Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) Wednesday applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s announcement that Vermont’s Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) will receive $50 million provided through the EPA’s National Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program, part of the Biden Administration’s ‘Investing in America’ agenda. As a National Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaker, the ISC will help small, in-need community-based organizations with support, coordination, and oversight to stakeholders over the next three years.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board took its final vote on a regulation on trapping and hunting coyotes on Thursday, December 14.  Information on the regulation and a permit application to hunt coyotes with dogs are available on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website.  The new regulation establishes a season for hunting coyotes with dogs and is effective on January 1, 2024.  The season for hunting coyotes with the aid of dogs will be December 15 through March 31 each year. Legal hunting hours for taking coyotes with the aid of dogs will be one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset.  The coyote dog training season will be from June 1 through September 15. 

Vermont Business Magazine As millions of Americans hit the road for the Christmas holiday, many will reap the gift of lower gas prices, with nearly 100,000 stations offering gasoline at $2.99 or less. The national average price of gas is projected to be $3.09 on Christmas Day. Prices over the holiday weekend will have dropped nearly 80¢ per gallon compared to what they were paying earlier this fall, when the national average reached $3.85 per gallon. As of today, average gasoline prices nationally are $3.06 per gallon and in Vermont are $3.31/g. Since the beginning of October, prices have fallen about 80 cents/g nationally and about 50 cents/g in Vermont (prices were about 10 cents/g lower in Vermont in September than the US average).

Vermont Business Magazine Earlier this week, with the support of the Gun Owners of Vermont, several Vermont manufacturers, its members clubs, and the many thousands of individual members, the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs (VTFSC) joined a group of Vermont citizens and sporting-goods stores in filing a federal lawsuit challenging Vermont’s 72-hour waiting period law and its ban on standard capacity firearm magazines that are commonly owned in Vermont and across the nation. On Wednesday, the VTFSC filed a motion for an injunction to prevent the State of Vermont from enforcing these unconstitutional laws. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont 2024 hunting, trapping, and fishing licenses, as well as the 2024 lawbooks for these activities, are now available on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website and wherever licenses are sold. With ice fishing opening around the state as soon as cold temperatures arrive in January, Vermonters are encouraged to pick up their 2024 licenses at the earliest convenience.  Existing five year, permanent or lifetime licenses can be updated online on January 1.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Aita Gurung, 40, has been sentenced to 35 years to life, with 27 years to serve, for the murder of Yogeswari Khadka, and 20 years to life, to run concurrently, for the attempted murder of Tulasa Rimal. Mr. Gurung was found guilty of the charges by a jury on November 3, 2022, following a four-week trial. The Court, Judge John Pacht presiding, sentenced Mr. Gurung following a two-day hearing.

Vermont Business Magazine Soldiers and Airmen of the Vermont National Guard escort Santa on military equipment on two separate convoy routes. One route starts at the Walmart in St. Albans and travels south on Route 7 before ending at the Winooski Armory at 255 Lafountain Street in Winooski after passing through Essex and Williston. The second route starts at the Shaw's in Waterbury traveling mostly on Route 100 and ends at the Vermont Army National Guard armory in Berlin. Pictures with Santa are available at each ending location.

Vermont State Police Following a lengthy investigation, law-enforcement authorities on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, arrested a suspect in the Feb. 20 killing of Claudia M. Voight, 73, at her home in Windham. Shawn Conlon, 44, of Rhode Island was taken into custody Wednesday morning at a hotel in Groton, Connecticut, by the U.S. Marshals Service with the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police and the Groton Police Department. Members of the Vermont State Police, who have led the investigation into Ms. Voight’s killing, arrived in Groton shortly after the suspect’s arrest. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University recently announced it has received a grant to fund the expansion of one of its hybrid learning programs. The grant was received from the Davis Educational Foundation established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis after Mr. Davis's retirement as chairman of Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc. The project is titled Prioritizing Access through “Face-to-Face Plus” (F2F+) Expansion + OER Adoption. This initiative is part of VTSU’s commitment to be a model for hybrid, rural education and to meet students where they are to support their educational pursuits.  

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Human Services (AHS) has awarded $5.125 million to four key healthcare institutions to bolster Vermont’s nursing workforce. Successful applicants include University of Vermont Health Network, Northwestern Medical Center, Southern Vermont Medical Center, and Cedar Hill Continuing Care Community. The grants seek to address barriers to workforce growth, such as a shortage of clinical educators and financial obstacles for prospective students. The initiative will provide tuition assistance, paid release time or study stipends, and clinical support at the worksite. It aims to draw new students into Vermont nursing programs and facilitate advanced degree education for existing nurses. 

Vermont Business Magazine Pomerleau Real Estate in Burlington has announced recent commercial real estate deals. Principals include: Peerless Clothing International, Kylee Boutique, American Family Care, Milton Food and Fun, and VOR, Inc.

Vermont Business Magazine President Joe Biden Tuesday signed Senator Peter Welch’s (D-Vermont) bipartisan bill, the Testing, Rapid Analysis, and Narcotic Quality (TRANQ) Research Act, into law. The Testing, Rapid Analysis, and Narcotic Quality (TRANQ) Research Act takes steps to address the deadly rise in the illicit use of Xylazine – a harmful animal tranquilizer also known by its street name Tranq – and other novel synthetic drugs that have become increasingly prevalent in Vermont and across the country. The legislation directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to research the drug, develop new tests for rapid detection, and establish partnerships with the frontline entities that are often the first points of contact with new street drugs.