Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The brews will flow once again as the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Hopridge Farms partner together to produce the thirteenth Homebrew Festival and competition. Saturday, April 29th at the Bennington Sports Center in downtown Bennington, brewers will go head-to-head to be named the best homebrew in the land. The festival invites Northeast’s top home brewers asking them to bring their very best home brewed beer, cider, mead, braggot and wine for a chance to be crowned "Best Home Brewery." In addition, this year the festival has also invited home chefs to participate in a cook off to be crowned “Best Home Chef.”

Vermont Business Magazine As the youngest consumer generation, Gen Zers are becoming avid credit card users. A new study by LendingTree looked at how young Americans ages 18 to 26 use their credit cards by analyzing 198,000 anonymized credit reports of LendingTree users. Of note, Gen Z’s average credit card balance has gone up 55.6% since February 2022, while its average credit card limit has climbed 22.2% in the same period. Vermonters in this demographic rank 3rd in overall balance ($3,361); 31st in credit card limit ($6,490); and 12th in average number of credit cards (3.46).

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Creamery, makers of consciously crafted artisan cheese and butter, released its 2022 Mission Report, detailing the B Corp-Certified Company’s commitment to purpose in practice. It was a year of forged partnerships and shared wins – together with Vanguard Renewables, Vermont Creamery is making significant strides towards food waste reduction, sending its production biproducts to the Northeast’s largest anaerobic digester in Salisbury, Vermont. In August, Vermont Creamery formally joined the Farm-Powered Strategic Alliance, a precompetitive group of food and beverage companies committed to reducing food waste and sourcing renewable energy. The Alliance was founded in 2020 by Unilever, Dairy Farmers of America, Starbucks and Vanguard Renewables with the goal of avoiding or eliminating food waste through anaerobic digesters.

Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids, the award-winning Vermont craft brewery with a commitment to quality and sustainability, is releasing its newest year-round brand Hazy Rays. The tropical, fruit-forward hazyjuicylicious IPA comes in at 5.3% ABV and is bursting with flavor without being overly bitter. Hazy Rays joins Lawson’s Finest’s lineup of flagship brands and can be found year-round in 4 packs of 16 oz. cans and 12 packs of 12 oz. cans alongside Sip of Sunshine, Little Sip and Scrag Mountain Pils at retail stores across Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $57,253,000 from the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act for states, Tribes, and territories through this year’s Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF) in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The funding will help communities upgrade essential wastewater and stormwater systems to protect public health and treasured water bodies across the nation.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Senate passed S.100, the Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone (HOME) bill, on a vote of 27-2-1. This bill proposes to increase the supply of affordable housing in the state, promote homeownership and broaden housing opportunities for all Vermonters. The Senate did not make substantial changes to Act 250, despite amendments offered to do so. S.100 proposes to reduce regulatory barriers in designated growth areas and in areas served by municipal water and sewer to enable the development of more dense, multi-family housing. This bill was intentionally crafted to strike a critical balance between housing development and conservation.

The Vermont State Police on Friday, March 31, 2023, received autopsy findings from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington regarding the death of Russell Giroux. The 60-year-old Alburgh resident died Jan. 31 at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans just over two hours after he was involved in an altercation among multiple spectators at a middle-school basketball game. The medical examiner determined Giroux’s cause of death was an “acute cardiac event following altercation in an individual with coronary artery atherosclerosis.” The manner of death will be listed as “undetermined.”

Vermont Business Magazine Following an internal investigation, the Vermont State Police today announces the resignation of two troopers assigned to the Westminster Barracks. The voluntary resignations of Nathan Greco and Nathan Jensen were effective Friday, March 31, 2023. The Vermont State Police began investigating the troopers’ conduct in early February after VSP and Department of Public Safety leadership received complaints that the troopers had used inappropriate and racist comments as they played an online game while off duty. The comprehensive investigation was unable to substantiate every allegation raised against the troopers, but the information that was corroborated represented a serious violation of the Vermont State Police Code of Conduct.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Senate passed S.56, an act relating to child care and early childhood education. The bill passed by voice vote, after passing second reading yesterday on a vote of 24-6. This bill would transform Vermont’s child care system, making child care more accessible and affordable for thousands of Vermonters and improving compensation for early childhood educators. S.56 would increase access to quality child care services throughout Vermont, provide financial stability to child care programs, support and stabilize Vermont’s child care workforce, address the workforce needs of Vermont employers. It would also create a Prekindergarten Education Study Committee to provide policy recommendations for how to improve and expand accessible, affordable and high-quality prekindergarten education. JFO estimates the bill would: Increase new expenditures by $39.2 million in FY 2024 and $114.6 million in FY 2025; Repeal the Vermont Child Tax Credit which was estimated to reduce State revenues by $31.8 million in FY 2024 and in future years; Raise approximately $83 million annually in new revenues by instituting a 0.42% tax on wages and self-employment income up to the Social Security taxable maximum.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced he’s appointed 85 individuals to State boards and commissions this month. Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities. The governor’s office is currently soliciting applications to fill vacancies and upcoming term expirations. All those interested in serving on a board or commission should visit the Governor’s website.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) invites municipalities to participate in the Municipal Roads Grants-in-Aid Program, which provides funding for municipalities to implement best management practices (BMPs) in accordance with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Municipal Roads General Permit (MRGP). Grants-in-Aid awards will be made available through AOT and will total approximately $3.6 million dollars in this grant cycle. Municipalities will submit reimbursement requests directly to AOT for work completed, and AOT will reimburse up to 80% of the municipality’s documented construction expenses, including in-kind support, for BMPs on hydrologically connected roads.