Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The annual state-wide Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is underway in Vermont.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invites students from pre-K to 12th grade to create designs featuring ducks, swans, or geese in their natural habitats.  Designs are judged in four age categories, with awards for first, second, and third places and honorable mentions. Entries must be received by March 15th, 2024. The judging of the artwork will occur on March 28th, 2024 at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee, Vermont. 

Vermont Business Magazine As the year comes to a close, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is seeking annual reports on surface water use. Under the newly enacted Act 135 of 2022, any person withdrawing surface water must file an annual report with DEC by January 15, 2024. The purpose of Act 135 is to collect baseline data on the use of surface waters such as rivers, streams, brooks, creeks, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Vermonters can fill out an online form to register and report withdrawals of 10,000 gallons or more of surface water within 24 hours – or 150,000 gallons or more over 30 days.

Vermont Business Magazine Individuals in Vermont with complex care needs who struggled with in-state nursing facility placement will soon have another option in Vermont, subject to final state approval. The Department of Disabilities, Aging, & Independent Living (DAIL) issued a Request for Proposals in September 2022 for vendors interested in providing specialized care to Vermonters with complex care needs. Approximately 100 Vermonters are in hospitals, correctional facilities, or out-of-state facilities awaiting placement in a licensed nursing facility in Vermont. These individuals are currently unable to secure in-state placement due to their challenging and complex care needs and/or social or judicial history.

Vermont Business Magazine ZymoChem, creators of Carbon Conserving (C2) technology that converts renewable feedstocks into high-value materials in an environmentally sustainable fashion to replace petroleum-based ingredients in everyday consumer goods, has announced that it is the recipient of a $4.0 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). This funding is in support of the DOE’s Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap, which seeks to decarbonize the nation’s industrial sector via emission reductions and by positioning the U.S. industrial sector as an innovation leader globally.  Since its founding in 2015, ZymoChem has used their patented technologies to replace petroleum-based ingredients in items we use every day – from personal hygiene items to textiles – without compromising cost, performance, scale, or sustainability.  

Vermont Business Magazine Now in its second year, the McClure Foundation’s promise to all Vermont high school students in the classes of 2023-2026 of a free degree through the state’s Early College program is reinforcing that when college is affordable, young people enroll. More than 235 high school seniors from 90% of Vermont’s high schools and tech centers enrolled in Early College at the Community College of Vermont (CCV) this fall knowing they are eligible for a free degree. That number marks a 70% increase in CCV’s Early College enrollment since the Free Degree Promise was announced in April 2022 and includes nearly double the number of first-generation college students as well as increased participation among low-income students and students of color. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) and Breeze Airways, U.S.’ only NLCC, or “Nice Low-Cost Carrier, today announced new, nonstop service to Tampa International Airport (TPA) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) with Breeze Airways. Flights to Tampa will begin January 31, 2023 and flights to Orlando will begin February 14, 2023. The flights will be twice a week and year-round to both destinations.

Vermont Business Magazine Dairy processors across the Northeast are receiving an important investment intended to build resiliency and spur industry growth in our region. The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) announced today 35 businesses have been selected for over $12 million in awards through the Existing Dairy Processor Expansion Grant. With total funding of $12,287,001 across eight states, individual awards range from $25,852 to $1 million.  Those selected for awards represent processors of all sizes: from farmstead creameries to multi-state businesses and co-ops. 

Vermont Business Magazine On November 8, 2023, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont honored a number of individuals from a variety of law enforcement agencies at the US Attorney’s Office’s Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony. Individual investigators and officers from federal, state, and local agencies were nominated by US Attorney’s Office staff in a variety of categories for their outstanding work supporting the mission of this office and promoting public safety. 

Vermont Business Magazine November 8th is First Generation College Celebration day (FGCC), celebrated annually to commemorate the signing of the Higher Education Act (“HEA”) of 1965 by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson. This act created federal financial aid programs to fund students’ educations and made key investments in colleges and universities. Many of the HEA’s programs promote postsecondary access, retention and completion for today’s first-generation college students. For Vermont State University, this is a particularly important movement because nearly half of the students are the first in their families to attend college. 

Vermont Business Magazine In honor of Native American Heritage month, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, Vermont Evaporator Company is donating a portion of its sales to support indigenous peoples and causes for the sixth year in a row this November. This year, the company will be setting aside a portion of its November sales for a local nonprofit, Alnôbaiwi. In past years, Vermont Evaporator Company has supported a tribe's struggle to reestablish sovereignty over their ancestral lands, organizations helping indigenous communities emerge from COVID, and groups leading BIPOC food and land justice and sovereignty efforts across the country. This year, the company is bringing its dollars back home to support people working to preserve Vermont Abenaki cultural heritage right here in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Athletic Department is proud to announce that newly signed partner Vermont Federal Credit Union will serve as the presenting sponsor for the Women's Basketball program as well as the UVM She Roars Program for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Vermont Federal Credit Union will also sponsor the Vermont Night games across all winter sports. To support women in Catamount Country and beyond, the partnership will incorporate a season long, in-arena promotion, titled "When Women Win." Vermont Federal Credit Union has pledged to donate $25 to Vermont Works for Women every time a UVM women's athletic team wins at home.

Vermont Business Magazine To address what the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recognizes as “the defining public health crisis of our time,” thirteen colleges have received $3.275 million in funding from The Endeavor Foundation for the first phase of “Enhancing Student Learning and Experience through Campus Wellness, Student Wellbeing, and Mental Health Initiatives.” The multi-year collaborative project seeks both to respond to pressing needs and to integrate attention to mental health, wellbeing, and wellness throughout student learning.