Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Vermont elected officials, local business leaders, and advocates gathered at the State House to call for swift action to advance legislation (S.25) that restricts PFAS and other toxic chemicals from cosmetic and menstrual products, and bans PFAS from textiles and artificial turf athletic fields. The bill passed the Senate unanimously, and has now been sent to the House Committee on Human Services for their consideration. The chemicals banned by this bill – including PFAS, phthalates and formaldehyde – are all linked to numerous negative human health impacts. Recently, the EPA issued their first-ever proposal to regulate 6 of the thousands of PFAS chemicals, affirming that virtually no level of these chemicals is safe for drinking water.

Vermont Business Magazine New data from the National Association of Realtors reveal middle-income homeowners in Burlington/South Burlington accumulated $84.070 in wealth as their homes appreciated over the last 10 years. The data, which was featured prominently in NAR’s new report, Wealth Gains by Income and Racial/Ethnic Group, speaks to the value agents and Realtors bring to consumers when helping buy and sell homes that build generational wealth. NAR data also showed substantial variation and inequality in wealth gains across different income and racial and ethnic groups. Low-income homeowners in these areas were able to build $123,840 in wealth in the last decade from home price appreciation only, while upper-income households saw an increase of $170,090.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington, Vermont, which has regularly made the cleanest cities lists for both ozone pollution and particle pollution, experienced a worsened level of particle pollution from 2019-2021, according to the American Lung Association’s 2023 “State of the Air” report, which was released today. Nationally, the report found that nearly 120 million people, or more than one in three, in the U.S. live in counties that had unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. The Lung Association’s 24th annual “State of the Air” report grades Americans’ exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period. This year’s report covers 2019-2021.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections on Tuesday evening announced an unsuccessful escape attempt at Northeast Correctional Complex (NECC) in St Johnsbury. Mid-afternoon Tuesday, Department security staff became aware of an incarcerated individual’s attempt to escape the secure section of the facility. The individual was identified as Seth Brunell, a detainee at NECC. Brunell did not leave the secure section of the facility and did not pose a danger to the public during the event.

by Ciara McEneany, Community News Service Vermonters are one step closer to receiving job-protected leave to deal with the fallout of sexual and domestic violence as part of Democrats’ major paid leave bill, which passed through the House and into the Senate last month. Since the start of the session the bill has seen a $17 million bump in its cost — likely heightening opposition from Gov. Phil Scott and employers in the state. The bill, H.66, aims to create the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. Along with providing traditional types of paid time off, the bill would also fund time off for survivors of domestic or sexual violence and their guardians.

Vermont Business Magazine Middle and high school educators in Vermont can increase their financial literacy and personal finance teaching skills by attending a free, online, asynchronous graduate level course that will be available from July 3 through August 25. Funding for the course is again being provided by Northfield Savings Bank Foundation. All of the available spots for this session are open to Vermont educators. Applicants will be notified of acceptance no later than June 2.

Vermont Business Magazine Consolidated Communications (Nasdaq: CNSL) is celebrating and thanking its employees for volunteering in the communities where they live and work, during National Volunteer Week (April 16-22). Across Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, Consolidated employees volunteered nearly 2,000 hours with more than 50 organizations in 2022. One such volunteer, Dennis Barr, OSP Engineer at Consolidated, turned his love for sports into a way to help young athletes. The Greater Hartford Youth Football Association is a non-profit youth sports program serving the White River Junction, area. Each year about 50 kids in grades four through six, participate in the youth football program.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) delivered remarks on the House floor in opposition to the rule and against HR 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Schools Act. “I rise in opposition to the rule, and to speak clearly and directly on HR 734, which Republicans are ironically calling the “Protecting Girls in Schools Act.” This bill is undeniably an attack on our kids. And does nothing to protect girls. Bills like this are aimed at taking away rights from LGBTQ+ Americans, often time kids. Kids and their families are being targeted and harassed for political gain. Is this the nation we want to live in?"

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont announced today that it has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 as the cornerstone of a Comprehensive Sustainability Plan (CSP) that lays out strategies for increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. The CSP prioritizes decarbonization and features objectives in the areas of operations, governance and planning, and research and learning. The university will develop a program for “greening” campus labs, and reduce waste generated per campus user 10% by 2035. Over the next six years, UVM will develop a campus energy plan to help prioritize renewable energy investments, increase the percentage of electric vehicles in the fleet, make buildings more efficient, and drill geothermal test wells on campus.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont is excited to announce the inaugural Research, Innovation, Sustainability, and Entrepreneurship (RISE) Summit, taking place June 21-22, 2023. The new RISE Summit will bring together researchers, business leaders, and alumni to spotlight the opportunities and challenges of economic development in Vermont and the surrounding region. The convened leaders will discuss solutions to pressing needs including clean water, sustainable energy, affordable housing, food production, and more, and demonstrate the potential for university-community-business partnerships to succeed in these areas.

Vermont Business Magazine Following a jury trial, Everett A. Simpson, 45, formerly of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was convicted on all counts – two counts of federal kidnapping and two counts of interstate transportation of stolen vehicles. According to court documents and testimony, on January 4, 2019, Simpson absconded from the Valley Vista treatment facility in Bradford, Vermont, and stole a commercial van in Newbury, Vermont, eventually deserting that vehicle in a parking garage in Manchester, New Hampshire on the morning of January 5. Later that same day, in the parking lot of the Mall of New Hampshire, Simpson kidnapped a young woman and her four-year-old child after forcing his way into the young woman’s car. Simpson held the woman and her child against their will, driving from New Hampshire into Vermont, where Simpson attempted to locate his estranged wife.