Current News

by Holly Sullivan, Community News Service Textile artists and farmers shared woven wares Sunday as dozens turned out for Fiber Fair in Winooski. The event, held at the Winooski Farmers Market, celebrated Winooski’s mill town history, providing a space for community members to learn about and purchase handmade goods that were once a city staple. The Heritage Winooski Mill Museum next door, which organized the fair, brimmed with posters, story quilts, blankets and more as exhibits traced the threads between modern Winooski and its history as a wool manufacturing hub. 

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (Nasdaq: CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company, recently honored three organizations for their leadership in sustainability as part of Casella’s annual Sustainability Leadership Awards. The Casella Sustainability Leadership Awards recognize partners and customers who best exemplify what we can achieve when we work together to reduce waste, increase recycling, and advance the circular economy. Each year, winners are selected from an inspiring slate of nominees, including municipalities, businesses, manufacturers, and higher education and healthcare institutions.

Vermont Business Magazine The former Price Chopper supermarket located at 168 Ames Dr. in Barre, VT has completed its conversion into Vermont’s newest Market 32. The over 59,000 square foot store becomes the 50th Market 32-branded location in the chain. The Price Chopper store closed at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 5 for the finishing touches to be applied. The newly renovated Market 32 reopened at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, September 6, to a distinctively modern look and feel marked by open spaces, soft earth tone décor, product-focused displays and murals, and improved lighting. The brand emphasizes convenient, ready-to-eat foods; fresh, handcrafted, and locally grown, produced, and manufactured products; and intuitive product adjacencies (e.g., greeting cards next to the floral department; craft beer next to salty snacks). 

Vermont Business Magazine Barr Hill Gin, America's most awarded gin and creator of Landcrafted spirits, announces its 7th Annual Bee's Knees Week, set for September 20-29, 2024. This initiative combines cocktail culture with conservation, aiming to protect vital pollinator habitats across the United States. As a 1% for the Planet partner, Barr Hill will provide funds to 1% for the Planet-approved partners on outcomes that benefit pollinators and communities. Since its inception, Bee's Knees Week has helped create more than 700,000 square feet of pollinator habitat. This year, Barr Hill sets an ambitious goal: to reach 1 million square feet pledged and planted by the end of the event.  

Vermont Business Magazine Price Chopper/Market 32 customers and teammates raised $113,855.80 during May and June for its annual “Fill A Glass with Hope/Fill A Plate with Promise” campaign in partnership with the Northeast American Dairy Association, Garelick Farms, and local food banks. During this campaign, customers were encouraged to round up their change at the register. Combined with a $10,000 corporate match, the total gift of $123,855.80 helps provide local food banks with the means to purchase milk and other nutritious foods for the families they serve.  Based on contributions throughout the state, Vermont Food Bank will receive $7,442.19.

Vermont Business Magazine Elli Parr LLC, the celebrated Vermont-based jewelry brand, is thrilled to announce the grand opening of its new flagship store & headquarters in South Burlington, VT this October. This flagship location represents an expansion for the brand and promises to be a vibrant addition to the local community. The new store, located at 41 IDX Dr. South Burlington VT [formerly the space occupied by Ideal Weight Solutions] will be a one-stop destination for jewelry lovers, offering an extensive range of handcrafted jewelry pieces from Elli Parr alongside a curated selection of complimentary products from small, independent makers & brands specializing in accessories, beauty, and body products. 

Vermont Business Magazine Fidium Fiber has expanded its multi-gig speed fiber network, with service now available to more than 2,000 combined New Hampshire (Northumberland, Stark, and Stratford) and Vermont (Maidstone) homes and businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, in collaboration with Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott, released a PSA video today about voting access in Vermont. The three leaders created a video, with a shorter version shared on social media and a longer version posted on YouTube, that explains and reinforces Vermonters’ right to register and vote in the upcoming November 5th General Election. The YouTube video has subtitles accessible in many languages: viewers can click CC > Settings > Auto-translate for language options. 

Vermont Business Magazine After more than ten months of organizing, 79% of Support Staff at Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC)on Thursday voted yes (244-66) to formalize their union. Once the votes are certified, Support Staff will begin the process of bargaining their first contract with the CVMC administration. 

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth Loan Fund, a community development organization of Evernorth, has received a $10 million donation to support its efforts in financing affordable housing projects in Vermont. The donation comes from an anonymous Vermont philanthropic donor who shares Evernorth's commitment to creating vibrant, healthy communities through the development of affordable housing.  The funds are already supporting over 200 affordable homes under development in Putney, Waterbury, Berlin, West Rutland, Shelburne and Burlington. 

Public Assets Institute Vermonters have been understandably upset by the abrupt rise in their school taxes for fiscal 2025. Most of the complaints focus on the rise in spending, as does the response from policymakers. But taxpayers may also be affected by changes that make the funding system less fair. The Agency of Education presented some clear analyses last spring explaining the main reasons for the spending increase: rises in salaries and benefits in response to inflation; health insurance cost increases exceeding inflation; the expanding need for expensive mental health services for students; the loss of federal funds the schools received as part of the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). There are other reasons as well, related to fiscal decisions made in the past few years. The expenditures are critical for providing kids with a quality education. But knowing that doesn’t make the tax bumps easier to take. Even modest increases can be a problem if the costs, and who pays them, are not distributed fairly.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today announced the committee will move forward with its hearing on Steward Health Care’s disastrous bankruptcy, despite CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre’s refusal this week to comply with a bipartisan subpoena compelling his testimony. The committee will hear from patients, medical professionals, and community members whose lives have been impacted by Dr. de la Torre.