Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce has announced the dates for the third annual Best of Vermont Summer Festival! This two-day event is scheduled for Saturday, August 26 from 12 noon - 7 pm and Sunday, August 27 from 10 am - 4 pm in Ludlow, Vermont. The event will take place at Okemo Field on Route 103 the use of which is generously donated again by Lead Sponsor Okemo Mountain/Vail Resorts.

This festival is a great opportunity for everyone including locals, new residents, second homeowners, and visitors to enjoy specialty foods; wine, spirits & brew tastings; artisan products; fine art; awesome live music; ag demos; children’s activities; and more! The Best of Vermont Summer Festival will be marketed throughout the Okemo Valley region, the state of Vermont, New England and the Northeast.

Leonine Public Affairs This week the Vermont House passed H.145, the FY2023 Budget Adjustment Act (BAA). While the House decided to fund the bulk of Governor Phil Scott’s proposals in BAA, there were significant differences in the funding levels for certain initiatives. The House added more than $80 million in funding to the governor’s proposal, mostly toward housing. Democrats on the House Appropriations committee and on the House floor argued that lower income and unhoused Vermonters urgently need housing assistance as the justification to appropriate tens of millions of dollars in additional funding. Republican members criticized the additional spending, saying it was not appropriate to increase funding for pandemic-era emergency programs slated to shut down in the coming months. Others criticized the spending in BAA, saying that it will require cutting important initiatives from the governor’s proposed FY2024 budget.

Vermont Business Magazine The past two winters have seen thousands of visitors attend Brattleboro’s Artful Ice Shanties exhibit, presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) and Retreat Farm. They saw ice shanties shaped like a giant iridescent fish, a black die with moon-shaped dots, a seascape with a three-dimensional octopus, a cockeyed castle, and more. The wild and whimsical Artful Ice Shanties are coming back for the third time, February 18–26, generously sponsored by Foard Panel, Brattleboro Subaru, and The Marina, and with grant support from the Vermont Arts Council.

Saint Michael's College Studio grand opening draws alumni media notables as panelists; Sutherland speaker Burnham relates racial violence of history to troubling present-time cases; Student researchers listed as co-authors on published paper in respected science journal; Model U.N. Club represents well at McGill conference in Montreal; Jibfest 2023: A big crowd of happy students having big fun watching snazzy snow tricks; Dykstra travels, translates, publishes, writes poems; Director says MOVE fully operational again.

Vermont Business Magazine Tony's Chocolonely, the chocolate-making impact company on a mission to end modern slavery and child labor in the chocolate industry, and Ben & Jerry's are celebrating their Chocolate Love A-Fair with two new chocolate bar flavors and one new ice cream pint. The launch celebrates values-led company, Ben & Jerry's, committing to the Tony's Open Chain initiative – announced last summer. Tony's two new chocolate bars are inspired by two of Ben & Jerry's irresistible classic flavors, Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Strawberry Cheesecake. The new Ben & Jerry's pint is inspired by Tony's Chocolonely's fan favorite bar: milk chocolate caramel sea salt.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the House gave final approval to H.145, the FY23 Budget Adjustment Act. This is an annual bill, passed midway through the fiscal year, that rebalances accounts and ensures that the state always maintains a balanced budget. Today’s final vote followed yesterday’s 107-33 party-line roll-call vote. The $8.3 billion Fiscal Year 2023 budget passed last spring would be adjusted up by $324 million under this plan; Governor Scott in his adjustment proposal presented in January sought to increase FY23 by $283 million.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported February 1, 2023, that COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations have risen over the last week. However, COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations increased to 48 last week. Total cases increased to 501. Total COVID-19 deaths in Vermont are 894, as of January 31. Of those, 707 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30. With no deaths in the last week and 17 so far this month, January is on pace to have the fewest COVID-related fatalities since the summer of 2022.

The Vermont Cannabis Control Board (CCB) is issuing a consumer protection warning for flower produced by Holland Cannabis (license number CLTV0057-01), due to pesticide contamination. The CCB received a report of an adverse health impact allegedly related to the smoking of an unregistered strain of Holland Cannabis flower. The CCB obtained a sample of this product from the complainant and other samples of Holland Cannabis flower from a retail establishment and has verified that samples of multiple strains of Holland Cannabis flower tested above action limits for the active ingredient myclobutanil, a chemical used as a fungicide.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation announce the approval of $56,905 for seven historic preservation projects through the Certified Local Government (CLG) program to support community-based preservation initiatives. A second round of grant funding available to the seventeen designated CLGs will be awarded in May 2023. Among the seven communities receiving funding are Hartford for the National Register of Historic Places nomination of Taft’s Flat; Norwich for the Jones Circle National Register Historic District nomination; and the Town of Stowe in partnership with the Stowe Electrical Department for the Moscow Mill Revitalization Plan.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), with branches in Southern Vermont, today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per common share to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 16, 2023, payable on March 2, 2023.