Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is currently experiencing high and very high fire danger due to drier than normal weather conditions. The Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) is reminding the public to exercise caution and follow all state laws and local ordinances regarding open burning. The National Weather Service has issued Special Weather Statements for elevated fire weather and additional Fire Weather Watches and Red Flag Warnings are anticipated. Open burning requires a permit from your town forest fire warden, and Vermonters should always check with their town forest fire warden before burning. When conditions are dry, town fire wardens can institute a burn ban in their respective town.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), a Williston-based solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50 years of experience accelerating the adoption of innovative electrical technologies, today announced financial results for the first quarter 2023. iSun reported first quarter 2023 revenue of $17.4 million, up 15% from $15.1 million in the same period in 2022. Revenue growth for the first quarter of 2023 was driven primarily by the fulfillment of our residential backlog and multiple commercial and industrial projects receiving notice to proceed; total backlog was $178.8 million as of March 31, 2023. iSun also generated new future demand by adding $32.0 million in new business during the first quarter, primarily driven by strong demand in commercial and industrial services as well as for project origination and design services.

Vermont Business Magazine DFR Commissioner Kevin Gaffney announced the recent appointments of Amanda Smith and Aaron Ferenc as deputy commissioners of the securities and banking divisions within the Department of Financial Regulation. In November 2022, then-Director of Examinations Ferenc was appointed interim-deputy commissioner of banking. Earlier last year, Smith, who was then supervising the administration and registration unit in the securities division, became interim-deputy commissioner of securities. Department Commissioner Gaffney said their contributions during the past year were instrumental in maintaining continual, effective operations.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Afghan Alliance today announced the hiring of former Vermont Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray as executive director of the non-profit. Gray will serve in an interim role for the time being, working to grow the Alliance’s capacity in meeting the needs of Afghans resettled in Vermont. The Vermont Afghan Alliance (VAA), a 501(c)3 and registered Vermont non-profit, was formally launched in April 2022 by Co-Founder and Board President Wazir Hashimi and Co-Founder and Board Vice President Dan Barkhuff with the sole mission of assisting Afghans in obtaining access to basic services and successfully resettling in the Green Mountain State. Today, the VAA’s signature offerings include a driving program, support with employment access and translation, and the hosting of cultural events and celebrations.

Vermont Business Magazine The Biden-Harris Administration announced Tuesday the availability of nearly $11 billion in grants and loans for rural energy and utility providers across the country to bring affordable, reliable clean energy to their communities. It is the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936. Funding is available through two programs under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program: $9.7 billion to eligible rural electric cooperatives for deploying renewable energy systems, zero-emission and carbon capture systems; Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program: $1 billion in partially forgivable loans to renewable-energy developers and electric service providers, including municipals, cooperatives, and investor-owned utilities to help finance large-scale renewable energy projects.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Lung Association and University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine have begun recruitment in Vermont for a first-of-its-kind longitudinal study to track and analyze lung health in millennials at the peak of their lung health. In this national, 35-site study, scientists will follow 4,000 adults (aged 25-35) for approximately five years after their initial interviews to evaluate how their environment, lifestyle and physical activity habits affect respiratory health.

Vermont Business Magazine Perhaps the greatest recognition for a nurse to receive is the DAISY Award and especially during National Nurses Week. Rutland Regional celebrated four extraordinary nurses and one nurse team this week at a ceremony in the hospital gardens with nurse leaders, nursing staff and patients and their families. The DAISY (an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation was started in Glen Allen, California by family members of J. Patrick Barnes, who died from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. As a way of thanking Barnes’ nurses, his family established the award program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses everywhere perform every day.