By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger Vermont’s economy added 1,700 jobs in July, causing the unemployment rate to fall from 3.2 percent to 3.1 percent. Just as it has been for several years, the state unemployment rate continues to be far lower than the national rate, which was 4.3 percent in July. Vermont tied with Indiana and South…

HEAT Squad, an energy efficiency service developed by NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, is expanding to the Northeast Kingdom with the help of a $250,000 Northern Border Regional Commission grant. The strategy of HEAT Squad focuses on educating homeowners about energy efficiency; offering low-cost energy audits and same day audit reports; objective advice and guidance regarding…

Just over three years have passed since Green Mountain Power was recognized as the first utility in the world to become a Certified B Corp - and the Colchester-based energy company has received recertification. B Corps are companies that believe business can be a force for good and are certified by the nonprofit B Lab…

The Vermont Foodbank announced Thursday, Aug. 17, the release of The State of Senior Hunger in America in 2015, a study of food insecurity among seniors in the U.S. produced by Feeding America. Food insecurity refers to the lack of access to enough nutritious food. The findings are further evidence that the benefits of the…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced that federal disaster assistance will be made available to Vermont to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areas affected by severe thunderstorms and flooding from June 29 to July 1, 2017. Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on…

Early bear hunting season starts Sept. 1 The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reminding successful bear hunters that a regulation now requires them to submit a bear tooth so wildlife managers can collect important information on Vermont’s bear population. Teeth submitted by hunters are used to determine the ages of bears. Wildlife biologists use…

By Julia Gosselin If you have diabetes, you most likely have insulin needles in your home. Leaving these syringes around your home could not only look bad, but it could pass on possible diseases. Diseases like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV can all be passed through a used syringe. Let’s not forgot the possible…

By Cyrus Ready-Campbell, VTDigger Vermonters with incomes near the federal poverty line stand to lose more in benefits than they would gain from an increased minimum wage if they have young children, experts told the Minimum Wage Study Committee on Thursday, Aug. 10. The Legislature created the committee in June to explore how a minimum…

Grassland-nesting bird populations continue to decline in numbers in Vermont, according to recent surveys conducted by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (VTF&W) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bird species that nest in grasslands include vesper sparrows, grasshopper sparrows, bobolinks, and eastern meadowlarks, among others.  The birds nest in hayfields or cow pastures,…

Two fish caught in tributaries of Lake Champlain earlier this year have been certified as new Vermont state records. A new state record carp, weighing 33.25 pounds and measuring 40 inches in length, was caught in Otter Creek in April by Ferrisburgh angler Chase Stokes. Stokes, an accomplished youth angler, caught the carp while fishing…

The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for June was 3.2 percent. This reflects no change from the revised May rate. (The national rate in June was 4.4 percent.) Vermont’s overall unemployment rate was tied for the seventh lowest in the country for the same time period. Number of…

By Anne Galloway and Erin Mansfield, VTDigger Economists told lawmakers on Friday, July 21, that revenue for the state’s base operating budget will come in $28.8 million lower than expected this fiscal year. Tom Kavet, the economist for the Vermont Legislature, and Jeffrey Carr, the economist for the Scott administration, downgraded fiscal year 2018 revenue…

By Alan Keays/VTDigger An attorney for the state says a Rutland businessman hasn’t lived up to a pledge to provide needed documents to finalize a settlement over the $650,000 environmental cleanup of his property. Assistant Attorney General Justin Kolber has now asked Judge Helen Toor to hold a hearing to determine how much money John…

Nationally, more than 22 million children receive meals through the National School Lunch Program during the school year. But when school is out during the summer, the USDA Summer Food Service Program reaches less than 4 million kids. To combat summer hunger, the Vermont Foodbank is distributing food to 225 food shelves and meal sites…

On Monday, July 17, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy announced that Vermont’s Department of Fish and Wildlife will receive a grant of $30,000 to support its work to control and counter white nose syndrome (WNS), the fungal disease that has devastated bat populations in Vermont and across the United States. Leahy, the vice chairman of the…