project promotes safe movement of wildlife under the road and is being completed through a partnership with VTrans, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy and the town of Wolcott.

Sarah Squirrell to lead Department of Mental Health

Fri, 12/07/2018 - 8:53am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Thursday, Governor Phil Scott announced the appointment of Sarah Squirrell to be the next Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Mental Health. Squirrell will take over on January 1, 2019, for Mourning Fox who has been serving as the Interim Commissioner since Melissa Bailey’s departure in October. Fox will resume his position as Deputy Commissioner, a role he has been serving in for the last two years.

Weekly unemployment claims fall nearly 300

Fri, 12/07/2018 - 8:13am -- tim

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 regulators approve sale of Vermont Yankee to NorthStar

Thu, 12/06/2018 - 3:55pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Public Utility Commission approved today the transfer of the closed Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vermont, to NorthStar, a national provider of large-scale demolition services. NorthStar has committed to an accelerated schedule for decommissioning the plant and restoring the Vermont Yankee site, beginning no later than 2021 and finishing no later than the end of 2030.

Pico Mountain plans opening day for Friday

Thu, 12/06/2018 - 3:16pm -- tim

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 scores $20 million investment in rail infrastructure

Thu, 12/06/2018 - 2:27pm -- tim

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.

State launches $350K rural wastewater infrastructure program

Thu, 12/06/2018 - 11:05am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine A new village wastewater infrastructure program will invest $350,000 to boost rural economic development in Vermont and protect the environment. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in collaboration with other state agencies, federal partners and local organizations, launched a pilot program earlier this month in Wolcott, East Burke and West Burke.

Kerrick Johnson joins VEIC

Thu, 12/06/2018 - 10:59am -- tim

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). 

Wood: Vermont’s locally grown, renewable fuel

Thu, 12/06/2018 - 10:24am -- tim

by Christine McGowan, Forest Program Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Vermonters have a long history of heating with wood, and most of us know there is nothing like the warmth of a well-stoked wood stove on a cold winter night. It is only in recent years, however, that advances in technology have made wood a convenient alternative to fossil fuels through whole-building, automated wood heat systems that are controlled by thermostat.

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