Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids is proud to announce it has earned status as a Certified B Corporation. The award-winning Vermont-based brewery, founded by Sean and Karen Lawson in 2008, operates on a values-driven vision of making the finest quality beer while cultivating healthy, vibrant communities through ethical business and sustainability practices. Achieving B Corp certification is the latest step in the brewery’s 15 year history of commitment to positive social and environmental changes. Lawson’s Finest joins an elite community of only 18 breweries in the US who meet the rigorous standards required by B Lab, the non-profit behind the B Corp certification process.

V/T Commercial has announced its Commercial Real Estate Transactions for April & May. Linda I. Letourneau of V/T Commercial and on behalf of Mansfield Industrial Associates sold a 6.77 acre parcel at 1 Allen Martin Drive, Essex to Andrew Hood.  Bayada Health Care, Inc. leased a collective 5,476 square feet at 600 Blair Park, Williston from Triptik III Realty Partnership.  Tony Blake and John Beal of V/T Commercial assisted in this transaction.

Vermont Business Magazine As part of its Gen. John Stark Lectures, the Ethan Allen Institute is proud to present a dinner with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a noted environmentalist and advocate of individual liberty. Mr. Kennedy is a prolific and best-selling author, a nationally-syndicated radio host, and a frequent television commentator. He has been a traditional skeptic of government power--much like Thomas Jefferson was in his time.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) issued a statement today calling for free and fair elections and an end to corruption and impunity in Guatemala. Guatemala has long been plagued by corrupt elites who have abused their authority to remain in power and avoid accountability. The presidential election on June 25th offers an opportunity for the Guatemalan people to forge a new path and reject the criminality that defined the tenure of outgoing president Alejandro Giammattei and many of his predecessors.

Vermont State Police As the investigation continues into Sunday’s shooting in Leicester, the Vermont State Police are identifying the deceased victim as Scott Lanpher, 35, and the injured man as his 31-year-old brother, Larry Lanpher Jr. Both men lived on the property on U.S. Route 7 where the shooting occurred. An autopsy performed Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined the cause of Scott Lanpher’s death was gunshot wounds to the upper body, and the manner of death was a homicide. Larry Lanpher Jr. remains hospitalized at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. 

The Small Business Administration Vermont is hosting a free webinar at noon June 7 about its guaranteed loan programs. SBA guarantees loans making it easier for small businesses to get the funding by reducing lender risk. Funds can be used for most business purposes, including long-term fixed assets and operating capital. Amounts range from $500 to $5.5 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on Tuesday introduced legislation to reauthorize the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP), a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative providing no-interest loans to rural utilities to help communities access cost-effective energy upgrades for homes and businesses.  With support from RESP, rural utilities can finance projects to electrify household heating and cooling, increase energy efficiency, and transition to renewable energy. The bill both reauthorizes RESP and improves the program to help rural utilities maximize the program’s benefits for customers.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) issued a statement today responding to the drug company Merck’s lawsuit to block drug price negotiation provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Welch was a key architect of the bill’s drug pricing program and longtime advocate for lower drug prices and health care access. “This lawsuit is completely without merit and yet another example of Big Pharma putting profits over the health of working families."

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today at his afternoon press conference announced that he had vetoed the Legislature's signature bill this session, H.217, which is related to child care funding and expansion. Scott emphasized that he a lawmakers have the same goal of what he calls "cradle to career" universal education. He also reiterated that he has pushed for a funding package that includes the online sales tax, now $56 million per year. But in his veto statement today, he balked at the "regressive" payroll deduction to be implemented to help pay for it and the overall cost, which will be $124.8 million in FY2025, when it's fully implemented. Scott is likely facing an uphill battle in an effort to have his veto sustained. The measure passed comfortably over the two-thirds majority in both chambers. 

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has launched an open-access academic press aimed at removing the financial barrier between peer-reviewed research and audiences worldwide. Fully funded by the university and overseen by UVM Libraries, the UVM Press operates under a “diamond open access model” – meaning that authors pay no fees to publish with the press, and readers pay no fees to access the press's published materials.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College Online has appointed Sergio Tenreiro de Magalhães, Ph.D., as Chief Learning Officer and Sarah McMaster as Executive Director of Marketing and Enrollment Management. Following the announcement of Chris Montagnino as Vice President of Champlain College Online (CCO) last year, the online institution has positioned its leadership team to support strategic goals, including new remote learning opportunities, program growth, and enrollment management. 

Vermont Business Magazine In May, organ donation and organ transplants in New England attained a new monthly record high. New England Donor Services (NEDS), the federally-designated Organ Procurement Organization responsible for the recovery of organs and tissues in the six state region, reported it coordinated a record-breaking 61 organ donors that resulted in 160 life-saving transplants.