Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Harrel Keeling, 44, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced today for Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity
Theft. United States District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Keeling to a 44-month total term of imprisonment, followed by a 5-year total term of supervised release, and ordered Keeling to
pay $200,000 in restitution to the victim of his offense.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today joined a group of 15 attorneys general and New York City in a lawsuit to stop the Trump Administration from eliminating food assistance for nearly 700,000 Americans, including more than 200 Vermont households. The lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia, challenges a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that would limit states’ ability to extend benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT, beyond a three-month period for certain adults. The coalition asserts that the rule directly undermines Congress’ intent for the SNAP program, and that the USDA violated the federal rule-making process by not allowing for a meaningful opportunity to comment on the new rule. Attorney General Donovan and his counterparts are urging the Court to declare the rule unlawful and issue an injunction to prevent it from taking effect on April 1, 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) today introduced legislation to authorize the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). FEMP is currently charged with reducing energy use in federal buildings but has never received a formal authorization from Congress. The Welch-Kinzinger bill authorizes the program for five years, adds water use reduction to its mission, and sets ambitious goals for agencies to reduce water and energy use in federal facilities.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Brattleboro Alliance announced today the launch of their new six-month LOVE BRATTLEBORO VT marketing campaign to bring more visitors to this designated historic town with its eclectic shops and stunning location on the Connecticut River.

Vermont Business Magazine Dairy Air Wind, the last remaining wind energy project being developed in Vermont, today announced the ending of all development activities surrounding the project.In a statement issued Thursday, project partner David Blittersdorf cited a current political environment that is hostile to wind energy as the leading cause for this step. Dairy Air Wind was intended to be a single-turbine project sited in a cornfield on the Champney family’s 450-acre dairy farm in Holland, VT.

Vermont Business Magazine Tiny 'xenobots' assembled from cells promise advances from drug delivery to toxic waste clean-up.

AccuWeather Global Weather Center This past weekend's record warmth may seem like a distant memory by this upcoming weekend as forecasters are monitoring the potential for a major storm to develop and deliver widespread wintry precipitation -- and perhaps the biggest snowstorm of the season for some metropolitan areas. According to AccuWeather, Vermont could get up to a foot of snow across the state. It also could be very windy, again, on the leading edge of the storm. The storm is expected to arrive by Saturday afternoon and last until at least early Sunday.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Public Utility Commission issued a preliminary report addressing the question of how to deliver energy efficiency for all fuels. The report compares the success of the long-established, statewide efficiency programs for regulated fuels (electricity and natural gas) with the uncoordinated, inadequately funded efficiency approaches for unregulated fuels (fuel oil, propane, diesel, and gasoline).

PUC recommends that Vermont lawmakers begin to identify new program and funding options for those sectors that have not traditionally been subject to energy efficiency programs.

Compared to electricity, the transportation and heating sectors burn more energy, emit the most greenhouse gases, and cost Vermonters more of their energy budget.

Vermont Business Magazine After extensive investigation, modifications, and ongoing coordination with an advisory group of employees, the UVM Medical Center has begun working toward a phased re-opening of its operating rooms at the Fanny Allen campus in Colchester the week of January 27. While testing and monitoring did not determine a root cause of the two incidents that caused employees to seek medical attention late last year, input gathered from internal and external air quality consultants, the state of Vermont and an outside occupational health expert have confirmed that the area is safe for use.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Jennifer Harlow to become Orleans County sheriff, following Kirk Martin’s resignation last month. Harlow will be the only female sheriff in Vermont at the time of her appointment. Harlow has lived in Orleans County for the last 16 years. Since 2004, she has worked in the Newport Police Department, where she focused on preventing and investigating crimes against children, school safety, the opioid crisis, domestic violence and domestic violence related homicides. Additionally, she is a certified instructor for the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is staring at $4.5 billion in government employee retirement obligations because of historic underfunding of pension and healthcare plans and because of too-little commitment by state leaders to rectify the growing problem. For the first time, the state now has a negative net worth. Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable and Mark Crow, President of Tenth Crow Creative and Chair of the Pension Reform and Health Benefits Task Force, announced the release of its latest policy paper entitled, “Policy Options for Vermont State Employee and Teacher Pension and Health Care Retirement Systems.”