Current News

Vermont Business Magazine States that will see totality in the US are Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The full eclipse will cross northern Vermont on April 8, 2024, about 3:30 pm and last about three-and-a-half minutes. 31 million people already live inside the path and millions more will travel to the path of totality on eclipse day. Upwards of 208,000 could visit Vermont just to experience it.

Vermont Business Magazine Nine students from high schools around the world were selected as winners of Bennington College’s 2022-2023 Young Writers Awards. This annual competition, which accepts entries in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, is free to enter and open to high school students. A first-, second-, and third-place winner is selected in each of the categories, with cash prizes up to $1,000 awarded. Young Writers Award finalists and winners are also eligible for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington. Finalists who enroll at Bennington will receive a $10,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $40,000. Winners who enroll at Bennington will receive a $15,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $60,000.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group’s leadership spokesperson, four-time Olympian and record-holder in American women’s high jump Chaunté Lowe, has been named by President Joe Biden to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, the White House announced.

Lowe joins 26 other appointees to the Council, including Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim and professional basketball player Stephen Curry in promoting physical fitness and healthy nutrition to all regardless of background or ability.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the CCC Legacy are proud to offer a lecture by award-winning author and historian Martin Podskoch on the history and legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Vermont. The lecture will take place on April 5 from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM in the Pavilion Auditorium at 109 State Street, Montpelier. Questions, personal remembrances, and knowledge of CCC camps in Vermont is welcomed at the end of the evening. This program is presented in honor of the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the CCC, a significant public works program that gave meaningful work to unemployed young men during the Great Depression. The CCC operated from 1933 to 1942 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal to improve the nation’s public lands, forests, and parks.

Maria Lara Bregatta, et al There are over 77,000 small businesses in Vermont that employ 61 percent of the state’s private workforce. Small business success has always been the backbone of a functioning Vermont economy. As small business owners, we can confidently say that our success – and the success of our state’s economy – hinges on our employees’ access to child care.

The pandemic exacerbated issues that had previously hummed in the background – most notably a lack of accessible and affordable child care. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, fifty-seven percent of parents nationwide have recently said child care responsibilities had impacted their ability to work.

Of these parents, 73 percent missed more than eight hours of work in a month because of child care responsibilities.

by Todd Heyman On Friday, the Vermont Senate declined to exempt from Act 250 review the construction of up to 24 downtown housing units notwithstanding the undeniable housing crisis in Vermont. Once again, the Legislature is deferring action on reducing Act 250 jurisdiction in favor of writing reports (two were requested last session). It’s time to point out something you won’t read in the newspapers: for the most part, the people making these decisions understand very little about how Act 250 actually works. Legislators are very rarely Act 250 permit holders and probably couldn’t identify even 10 significant accomplishments of the Natural Resources Board last year.

Leonine Public Affairs On Friday, the Senate gave final approval to a bill meant to address the housing crisis in Vermont. S.100, also known as the HOME bill, is a culmination of efforts by housing advocates, and policy makers in both chambers, led by Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale who chairs the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee. After the bill left the committee, housing advocates expressed frustration with what they see as a good bill that was excessively diluted by the Senate Natural Resources committee and environmental advocates. This committee worried that some Act 250 reforms in the original bill would result in sprawl. Housing advocates don’t think the bill goes far enough to address the enormity of the housing crisis. The bill now heads to the Vermont House, where the tension between affordable housing and land use regulations will likely increase.

The Vermont State Police is able to identify the victim in this incident as Tamico Williams, 21, of Hartford, Connecticut.An autopsy was completed Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. The cause of death was determined to be gunshot wounds to the torso, and the manner of death is a homicide. The investigation into this homicide is continuing, and no one is currently in custody. Information that detectives have developed so far indicates the shooting appears to be a targeted act.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) this week sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, calling for increased federal funding for programs supporting Lake Champlain, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lake Champlain Basin Program. In their letter, the lawmakers assert the importance of maintaining and expanding support for programs to address water pollution, curb the presence of invasive species and toxic substances, and promote scientific study of the Lake Champlain watershed.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s winter manure spreading ban ends today, April 1st, but with another snowy March having brought challenging field conditions to many parts of Vermont, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) is issuing a spring stewardship reminder to Vermont farmers and Custom Manure Applicators. The Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) outline that manure cannot be applied to fields that are frozen or snow-covered, nor to fields that are saturated, likely to runoff, or are conducive to any other off-site movement regardless of nutrient management plan recommendations. Trends in Vermont’s weather show increasing precipitation through the spring season, rising temperatures, and more extreme precipitation events. These conditions provide the potential for increased flooding and require farmers and Custom Manure Applicators to remain vigilant through the spring season.

Vermont Business Magazine DR Power Equipment, a prominent producer of high-quality outdoor power equipment and a Generac Power Systems (NYSE: GNRC) company, has announced one of the first battery-powered brush mowers available in the landscape market, the DR FB26E Electric Field and Brush Mower. Featuring a high-capacity 2.5kWh removable and shareable battery, the DR FB26E Electric Field and Brush Mower has the strength to cut up to 90 minutes on a single charge. The DR FB26E Electric Field and Brush Mower has the power to cut through six-foot-tall weeds, four-foot-tall grass, and saplings with a two-inch diameter. A built-in battery caddy allows a user to transport a fully charged backup battery to the mowing site with ease.