Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich Solar has received a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) through the Vermont Public Utility Commission for a 500 kW AC solar array in Jamaica, VT. The ground-mounted solar panels will generate enough renewable clean energy to power approximately 130 homes per year, and offset the carbon emission equivalent of almost 150 cars per year. The solar array site is a depleted gravel/sand extraction area. The Jamaica Selectboard, Planning Commission, and the Windham Regional Planning Commission all designated the location as a preferred site. The array will occupy roughly 3-4 acres of a larger parcel which also hosts several homes.

Vermont Business Magazine Celebrating its 40^th anniversary, outdoor headwear and accessories brand, Turtle Fur, is excited to announce that as of December 21^st, 2022, they have officially become a Certified B Corporation™ (B Corp™), joining a community of leaders committed to doing business for good. To achieve B Corp certification, Turtle Fur underwent a lengthy review of their business practices and operations, measuring the effect those have on their people, their community, and the environment. The results are scored, and companies must meet a minimum score to achieve certification. Becoming B Corp certified means that a company is committed to using business as a force for positive change.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife (Department), Hermit Woods Trailbuilders and the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) teamed up this past fall to implement a series of stewardship projects that will provide enhanced access to Otter Creek. The Department is leading an effort to create a paddling trail along most of the length of Otter Creek, a 112-mile river that runs through Rutland and Addison counties before flowing into Lake Champlain. The recent stewardship work represents the early stages of this project, which emphasizes improving access for paddlers and anglers.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announces $200,000 in grant funds to strengthen Vermont’s specialty crop industries and producer associations. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture crops (including honey, hops, maple syrup and mushrooms), and nursery crops (including Christmas trees and floriculture). Interested applicants should apply by February 28, 2023 at 11:59 PM.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50-years of experience accelerating the adoption of innovative electrical technologies based in Williston, announced Tuesday that it was awarded two new contracts valued at nearly $6 million combined to implement renewable energy solutions for community solar projects in Northern New England.

Vermont Business Magazine The ACLU filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of John Chinnici, who was unlawfully arrested, interrogated, and searched by Bennington police after they repeatedly pressured multiple witnesses and suspects to name Mr. Chinnici as an accomplice in a January 2016 armed robbery, despite the fact that Mr. Chinnici did not match witness descriptions and no other evidence connected him to the crime. While still trying to get Mr. Chinnici named as an accomplice, Bennington police arrested Mr. Chinnici without probable cause, and went on to make multiple misrepresentations in their interviews with Mr. Chinnici and in their application for a warrant to search his phone. Mr. Chinnici was prosecuted based on evidence arising from these unlawful actions, though his resulting conviction was eventually thrown out. Mr. Chinnici now asserts that BPD officials and the Town of Bennington violated his federal and state constitutional rights.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Co-op (VEC) is seeking petitions from eligible candidates for three board of directors’ seats that are up for election in May. In order to run for the board, a candidate must be a VEC member and may not be employed by the cooperative. Candidates must have a principal residence within VEC service territory and in the district they are running to represent. Directors are elected to serve four-year terms. The board generally meets in the afternoon on the last Tuesday of each month, either at VEC's main office in Johnson or virtually via teleconference.

The Vermont State Police on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, arrested four suspects in connection with the fatal shooting last month of Israel Jimenez Lugo, 49, at the St. Johnsbury apartment house where he lived. VSP was assisted by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations during the arrests. According to court papers prepared by investigators, the four suspects are alleged to have been involved with buying and selling illegal drugs and participated in a plan to rob Jimenez Lugo. During the commission of the robbery, which took place overnight Dec. 13-14, 2022, Rafael Rodriguez fatally shot Jimenez Lugo.

Vermont Business Magazine If you are 12 to 14 years old and want to learn about Vermont's wildlife and gain outdoor skills, consider attending one of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department's Green Mountain Conservation Camps this summer. If you are a GMCC alum,16 or younger, consider coming back for another summer. The one-week camp programs are held at Lake Bomoseen in Castleton and Buck Lake in Woodbury. Campers participate in hands-on learning about fish and wildlife conservation, ecology, forestry, orienteering, safe firearm and archery techniques, swimming, canoeing, fishing and more. Natural resource professionals come to the camp to share information on their programs and take campers out for field activities.

Senator Bernie Sanders As we enter the new year, as Congress begins its legislative session next week, and as we have just finished celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the great fighters for justice in our nation’s history, it is appropriate that we ask two very simple questions. One: What is everyday life like today for the vast majority of our people – the working class of this country, the middle class and lower income Americans? What are the pains, struggles, and the hopes that they are striving for? And secondly, what is Congress going to do to improve life for working families? In the year 2023, amidst an explosion of technology, massive wealth creation and transformational economic change, how can we make certain that all Americans have the decent standard of living to which they are entitled? Is this a utopian idea? Is this pie in the sky or can we actually accomplish it? I think we can.