Current News

Buyers and Sellers need to be prepared for fast-paced market

Vermont Business Magazine The real estate market in northwest Vermont is recovering after the necessary shut down due to Covid-19. The stay at home order went into effect on March 25^th with restricted showings beginning again in late April.

New listings in April declined 45% and pending contracts declined nearly 50%. As a result, a steep decline in closed sales followed in May. Real estate transactions typically take 45-60 days to close – therefore the restricted activity in late March and April is seen in May numbers. Although new listings in May declined over the same period last year, it is an improvement over April. And June appears on par with 2019 numbers.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Technical College is embarking on an exciting collaborative process to assist in the development of a plan to transform its agriculture and food systems educational programming. The nine-month re-visioning and transformational process, led by a volunteer steering committee, will develop a business plan for the operations and delivery of experiential education.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Transportation (AOT) today announced the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded federal funds to Vermont for the purchase of electric public transit vehicles through the Low or No Emission Program. The FTA will provide $793,420, which will cover 80% of the cost of four vehicles, bringing Vermont’s total number of electric public transit vehicles to 12. Green Mountain Express in Bennington and Rural Community Transportation in Lyndonville will each receive two vehicles. AOT will use the funds to purchase four "cutaway" vehicles, which are smaller than standard city buses and similar to large vans.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce today announced twenty K-6 students who were selected as contest winners for their completion of the Treasurer’s Reading is an Investment financial education program. Despite the onset of COVID-19 and school disruptions, Vermont teachers worked closely with the Treasurer’s Office to ensure more than 4,500 students completed Reading is an Investment this academic year.

Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan As the Vermont Senate considers criminal justice reform measures, the Senate Government Operations Committee has compiled a list of potential measures to consider. My office is expected to testify on these measures tomorrow in the Committee. We will testify that it is time for Vermont to act.

Vermont Business Magazine The Health Department continues to work with Winooski and Burlington city officials and community partners to test residents and trace contacts in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. As of Wednesday evening, a total of 78 cases are associated with the outbreak. About 80% of cases are in Winooski. Most of the rest are in nearby Burlington, with a small number elsewhere in Chittenden County. There have been no deaths associated with the outbreak. Overall statewide, there were 16 new cases for 1,110 total, only three hospitalized and deaths are holding at 55, which they have been for two weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine High percentages of Vermonters agree with the social distancing measures put in place by the state in response to the coronavirus pandemic and have complied with them, according to a new survey. But their attitudes and actions, while protecting their health, have come at a significant economic cost, especially for low income Vermonters, one of several ways in which poorer Vermonters have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Vermont University will begin the fall semester on Tuesday, August 18, one week earlier than planned, and end early with residential students returning home for Thanksgiving break and remote exams to complete the semester. This change to the academic calendar will best position NVU and its students, employees, and communities—in the event of an increase in COVID-19 cases or another wave in the fall.

Vermont Business Magazine A group of 25 educators from across the state issued a comprehensive list of requirements that must be met before we can safely welcome Vermont’s students back to class. The Vermont-NEA Task Force on School Reopening met for the first time this week, outlining the extensive list of issues that must be addressed as we contemplate a return to in-person instruction in the fall. The Vermont-NEA is the state's largest teachers union.

Vermont Business Magazine Law enforcement and public safety leaders from across Vermont are presenting to the Legislature a draft set of action items and reforms intended to modernize policing in the state. The 10-point proposal, intended as a starting point for the conversation, was developed by the Vermont Department of Public Safety, the Vermont State Police, the Office of the Vermont Attorney General, the Vermont Association of Chiefs of Police, the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council and the Vermont Sheriffs’ Association in consultation with community representatives of the Vermont State Police Fair & Impartial Policing Committee. The recommendations will move forward at the pace that the Legislature and the community desires and with their input.

Vermont Business Magazine ​The recipients of Brownfields RLF funding in Vermont are the Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development ($300,000), the Northwest Regional Planning Commission ($180,000), and the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission ($180,000). The supplemental funds will be used to continue their progress in reusing vacant and abandoned properties and turning them into community assets such as housing, recreation and open space, health facilities, social services, and commerce opportunities.

LedgEnd Farm Protects Productive Middlebury Farmland. Courtesy Photo of Fallow Deer.

Vermont Business Magazine Hank Dimuzio and Rhonda Roberts of LedgEnd Farm worked with the Vermont Land Trust to conserve 132 acres of their deer farm on Munger Street. Theirs is the largest deer farm in the state with over 400 animals.

Hank didn’t follow a typical path to become a farmer. For over 20 years he built up his deer farm business while working as an emergency room physician at Rutland Regional Medical Center. In 2016, he retired from the hospital to pursue farming full time.

The deer at LedgEnd Farm are Fallow deer, which originate in Europe. They are one of four deer species that can be raised in Vermont, the others being Red Deer, Elk and Reindeer.

“Fallow deer are a good choice for Vermont, as their native habitat is very similar to this state. They are disease resistant and very beautiful in my opinion,” says Hank.