Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) released the following statement on the U.S. Secretary of State’s announcement of a major arms sale to Israel this week: “For the second time in a matter of weeks, the Secretary of State has approved the sale of tens of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition to Israel, by circumventing Congress’s right of prior review. This type of heavy ammunition has been used to devastating effect in Gaza, contributing to the death and injury of countless civilians and the displacement of an estimated 2 million people who are facing daily bombardment without access to adequate food, water, shelter, or medical care."

by Camila Van Order González, Community News Service Nathan Bean, Tsuki Puddicombe and Bailey Lefebvre had only briefly seen each other in their gyms before the Covid-19 lockdowns. When facilities closed, they were forced to find alternative ways to work out. They found themselves parallel to each other practicing the aerobatic sport of hopping ledges, scaling walls and running roofs. Buds of friendship blossomed. “We got lucky that we found each other,” said Puddicombe, a 32-year-old Stowe resident. “Because of the pandemic, everyone was bored, trying to find things to do outside.” In the years since, their informal group has become a full-fledged crew of parkour practitioners. 

by Heather Smires and Taylor Brink from ABC & LOL Child Care Center & Preschool in St Johnsbury On behalf of every early childhood educator who has worked so hard over the years to stay in the field when wages were low, stress was high, wait lists were long, and patience was short, we want to say thank you to lawmakers for stepping up and making the 2023 Child Care Bill a reality. We know there is more to do and there’s still a lot of hard work ahead to fully solve the child care crisis, but we are already seeing positive impacts from this legislation and our state’s children, families, and economy will be so much stronger for it.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Vermont Pay for Performance Program (VPFP) provides performance-based payments to Vermont farmers for reducing phosphorus losses from their agricultural fields. Applications are open January 2nd through January 31st.  To be eligible for the program, farms must manage crop, hay and/or pastureland, ensure their farm business is registered with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), have an up-to-date Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) that meets the Required Agricultural Practices for their farm size, and have updated maps for their fields.

by Representative Seth Bongartz, et al A recent commentary by Representatives Rebecca Holcombe of Norwich, Erin Brady of Williston and Monique Priestley of Bradford, while making a few fair points about the rising cost of education, unfortunately ended with inflammatory rhetoric about independent schools and the Vermont style of school choice that has provided amazing opportunities for generations of students in rural Vermont. The thrust of this argument is that students from rural parts of Vermont are driving up taxes because they attend independent schools. These three representatives then assert that our students are served by an “uncontrolled, poorly regulated” voucher system. We are compelled to set the record straight. First, Vermont does not have an education voucher system.

Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies From an Xbox handle to a cutting-edge trust-marketing platform, the word “Widewail” has played a pivotal role in shaping Matt Murray's journey. Hear Matt's inspiring story as he shares how his visionary company is revolutionizing the landscape of customer reviews, creating a new era of impactful feedback.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor has announced an increase to the State’s minimum wage. Beginning January 1, 2024, the State’s minimum wage will become $13.67 per hour. This is an increase of $0.49 from the current minimum wage of $13.18. This annual adjustment also impacts the minimum wage for tipped employees. The Basic Tipped Wage Rate for service, or “tipped employees,” equals 50% of the full minimum wage. On January 1, 2024, the tipped minimum wage will increase from $6.59 to $6.84 per hour. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Emergency Eats (VEE) program distributed over 49,000 meals made by local restaurants to flood-impacted Vermonters in need between August 7 and November 4, 2023. Based on the successful “three-pillar” VEE model, Vermont Emergency Eats meals were made by thirty local restaurants using an average of 25% Vermont ingredients and received by Vermonters whose food security was negatively impacted by the summer flooding. The initial $700,000 invested in the program by the state catalyzed an additional $1,120,000 recirculated by restaurants and farmers into local spending on labor and ingredients, along with a further $88,000 in private dollars invested in Vermont-owned farms and restaurants on flood recovery, business infrastructure, and equipment. 

Vermont Business Magazine NEK Broadband has announced that it has added its fiber optic internet service to parts of Danville, Kirby, Lyndon, St. Johnsbury, Walden and Wheelock. More than 700 new addresses are part of this latest expansion to underserved communities in the Northeast Kingdom, bringing the total addresses with service to over 2,100. New service has already begun in some towns and will continue to expand over the next few weeks. Local residents can find out if they are part of this expansion by going to https://get.nekbroadband.org/. Residents who do not have access can also pre-order service there. High-speed internet via NEK Broadband is carried through fiber optic cable with speed levels from 50Mbps to a Gigabyte. There are no data caps and uploading is as fast as downloading.

Vermont Business Magazine Starting January 1, 2024, Green Mountain Power (GMP) will continue its popular rebate programs to help customers save when they switch from fossil fuels to clean electricity for driving, heating and cooling, yard care and more. All GMP’s programs are designed to help cut costs for all GMP customers while also cutting carbon emissions. Also starting in January, GMP is updating its heat pump program to expand access to the super-efficient heating and cooling technology by more than doubling its enhanced, post-purchase heat pump rebate for income-eligible customers to $2,000. It had been $600. To qualify, customers must have a household income at or below 80% of area median income (AMI). 

Vermont State Police An autopsy was performed Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. The deceased man is identified as 58-year-old Donald Coull, a resident of the home at 107 Lawson Rd. where this incident occurred. The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was a stab wound of the chest. A ruling on the manner of death is pending further investigation and toxicology testing, which can take from several weeks to several months. The injured man is identified as Trevor Stone, 39, a resident of a camper on the property. He was treated at North Country Hospital for a laceration/stab wound and subsequently released.

Vermont Business Magazine For years, Diane Imrie and a group of sustainability-minded professionals and clinicians across the University of Vermont Medical Center have worked to find spaces in health care for concepts like “sustainability” and “climate-friendly.” Now, the organization is routinely honored as a health care leader for embracing the connection between patient care, health, and conscientious environmental stewardship.