Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections today announced the death of an incarcerated individual at the maximum-security Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP) in Eddyville, Kentucky. Gary Schaefer, 72, of Springfield, Vermont, was lodged at the KSP in May of 1985 to serve his sentence under the terms of the U.S. Interstate Corrections Compact (ICC). Vermont DOC houses a small number of incarcerated individuals in other jurisdictions through the ICC in rare instances requiring higher levels of security or protection. 

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced on Monday that United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest sent a letter to all skilled nursing facilities in Vermont warning that refusing to provide care for persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will enforce these federal civil rights protections.

Vermont Business Magazine Charlotte, Vermont-based Junapr has been recognized among the best and most innovative PR firms in the US, securing a spot on the prestigious PR News 2024 Agency Elite Top 100 list. This marks the third consecutive year that Junapr has been honored on this elite list. PRNEWS, the communication industry’s go-to source for business intelligence, recognition and peer-to-peer networking, has unveiled its 2024 Agency Elite Top 100. Each year, an exclusive group of agencies are selected to represent the best and brightest firms in PR and Communications.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Safety is mourning the loss of Forensic Laboratory employee Josephine “JoBeth” Buckley, who was killed in a car crash last week in Bolton. Buckley, known as “JB” to friends and co-workers, was employed as a forensic chemist specializing in DNA and serology at the Waterbury lab, which provides services to the entirety of Vermont’s criminal justice system. Buckley, 34, of Essex died Wednesday morning, November 22, after her car went off the road in Bolton as she drove to work and was struck by another vehicle.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is warning the public about scam phone calls in which the caller is purporting to be a member of the Vermont State Police. Reports to the state police indicate the imposter tells the recipient of the call that his or her identity has been compromised. The number that appears on Caller ID is the main line for the state police’s Westminster Barracks, although the calls are not originating from this location. These calls are not from the Vermont State Police. If anyone receives such a call, they should hang up or not call back at the number provided, and instead telephone their local VSP barracks to confirm the authenticity of the message. 

Vermont Business Magazine Some Vermont Electric Co-op members may be without power into tomorrow as crews continue to assess and repair damage after a big slug of heavy, wet snow blanketed the region last night. “These outages are widespread and because field conditions are tough, restoration for some areas is taking time,” said Jake Brown, VEC Energy Services Planner. VEC members who still do not have power this evening and do not have an Estimated Time of Restoration assigned to their service should expect to not have power overnight and should plan accordingly.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger hosted a press conference to address the investigation into the shooting of three Palestinian students Saturday night in Burlington and to announce the subsequent arrest and arraignment of the suspected shooter Jason Eaton. Present for the press conference were Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad, two uncles of the victims Rich Price and Radi Tamimi, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, United States Attorney for the District of Vermont Nikolas Kerest, and representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The alleged shooter, Jason J. Eaton has now been arraigned and charged with triple attempted murder, charges that carry the potential for life sentences. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.43 per gallon, down 2.8 cents per gallon from last week's $3.46/g, according to GasBuddy. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.12/g while the highest was $3.59/g, a difference of 47.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 5.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.21/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the agency is making investments in 185 projects worth nearly $196 million to create new and better market opportunities for producers and entrepreneurs across the country. The funding includes $2,247,000 for Vermont and New Hampshire businesses through Value Added Producer Grants, a Rural Business Development Grant and Business & Industry Loan Guarantee. Funding includes $250,000 Value Added Producer Grants for three farms in Vermont and one in New Hampshire; and a $1.2 million Business & Industry Loan Guarantee to finance a 788 kW solar array farm in Georgia, Vermont. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and part of POWDR – an adventure lifestyle company – hosted the women’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup for the seventh time over Thanksgiving Weekend. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami won the giant slalom under cold and sunny skies on Saturday with Mikaela Shiffrin rounding out the podium in third. On Sunday, the crowd roared as Mikaela Shiffrin won her sixth slalom title at Killington and the 90th Audi FIS Ski World Cup of her career. The crowds totaling 34,000 over the weekend began arriving on Friday for the athlete bib presentation and fireworks display, and filled the Grandstands, vendor village and Great Gulf LiveKillington.com VIP tent both Saturday and Sunday as 100 of the fastest female alpine ski racers from 20 different countries descended Superstar.

by Joan Goldstein, Commissioner, Department of Economic Development As the temperature starts to tumble, we at the Department of Economic Development (DED) are still mindful of the damage created by our summer storms.  That’s why Governor Scott announced a holiday push to raise an additional $1,000,000 dollars for flood relief from sales of ‘Vermont Strong’ license plates and socks. Proceeds will benefit individuals via the Vermont Community Foundation and the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP) will distribute funds to businesses, nonprofits, and landlords. The BEGAP portal closed in late October. We have enough applicants still in the queue to account for this new infusion of funding.  To date, BEGAP has helped 500 organizations.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets has announced that $7.5 million is available through the Agricultural Clean Water Initiative Program (AgCWIP) for local and regional partners to provide services for Vermont farms to support the improvement of water quality and climate change mitigation across the state of Vermont. The Ag-CWIP program supports activities in organizational capacity development, education and outreach, technical assistance, conservation practice surveys, and more. Eligible applicants include individuals, businesses, and organizations who work with farmers to support conservation efforts.