Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Eva P. Vekos, 54, was today arraigned in Vermont Superior Court, Addison Criminal Division, with the crime of Driving While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor (DUI). The charge Ms. Vekos faces is the result of an incident that occurred on January 25, 2024, shortly after 8:00 p.m. in Bridport, Vermont. According to affidavits of probable cause authored by multiple Vermont State Police (VSP) troopers, Ms. Vekos, who currently serves as the Addison County State’s Attorney, drove to a potential crime scene where she met with VSP detectives. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on February 9, 2024, George Casey, 33, of Colchester, Vermont, was sentenced in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to serve 262 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of production of child pornography (also known as child sexual abuse material, or CSAM), and one count of possession of CSAM. Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also ordered Casey to serve a 15-year term of supervised release.

Vermont Business Magazine As the traditional May 1st “college decision day” approaches, education leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, along with 106 of their colleagues, today wrote to Secretary Miguel Cardona of the U.S. Department of Education to call on the department to urgently address the operational issues with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form that impacts millions of students across the country. The letter was led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member House Committee on Education & the Workforce.

The Vermont State Police investigation into the death of 44-year-old Stephen Nuciolo Sr. remains active and ongoing. Investigators have been informed by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. The manner of death is listed as pending further investigation. This includes toxicology testing, which can take a matter of weeks to months to complete. Nuciolo Sr was found deceased the morning of January 24 inside his home in Bridport.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Women’s Fund has announce that Emily Bush has been hired as executive director of the statewide philanthropic resource for women and girls. Bush brings 16 years of experience working in development with a focus on creating opportunities for women and girls. She has expertise in leadership and fundraising and has worked for nonprofit organizations including The Clinton Foundation, Girls Who Code, and Moms First. She takes the helm from Meg Smith, outgoing director, who led the fund for a decade. 

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets Are you an early childhood educator or after school program looking for creative ways to support local farms and promote food access or nutrition education for the children and families you serve? The VAAFM Farm to School and Early Childhood Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Grant will partially reimburse childcare providers or after school programs for CSA shares purchased from Vermont farms or farm/producer collaboratives. The maximum grant award for this funding opportunity is $1,500. CSA Grants will reimburse programs for 65-80% of the cost of a summer and/or fall CSA share.

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Last week, the policy committees heard from organizations making their cases for funding. VAHHS put a twist on this process by advocating not for themselves, but for strengthening our post-acute care system, including skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies. In our letter to the House Human Services, House Health Care, and House Appropriations Committees, VAHHS noted that as of February 6th there were 142 individuals waiting to be discharged from hospitals and 28 patients waiting for beds in emergency departments. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.19 per gallon, down 0.7 cents per gallon from last week's $3.20/g, as prices in Vermont, and even across the US, have stubbornly resisted volatility. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.94/g while the highest was $3.39/g, a difference of 45.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 5.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.17/g today. 

by Lauryn Katz, Community News Service Ashley Swainbank and her mother, Nancy Kane, speak fondly of Petunia, the little Jersey heifer who made it after the family, owners of Kane’s Scenic River Farms in Sheldon, fought for two weeks to save her life. They remember Pepper, too, Swainbank’s favorite calf. The pair of cows were two of 75 who died after a fire broke out the morning of Jan. 20 and turned a 400-foot-long barn, once home to about 500 replacement heifers, into a pile of rubble and ash. When Swainbank rushed that morning to open the frozen barn doors, she feared it was a bad idea. “We’re never catching them again,” she thought. 

Vermont Business Magazine On February 13, nearly 200 students from 17 Vermont high schools representing the state’s youth-led movements to reduce youth vaping and smoking prevalence – Our Voices Xposed (OVX) and Vermont Kids Against Tobacco (VKAT) – will march with supporters and community partners through downtown Montpelier to the Statehouse for a rally against the dangers of youth vaping and tobacco use.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine Lindsay DesLauriers’s story is a family story as much as it is a business story. The beloved Bolton Valley Ski Resort, of which she is CEO and president, was founded and developed by her father, Ralph DesLauriers, in the 1960s on land owned by his farmer father. Just 30 minutes from Burlington, the idea was to have a workingman’s resort where people could ski after work. Its night skiing is still famous today. And in an era of consolidated ski resorts owned by out-of-state corporations, a family-run ski resort is a treasured rarity. Growing up on the mountain. DesLauriers, 44, does not remember a time when she couldn’t ski.

by Holly Sullivan, Community News Service Laura Derriendinger wants to protect Vermont children from social media, or as she defined it to Senate education committee members Jan. 26, “a toxic rabbit hole.” S.284, which would dramatically limit the use of electronic devices, digital platforms and more in all Vermont schools. The bill has drawn testimony across several committee meetings in recent weeks, including from high-profile voices such as Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark. If passed, the bill would require schools to create policies banning student use of personal smart devices and cellphones, prohibit teachers and school officials from using social media in lessons or for announcements and allow students to opt out of using electronic devices, the internet and more. The latter policies would be developed by districts and require schools to provide students alternative activities or instruction methods.