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Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Torrie Smith, 31, was sentenced to five years imprisonment by US District Court Judge William K Sessions III. Smith previously pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine. Judge Sessions also sentenced Smith to a four-year term of federal supervised release, which will begin after Smith completes his five-year prison term. At the time of his arrest, in April 2019, Smith resided in both Manchester, Vermont and Hartford Connecticut.

According to court records, on three separate instances, law enforcement seized significant quantities of drugs from cars in which Smith was either driving or was a passenger:

by John McClaughry Now, with the legislature overriding Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of the Global Warming Solutions Act, the new Vermont Climate Council is in business. It has eight ex officio members from the current administration, plus fifteen citizens chosen by the legislative leadership that engineered the veto override. Interestingly, three of the four legislative leaders who made those appointments will no longer be in state government.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont received the first 1,950 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning. This is the first portion of the 5,850 doses coming to Vermont this week. The State Vaccine Depot and the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington each received 975 doses at approximately 8 am today. The VDH also reported today that the novel coronavirus has resulted in 96 deaths and 5,857 infected, with 104 of those recorded today.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the arrival in Vermont of the first 1,950 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This is the first portion of the 5,850 doses coming to Vermont this week. The State Vaccine Depot and the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington each received 975 doses at approximately 8 am today. The doses were sent as part of the initial nationwide shipments that followed the Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine issued by the FDA on December 12.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, Vermont State Police, and the Burlington Police Department today announced the conclusion of their criminal investigation into the former St Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington. No charges will be brought involving the Orphanage, which closed in 1974. Due to the statutes of limitation, which limit the timeframe during which criminal charges can be brought by the state, only the crime of murder would have been prosecutable due to the passage of time since the events of the allegations. Sufficient evidence to support a murder charge was not found. This concludes an investigation that began in September of 2018. A nearly 300-page report describing the allegations, investigation, and the St. Joseph’s Orphanage Restorative Inquiry was released today.

Vermont State Police Investigators have developed additional information about this incident: Responding to a 911 call reporting the wrong-way driver on the interstate, Vermont State Police Trooper Ryan Miller stopped his fully marked state police Ford Explorer cruiser, with lights and siren activated, blocking part of the northbound travel lane of I-91 in the area of mile marker 16. The vehicle traveling south in the northbound lane subsequently struck the cruiser, which sustained only minor damage. Trooper Miller was uninjured. He then crossed to the southbound lanes and continued to follow the wrong-way driver on the other side of the highway.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that the State of Vermont was named the International Domicile of the Year by the European Captive Review. The award is given to the top captive insurance domicile in the world outside of the European Union that has outperformed competitors and demonstrated excellence in servicing the European captive insurance marketplace. Vermont received the recognition at a virtual awards ceremony hosted in late November by the Captive Review Magazine, a trade journal headquartered in London.

Vermont Business Magazine Today Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos announced the official results of the electoral college votes cast for United States President and Vice President by Vermont’s electors. The meeting of the electors was held at 10am in the House Chamber of the Vermont State House.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has awarded Rutland Town a 2021 Municipal Planning Grant (MPG) to develop plans for a Pocket Park near Mead (Center Rutland) Falls in Center Rutland. The grant will be used to survey and design walkways, a scenic overlook of the falls, parking and picnic areas, and access to fishing and kayaking opportunities on Otter Creek. It also will incorporate signage and links to the area’s rich historical past. The Town will contribute $1,500 as a match to the $13,500 state grant. The Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) will administer the grant.

Vermont Business Magazine A diverse group of more than 100 businesses and community organizations from across Vermont called on Vermont’s Governor to support the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI)— a regional policy initiative led by eleven northeast and mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia that would put a cap on emissions from our transportation-sector, require fossil fuel companies to pay for the carbon pollution produced from the fuel they sell via purchasing annual allowances, and reinvest the proceeds to help participating states adopt cleaner, healthier, and more equitable transportation solutions

Vermont Business Magazine Businesses who sell and/or market products using "local", or equivalent terms such as "made in Vermont", should be aware that the State of Vermont, Agency of Agriculture is updating its definition of these terms on January 1, 2021. The new definition differentiates food by category: raw agricultural products, processed foods, and unique food products. Each category has its own requirements to be considered local, including consideration of ingredients, manufacturing, and company headquarters for processed food items.

Vermont Business Magazine The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Vermont (SSN 792) is operating in the US 4th Fleet area of operations and conducted a brief stop for logistics in Rio de Janeiro December 10-15. Vermont is the newest submarine in the US Fleet and is visiting Brazil’s newest submarine base the Itaguaí naval base in the state of Rio de Janeiro.