Current News

Vermont State Police Following an investigation that began in early August, the Vermont State Police on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, cited John Grismore, 49, of Fairfax on a charge of simple assault arising from his conduct with a man in custody at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, which employed Grismore at the time as a captain. While at the facility, Burrows, who was intoxicated, became non-compliant despite being handcuffed and shackled, and had fallen while trying to walk away from a bench where he was secured. While Deputies Andileigh and Major worked to control Burrows, Grismore repeatedly kicked Burrows in the midsection.

Vermont Business Magazine The Montpelier-based National Coalition for Safe Schools (NCSS), a national movement founded by U.S. teacher leaders who are committed to ensuring schools are safe for students to learn, has named Dr. Sherry Earle as its new Executive Director. Earle is a lifelong educator who has taught in urban and suburban school systems in mainstream education, gifted education, and special education classes for over 30 years. She earned her Ph.D. in Gifted Education from Kent State University. Earle has spent the last fourteen years as a teacher and administrator in Newtown Public Schools. The district is home to Sandy Hook Elementary, which experienced a mass shooting in 2012.

by Christina Nolan In the wake of the shocking overturning of the 50-year precedent Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed all American women the right to an abortion in the first trimester, the U.S. Congress must act. It must pass legislation to restore early-term abortion rights nationwide. The vast majority of abortions occur in the first trimester, but not all of them. What we should not do is rush to an extreme “solution” in search of a problem that never existed. And that is exactly what Article 22 would do by changing the Vermont Constitution so that Vermonters could never again vote to regulate late-term abortion.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont tax revenues for September were good and bad. The General Fund receipts were over 14% ahead of projections, pushing the entire first quarter to over 12% ahead. However, the Transportation had the opposite result, as revenues lagged 14% below expectations for the month and were nearly 4% below for the quarter, as both fuel taxes and vehicle sales, especially, faltered. The Education was just below breakeven for the month and is nearly 4% above expectations for the year-to-date.

Vermont Business Magazine Funding is now available for organizations and projects based in Vermont and Massachusetts that support watershed conservation, develop low-impact recreational and educational facilities, and/or plan, design, maintain, and monitor such facilities in the Deerfield River Watershed. Grants are awarded for new initiatives, one-time special projects, or continued funding for existing programs. Examples include, but are not limited to, volunteer monitoring projects, events, trail work projects, field trips, educational workshops, media campaigns, and improving public access sites. The review committee encourages applicants to consider projects that support marginalized populations and promote environmental justice.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southern Vermont Communications Union District (So VT CUD) recently received approval for its $9 million internet fiber construction grant from the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB). The grant, along with a $3.3 million investment from Consolidated Communications, will cover 6,412 addresses across southern Vermont. The CUD, in partnership with Consolidated Communications, who will build, maintain and operate the network, expects all unserved and underserved residents in 14 towns in the CUD to have access to Fidium Fiber’s multi-gigabit speed internet in 2023 at competitive prices.

by Richard Donnelly is the Director of Energy Innovation at VGS Have you ever thought about how much energy it takes to create hot water for your home or business? The simple answer is “a lot.” Most water heating systems are powered by fossil fuels or electric elements. Up until recently, choosing between these two options meant a choice between carbon or cost. Fortunately, Vermonters have the chance to enjoy the best of both worlds by installing an electric heat pump water heater. That’s why VGS (Vermont Gas Systems) is enthusiastically embracing this technology, and is partnering to mark October 26, 2022 as the first-ever National Heat Pump Water Heater Day.

Vermont business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today will welcome Finland’s Ambassador to the United States Mikko Hautala to Vermont to exchange ideas about what Vermonters can learn from Finland and what Finland can learn from Vermont on a range of issues, including health care, education, housing, and the environment. During the visit, Senator Sanders and Ambassador Hautala will hold a student town meeting at the Harwood Union Middle and High School in Moretown and a public town meeting in Burlington at 7 pm to discuss how US laws affect our daily lives in the US and how Finland addresses those same issues. Both town meetings will include a question-and-answer session to hear directly from students and the public.

Vermont Business Magazine Thursday morning the Zuckerman for Vermont campaign announced a temporary hiatus from in-person events after lieutenant governor candidate David Zuckerman testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday evening. Zuckerman (D/P) is running against Republican Joe Benning. Zuckerman’s spouse tested positive on Monday morning, and he and his family took immediate steps to isolate. Out of an abundance of caution, he immediately began testing, masking and distancing from others.

Vermont Business Magazine As of October 1st, the health and function of North Breton Brook in Castleton has been remarkably improved through the removal of the Pelletier Dam off East Hubbardton Road. The dam, along with 15,000 cubic yards of sediment, was removed from the stream bed, reconnecting the river to its natural path and flow. The Pelletier Dam was derelict, which means it had not been used for its original purpose as a marble mill in decades. The State of Vermont Fish and Wildlife acquired the dam after the mill closed and recognized the benefits of removing the dam.

Vermont Business Magazine The second event in the Saint Michael’s College Presents: Solutions for Social Impact seminar series is happening Thursday, October 20 at 5:30 pm in McCarthy Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public. I’ve included the description of the specific event below and the original press release about the series, attached. Professor Alain Brizard will lead the presentation. Professor Brizard has been one of the world’s leading theorists in fusion plasma research for almost four decades. He will discuss work done over the last 60 years toward building a nuclear fusion reactor, the promising outlook for harnessing nuclear fusion power over the next 30 years, and his own recent research done with the help of Saint Michael’s College students.