Current News

by Emily Bradbury Even as an engineering undergrad, Jordan Kearns, founder of Medley Thermal, knew he wanted to build something “big, new, and good” in the energy space. Focused on reducing both heating costs and carbon emissions in large buildings, Kearns discovered two problems that, taken together, offered an opportunity. The first problem is that heating commercial and industrial buildings is expensive and, at the moment, met primarily with fossil fuels. The second problem is that renewable energy resources are intermittent. Abundant only when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, energy from renewable sources is at times too low to meet demand and, at other times, so high that the grid can’t absorb it all.

VermontBiz The Vermont Beekeepers Association (VBA) recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of local honey and beekeeping, and to celebrate Vermont’s bees.  

The campaign includes tiny, colorful billboards featuring headlines that will engage everyone who loves Vermont honey, bees, and beekeepers. The bee-scale billboards have shown up where Vermonters, both human and bee, can be found—in parks, flowerbeds, farmers’ markets, local shops and restaurants, libraries and other public places.   

VermontBiz This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will have traffic impacts on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.   

VermontBiz The Northern Border Regional Commission has announced that 13 Vermont communities will be receiving a combined $10.8 million from NBRC’s Catalyst Program.

This includes $500,000 for the redevelopment of the iconic “Yellow Barn” in Hardwick.

Evernorth Rural Ventures and Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation previously closed on an $11.4 million in New Markets Tax Credit, or NMTC, allocation for the Yellow Barn.

VermontBiz Special Olympics Vermont has announced that Burr and Burton Academy, a Special Olympics Unified Champion School®, is receiving national banner recognition for its efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without intellectual disabilities. Burr and Burton Academy is receiving this distinguished status as a result of meeting 10 national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy, and respect. These standards were developed by a national panel of leaders from Special Olympics and the education community.

VermontBiz On Saturday, 10/7/23 at about 1854 hours troopers from the Vermont State Police - Westminster Barracks were notified of a missing person/overdue hiker in the area of Harris Rd in Baltimore, VT. Troopers responded and spoke with the complainant, Tyler Wakefield.

Wakefield reported that he and Newsome entered the woods from the area of Harris Road at about 1700 hours.  Wakefield advised that he and Newsome were hunting and separated in the woods so she could “push” deer his way, however after not seeing or hearing from her after about 45 minutes he returned to their car as they originally planned.  After waiting a period of time and not contacting her, Wakefield reported her missing to police. 

VermontBiz Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) today visited the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge to discuss federal conservation efforts, the importance of protecting Vermont’s environment, and outdoor recreation opportunities for generations to come.

His visit came ahead of National Wildlife Refuge Week, which is celebrated October 8-14th, 2023.

VermontBiz Vermont State University, and especially our Castleton campus, is deeply saddened to learn that Honoree Fleming, PhD., 77, a retired Dean of Education, died yesterday as a victim of a homicide on the D&H Rail Trail a mile from the Castleton campus.

Honoree was a beloved dean and professor at Castleton and an impressive researcher with countless papers published. Faculty, staff, and students alike loved her. Honoree was a true member of the Castleton family. Honoree lived in Castleton with her husband, Ron Powers, a Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author.

VermontBiz Detectives with the Vermont State police are continuing with the investigation into the death of 77-year-old Honoree Fleming on the Rail Trail in Castleton near 1660 South Street Thursday afternoon. Detectives have interviewed numerous witnesses and neighbors in the area of the homicide and continue to gather surveillance footage from the area.

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute We have the means to reduce poverty. What we need is the political will. That is the conclusion of a massive real-world experiment that took place during the Covid pandemic of 2020-2022. Now that the emergency has subsided, we are beginning to see the effects of actions—and the dangers of inaction—taken by political leaders to help people meet their ongoing basic needs.

Vermont Business Magazine Waffle cones just got a little sweeter. For two weeks, starting today, fans can feel even better about indulging in a Ben & Jerry's scoop with Waffle Lotta Good, an inaugural scoop shop program supporting organizations that work in communities around the country to advocate for social justice. For every waffle cone fans purchase in a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop from October 3 to 17, the Vermont ice cream maker will donate $1 in support of this year's recipient, the Advancement Project, a multi-racial civil rights organization, working to progress human rights and build power in local communities.

Vermont Business Magazine Marking a significant achievement in wine education, the National Wine School (NWS), based in Shelburne, Vermont, has unveiled its latest innovation: online Advanced Sommelier courses. For the first time, wine aficionados and industry insiders alike can earn their Advanced Sommelier Pin without leaving their homes, rendering in-person sessions and long-distance travel a thing of the past. NWS, a beacon in wine training, has optimized its exclusive virtual learning platforms to introduce this pioneering program. Originally developed for digital wine courses at tertiary institutions, these systems are now setting new benchmarks in wine education.