Current News

by Richard Donnelly is the Director of Energy Innovation at VGS Have you ever thought about how much energy it takes to create hot water for your home or business? The simple answer is “a lot.” Most water heating systems are powered by fossil fuels or electric elements. Up until recently, choosing between these two options meant a choice between carbon or cost. Fortunately, Vermonters have the chance to enjoy the best of both worlds by installing an electric heat pump water heater. That’s why VGS (Vermont Gas Systems) is enthusiastically embracing this technology, and is partnering to mark October 26, 2022 as the first-ever National Heat Pump Water Heater Day.

Vermont business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today will welcome Finland’s Ambassador to the United States Mikko Hautala to Vermont to exchange ideas about what Vermonters can learn from Finland and what Finland can learn from Vermont on a range of issues, including health care, education, housing, and the environment. During the visit, Senator Sanders and Ambassador Hautala will hold a student town meeting at the Harwood Union Middle and High School in Moretown and a public town meeting in Burlington at 7 pm to discuss how US laws affect our daily lives in the US and how Finland addresses those same issues. Both town meetings will include a question-and-answer session to hear directly from students and the public.

Vermont Business Magazine Thursday morning the Zuckerman for Vermont campaign announced a temporary hiatus from in-person events after lieutenant governor candidate David Zuckerman testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday evening. Zuckerman (D/P) is running against Republican Joe Benning. Zuckerman’s spouse tested positive on Monday morning, and he and his family took immediate steps to isolate. Out of an abundance of caution, he immediately began testing, masking and distancing from others.

Vermont Business Magazine As of October 1st, the health and function of North Breton Brook in Castleton has been remarkably improved through the removal of the Pelletier Dam off East Hubbardton Road. The dam, along with 15,000 cubic yards of sediment, was removed from the stream bed, reconnecting the river to its natural path and flow. The Pelletier Dam was derelict, which means it had not been used for its original purpose as a marble mill in decades. The State of Vermont Fish and Wildlife acquired the dam after the mill closed and recognized the benefits of removing the dam.

Vermont Business Magazine The second event in the Saint Michael’s College Presents: Solutions for Social Impact seminar series is happening Thursday, October 20 at 5:30 pm in McCarthy Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public. I’ve included the description of the specific event below and the original press release about the series, attached. Professor Alain Brizard will lead the presentation. Professor Brizard has been one of the world’s leading theorists in fusion plasma research for almost four decades. He will discuss work done over the last 60 years toward building a nuclear fusion reactor, the promising outlook for harnessing nuclear fusion power over the next 30 years, and his own recent research done with the help of Saint Michael’s College students.  

Vermont Business Magazine On February 1, 2022, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued changes to the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (VHWMR) (bit.ly/VHWMR-2022). The VHWMR regulates the handling, use, reuse, and recycling of hazardous waste in Vermont. Hazardous waste has chemicals or properties – such as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity – that can harm public health or the environment. The VHWMR are as strict as the federal rules and include state-specific requirements.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation is unveiling a new mapping feature of their innovative This Way UP: there’s power in our numbers (This Way UP) tool that allows users to search through the more than 2,500 women-owned businesses by name, town, and industry. The filtering feature is designed for people who want to support women-owned enterprises throughout the state but did not have a way to find them. This Way UP is the Vermont Women’s Fund’s initiative to count and identify women business owners and leaders in the state, with the goal of providing missing economic data about the number, size, and scope of Vermont’s female founders and what they might need to succeed and grow.

Vermont Business Magazine NorthCountry Federal Credit Union (NCFCU) awarded Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) $15,000 in funding to increase Hardwick's Village Center Apartments’ photovoltaic generation capacity, an energy efficiency enhancement to improve future resident quality of life and further offset the affordable housing development’s carbon footprint. Excluded from Village Center Apartments monthly rent is electricity, and the project’s development team saw an opportunity to reduce this housing cost for the residents: if the property’s photovoltaic capacity were increased, the 24 future households would benefit from $376 to $416 in electricity cost savings annually and the building’s reliance on nonrenewable energy would be cut by another 25%.

Vermont Business Magazine Residents of the Concord community are encouraged to review the newly released Let’s Grow Concord Action Report for a recap on the recent Community Visit process. This report includes details on the new task forces, the contact information of local leaders, and collected resources to help move the community-determined priorities forward. Throughout the summer and fall, the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) facilitated a 3-month series of public meetings to bring Concord community members together, identify key priorities for the future, and connect to local resources.

Vermont Business Magazine The Powerball jackpot is an estimated $508 million for Wednesday’s drawing. The jackpot has a cash value of $256.3 million. This is the second time this year that the Powerball jackpot crossed the half-billion-dollar mark. The last time the Powerball jackpot was above $500 million was in the January 5 drawing, when tickets in California and Wisconsin split a $632.6 million jackpot. While the Powerball jackpot has been rolling for the past 2.5 months, the jackpot run created a lot of big winners, including dozens of millionaires.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has proclaimed October as Careers in Vermont Tourism and Hospitality Month. It is peak season in Vermont to find your next, best job in the tourism and hospitality industry. Employers across the industry are hiring now, both for seasonal and full-time opportunities.

Vermont Business Magazine Residents in Chittenden County are being urged to take precautions due to a higher-than-expected number of ground-dwelling animals in the county testing positive for rabies, a deadly viral disease that infects mammals, including humans. Since July 2022, 10 animals have tested positive for rabies in Chittenden County, including eight raccoons and two skunks. The total includes five animals in South Burlington, two in Burlington, and one in Charlotte, Shelburne, and Colchester. The most recent positive specimen was collected on October 8.