Current News

Vermont Business Magazine With working families across the country increasingly bearing the brunt of growing economic pain and inequality – amidst the conflict in Ukraine, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and spiking prices of critical necessities – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Friday introduced legislation in the Senate that would impose a 95 percent windfall tax on the excess profits of major companies. A temporary emergency measure, Sanders’ Ending Corporate Greed Act could raise an estimated $400 billion in one year from 30 of the largest corporations alone and would apply only in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

http://www.vermontbiz.comby Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor reported that the February 2022 unemployment rate fell one-tenth to 2.9 percent. As with the national numbers, all three major metrics improved, as the labor force and employment increased and the jobless number decreased. The US weekly jobless claims fell to a 53-year low. Vermont's weekly claims are at their lowest point so far this year. The overall US unemployment rate in February was 3.8 percent, which was a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point from the revised January estimate. Vermont has the 11th lowest unemployment rate in the nation.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s School of Business will hold the inaugural Amazon Web Services Business Challenge for teams of Norwich students, who will compete and present their work to a panel of judges featuring representatives from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Volkswagen (VW) on March 31.

Vermont Business Magazine Capstone Community Action launches GreenSavingSmart, a new service connecting financial coaching with energy savings for low- and moderate-income Vermonters to ensure that a cleaner, greener Vermont is something everyone can be a part of. Vermonters face multiple barriers to accessing and affording heating, transportation and home energy improvements. Understanding the complexity of programs, eligibility criteria, and incentives can be an overwhelming experience. GreenSavingSmart provides a pathway to access rebates, incentives, and services available – in order to realize cost savings and carbon reduction.

Vermont Business Magazine Village Garage, a new distillery in Bennington making craft spirits from Vermont corn and rye, proudly announces the opening of Servicenter at Village Garage Distillery, a restaurant and tasting room infused with spirit and highlighting local purveyors. With the kitchen helmed by Chef Jonathan Studley, whose roots in the hospitality industry span 40 years, Servicenter features a full menu including small plates, salads/bowls, bar snacks, “hand helds,” mains, sweets, and a kids menu. The bar and tasting room experience is led by Alexander von Pfieffer, formerly the manager of some of New York City’s top craft cocktail bars. Opening hours are Thursday to Saturday (5-9pm) and Sunday (12-5 pm).

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast has announced that it has expanded its smart, fast and reliable fiber-rich network to make its full suite of services available to more than 1,000 homes and businesses in 11 underserved communities in Vermont, enabling the rollout of its Xfinity and Comcast Business services, including residential broadband speeds up to 3 gigabits per second (Gbps) and business speeds up to 100 Gbps. The service expansions Comcast completed since January 2021 include new addresses in Addison, Bennington, Franklin, Lamoille and Orleans counties, and builds upon the more than 1,200 Vermont homes and businesses Comcast extended its network to in 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine KSV, a Certified B Corporation and women-owned business, has received international recognition as a three-time-winner in this year’s 2021 Muse Awards for its 2021 pro bono campaign for the American Forest Foundation (AFF). The winning campaign was one of over 5,000 entries from all over the world in both the MUSE Creative Awards and the MUSE Design Awards, a competition that has demonstrated itself to be one of the leading programs in honoring excellent individuals in the creative and design fields.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House of Representatives gave preliminary approval today to the Fiscal Year 2023 State Budget, which includes a historic investment in public higher education. The House is proposing an annual $10 million increase to the Vermont State Colleges’ appropriation, which is the largest single-year increase since the VSC was founded.

​Vermont State Police Law enforcement agencies and members of the public have donated about 1,000 body-armor vests and 45 helmets to the Vermont State Police, which coordinated an extensive effort to collect the items and prepare them for shipment to Ukraine. The donations came from across Vermont and throughout the Northeast and totaled roughly 6,600 pounds — or just over 3 tons. The donations included about 875 soft-armor vests and 125 tactical vests. VSP received donations at all 10 barracks statewide, and then consolidated all the items at the Williston Barracks. The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles on Thursday, March 24, helped weigh the items and prepare them for shipping to the war zone.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 130 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday down from 199 Tuesday. As the Omicron BA.2 variant is now the most common coronavirus variant in New England (55 percent), overall cases are edging up but serious outcomes have fallen.

Vermont Business Magazine In Vermont, gasoline prices today were up one cent from yesterday to $4.21, down 1.6 cents from a week ago, up 60 cents from last month and up $1.44 from a year ago. The lowest price in Vermont today was in Bennington and Rutland at $3.99. The highest price was $4.49 in Charlotte and Northfield.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont College of Education and Social Services (CESS) and the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) honored outstanding teachers at the 41st Annual Outstanding Teachers’ Day on Wednesday, March 23. Along with the presentation of awards to 70 educators from 30 school districts and supervisory unions throughout the state, the event also recognized Vermont’s 2022 Teacher of the Year Karen McCalla and distinguished finalists for the award.