Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The 2024 Vermont Economic Conference, presented by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, will take place on January 30, 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM at the University of Vermont Dudley H. Davis Center in Burlington. Industry professionals, policymakers, business owners, and community members are encouraged to register to attend this premier economic event of the year. With workforce recruitment and retention a foundational concern for Vermont businesses, this year’s agenda will feature a lively panel discussion entitled “The Future of Work: How Immigration Shapes Vermont's Talent Landscape.” 

by Allie Stickney, Chair, UVM Health Network Board of Trustees I was frustrated and disappointed as I read Bill Schubart's latest of several pieces criticizing the University of Vermont Health Network, an organization I've been honored to serve for more than 10 years, most recently as Chair of the Board of Trustees. Bill perpetuates misguided criticism of our health system’s size and complexity, while ignoring the very real difference the people of the UVM Health Network make in our communities every day. By regional standards, the UVM Health Network is large. And, in order to attract skilled clinicians and leaders, it pays more than local not-for-profit organizations. The same was true decades ago when Bill chaired the Board of Fletcher Allen Health Care. Also true, however, is the critical and prominent role this organization plays as the safety net healthcare provider for our rural area. 

Vermont Business Magazine On December 5, 2023, ReArch in South Burlington sponsored the chartering ceremony of the newly chartered Vermont Chapter 395 of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). ReArch Company's Nicole Benton has been elected as the president of this Chapter. Nicole, along with her colleagues Heather Fontaine, Sarah LeClair, and Majken Poley, played a crucial role in establishing this chapter. Their hard work and dedication have paved the way for a more inclusive and empowering construction industry in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Widewail, the Burlington, Vermont-based leading customer review and reputation management solution, has released the 2023 Widewail Voice of the Customer Report, which studies the voice of today’s automotive customer by compiling U.S. new car dealerships' Google reviews from the first half of 2023. An analysis of 800,000 Google reviews from more than 16,000 new car dealerships found that 25% of customers who left a review after purchasing a car from a direct-to-consumer electric vehicle (EV) company, such as Tesla or Rivian, left a one-star review. 14% of customers who purchased an EV from a traditional car dealership left a one-star review. The auto industry average benchmark is dealerships having 7% of their reviews be one star, so the high volume of negative reviews raises concern about the experience of buying and owning an EV.

Vermont Business Magazine KeyBank Vermont has updated its leadership position. According to KeyBank, Vermont District President Joseph McGowan is departing KeyBank to pursue a new opportunity outside of the bank. According to a statement from the bank, a new market president will be announced once he or she is named. In the interim, Vermont’s Key Private Bank Market Leader Tony DiSotto will manage the market president responsibilities. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Nut Free Chocolates is marking a major milestone with innovations in the growing ‘Free From’ food category. The Vermont-based gourmet chocolate manufacturer just launched 100% natural and allergy friendly Hot Cocoa Bombs and is on target to become a 100% Egg Free manufacturer in 2024. 

Vermont Business Magazine The holiday season can be a joyous time of gatherings and celebrations — but can be dangerous for many Vermonters. That is because the holidays can bring extra stress and new incidents of domestic abuse. Now there's a new tool to help people escape abuse. Legal Services Vermont has launched an online guided interview that helps Vermonters prepare forms to ask for protection from abuse.

Vermont Business Magazine As the winter season approaches, bringing with it challenging weather conditions, the City of Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski, in collaboration with Bird and the Chittenden Area Transportation Management Associate (aka CATMA), are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all its residents and visitors. With this in mind, we wish to inform you of an important seasonal adjustment to our shared micromobility services.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger, Champlain Housing Trust (CHT), Evernorth, CityPlace Partners, and Cambrian Rise announced milestones on three significant Burlington affordable housing projects. Over the next 2-3 years these projects will create a total of more than 180 new permanently affordable homes in Burlington. The new milestones include: Mayor Weinberger is seeking City Council approval at the December 18 meeting of $1 million commitment of the City’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to Post Apartments, a 38-unit apartment building to be built on the current site of VFW Post 784. The project will also include a new home for the VFW, community space, and office spaces for Burlington’s Community Justice Center, and is expected to start construction in the spring of 2024.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) would like to remind all farm operations that the annual winter manure spreading ban begins today, December 15th. VAAFM is aware that many Vermonters experienced unprecedented rainfall this summer, and these conditions reduced manure spreading opportunities and stressed manure storage capacity for farms. The winter manure spreading ban is still in place, but farmers can seek exemptions for emergency situations occurring because of the historic wet weather Vermont experienced in 2023.

Vermont Business Magazine With nearly 19,000 people killed and more than 50,000 wounded in Gaza since October 7 – seventy percent of whom are women and children – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) Thursday introduced a resolution under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act to force a debate on the indiscriminate bombing being carried out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government. The Foreign Assistance Act prohibits security assistance to any government “which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” Section 502B(c) of this law allows Congress to request information on a country’s human rights practices – such requests are privileged, allowing the sponsor to force a floor vote on the requesting resolution. If the resolution passes, the Department of State must submit the requested report within 30 days, or all security assistance to the country in question is cut off. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Thursday issued the following statement after the White House announced that the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) would make “fair pricing” a standard part of contract negotiations for tests, treatments, and vaccines. In March, the HELP Committee held a hearing on Moderna’s decision to quadruple the price of the COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed through a partnership with the federal government.