Current News

by John Boutin, Vermont Business Magazine VermontBiz and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce the winner of the prestigious and highly anticipated Outstanding Business of the Year Award 2023, this year’s winner is Bourne’s Energy. The Award will be presented to Bourne’s Energy at the opening session of the Vermont Economic Conference on January 30th at the UVM Dudley Davis Center. Bourne’s Energy is an independent, local, family-owned-and-operated energy business that has been around for 75 years. Bourne’s Energy is considered a leading-edge innovator when it comes to the environment and its future. 

Vermont Business Magazine Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC announced today that Attorney William J. Dodge has been elected to serve as the firm’s Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer.  He replaces Peter B. Kunin, who served as DRM’s Managing Partner for the past six years. Although a new role for Will, his selection as Managing Partner reflects a continued progression of his leadership responsibilities at DRM.  He has previously served as Deputy Managing Partner and is a former chair of the firm’s Regulated Entities Group. Dodge then appointed Timothy E. Copeland, Jr. to serve as deputy managing partner.  Copeland, a Labor & Employment attorney, has been with the firm since 1998. 

Vermont Chamber “The Vermont business community is heartened by Governor Phil Scott’s reaffirmed commitment to the economic vitality of Vermont. The Governor understands that business success is crucial to the well-being of all Vermonters. Over the past decade, the Vermont Chamber has called attention to our severe demographic challenges, and the Governor shares our deep concern for the accumulating workforce impacts."

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Thursday delivered his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly, opening his eighth legislative session as governor. The governor outlined challenges and opportunities for the state in the coming year. And having already started working with legislators on key initiatives, he dedicated his address to highlighting why it is so critical for them to prioritize three key issues: public safety, affordability, and housing. “Public safety, affordability, and housing are the issues that demand our immediate attention because Vermonters are seeing, feeling, and living them every single day. And because these issues are critical to reversing our demographic trends,” Scott said. 

Vermont Business Magazine US Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Peter Welch (D- Vermont) today announced the seven members of the Vermont Judicial Nomination Advisory Panel, formed to help the Senators review applications submitted for Vermont’s upcoming judicial vacancy. That vacancy is created by the impending retirement of US District Court Chief Judge Geoffrey Crawford. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the House overrode Governor Scott’s veto of H.158, known as the bottle bill, on a multi-partisan vote of 112 to 32. With 100 votes needed for an override, the bill that was vetoed last year will become law if the Senate follows suit. The bill expands the 5-cent refund to water and sports drink bottles and puts a 15-cent deposit on wine bottles. The governor maintained that the bill adds cost and complication and that it is not necessary with the success of the "zero-sort" recycling program. 

by Charlotte Oliver, Community News Service After Tate Holtzman went missing at a Smugglers’ Notch Resort day camp last summer, staff discovered a dark, water-filled hole about two feet across in the grass near a picnic table. The realization dawned on them. Lifeguards arrived. Staff eventually rescued the 3-year-old from the pitch-black hole — a bottleneck entrance to an underground water storage tank that’s 12 by 6 by 6 feet — that afternoon, July 6, 2023. Holtzman died days later in the hospital, his death ruled a drowning. That tank entrance was supposed to be clearly marked with danger signs and have a secure cover held shut with metal bolts — but the Cambridge resort failed on both fronts, according to a Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation that resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in fines this past fall. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.27 per gallon, down 2 cents/g from last week. They're down 16 cents/g from last month and down 13 cents/g from the same time last year. The lowest price in the state is $2.89/g in Brattleboro and Rutland, while the highest is $3.99/g in Wolcott, according to GasBuddy. The near future of gasoline prices is uncertain. International pressures keep mounting, from the Middle East to Ukraine to the recent shipping crisis in the Red Sea, all of which could stymie what should be a decline in gasoline prices. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.07/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine As the new year begins, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is offering a few tips on what not to flush down toilets and how to better dispose of that waste. “Everything we flush – except water – is waste that needs to be dealt with to prevent pollution,” said Wastewater Management Program Manager Amy Polaczyk. “Knowing where and how to best dispose of waste can cut wastewater treatment costs, protect our health, and keep our environment clean.” Most waste should not be flushed. That includes tissues, cotton swabs, floss, diapers, feminine hygiene products, coffee grounds, cat litter, wipes, excess household cleaners, cigarette butts, and medications.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union proudly announces the success of its dual initiatives: the 14th Annual Feed Your Neighbor Food Drive, which took place in November, and the 10th Annual Feed a Family Campaign, which happened in December. The Feed Your Neighbor food drive, a collaborative effort with local radio stations 106.7 WIZN, 99.9 The BUZZ, Costco, and Hannaford, collected more than 4,000 meals to aid local residents in partnership with Feeding Chittenden and the Joint Council for Economic Opportunity. The Feed a Family campaign, in collaboration with the Vermont Foodbank, gathered 2,306 pounds of food and over $1,400 in cash donations at its December 14 event at City Market in Burlington's South End.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is pleased to announce that a fourth and fifth lake have achieved the Gold Lake Wise Award. Lake Raponda in Wilmington and Lake Morey in Fairlee join Echo Lake, Seymour Lake, and Lake Iroquois in reaching this accomplishment. The Gold Lake Wise Award is granted to lake associations when 15% of the properties surrounding a lake have received an individual Lake Wise Award. A Lake Wise Award is given to individual lakeshore property owners who participate in the voluntary Lake Wise Program to improve stormwater management and prevent erosion. Their properties must meet a series of criteria that indicate it is well managed, uses Shoreland Best Management Practices, and is maintained to care for the lake.

by Lisa C Bailey, University of Vermont UVM’s Center for Community News (CCN) is helping breathe new life into local news outlets across the country. Inspired by the success of UVM’s Community News Service (CNS), which matches students with local news outlets in Vermont to provide reporting, CCN already supports around 170 partnerships between universities and local news organizations across the United States—and it’s only in its second year of existence. There are 1,316 U.S. campuses located in or adjacent to a county with a “news desert” where there’s just one news outlet—or none at all.