Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On February 1, 2022, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued changes to the Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (VHWMR) (bit.ly/VHWMR-2022). The VHWMR regulates the handling, use, reuse, and recycling of hazardous waste in Vermont. Hazardous waste has chemicals or properties – such as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity – that can harm public health or the environment. The VHWMR are as strict as the federal rules and include state-specific requirements.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation is unveiling a new mapping feature of their innovative This Way UP: there’s power in our numbers (This Way UP) tool that allows users to search through the more than 2,500 women-owned businesses by name, town, and industry. The filtering feature is designed for people who want to support women-owned enterprises throughout the state but did not have a way to find them. This Way UP is the Vermont Women’s Fund’s initiative to count and identify women business owners and leaders in the state, with the goal of providing missing economic data about the number, size, and scope of Vermont’s female founders and what they might need to succeed and grow.

Vermont Business Magazine NorthCountry Federal Credit Union (NCFCU) awarded Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) $15,000 in funding to increase Hardwick's Village Center Apartments’ photovoltaic generation capacity, an energy efficiency enhancement to improve future resident quality of life and further offset the affordable housing development’s carbon footprint. Excluded from Village Center Apartments monthly rent is electricity, and the project’s development team saw an opportunity to reduce this housing cost for the residents: if the property’s photovoltaic capacity were increased, the 24 future households would benefit from $376 to $416 in electricity cost savings annually and the building’s reliance on nonrenewable energy would be cut by another 25%.

Vermont Business Magazine Residents of the Concord community are encouraged to review the newly released Let’s Grow Concord Action Report for a recap on the recent Community Visit process. This report includes details on the new task forces, the contact information of local leaders, and collected resources to help move the community-determined priorities forward. Throughout the summer and fall, the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) facilitated a 3-month series of public meetings to bring Concord community members together, identify key priorities for the future, and connect to local resources.

Vermont Business Magazine The Powerball jackpot is an estimated $508 million for Wednesday’s drawing. The jackpot has a cash value of $256.3 million. This is the second time this year that the Powerball jackpot crossed the half-billion-dollar mark. The last time the Powerball jackpot was above $500 million was in the January 5 drawing, when tickets in California and Wisconsin split a $632.6 million jackpot. While the Powerball jackpot has been rolling for the past 2.5 months, the jackpot run created a lot of big winners, including dozens of millionaires.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has proclaimed October as Careers in Vermont Tourism and Hospitality Month. It is peak season in Vermont to find your next, best job in the tourism and hospitality industry. Employers across the industry are hiring now, both for seasonal and full-time opportunities.

Vermont Business Magazine Residents in Chittenden County are being urged to take precautions due to a higher-than-expected number of ground-dwelling animals in the county testing positive for rabies, a deadly viral disease that infects mammals, including humans. Since July 2022, 10 animals have tested positive for rabies in Chittenden County, including eight raccoons and two skunks. The total includes five animals in South Burlington, two in Burlington, and one in Charlotte, Shelburne, and Colchester. The most recent positive specimen was collected on October 8.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Department of Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington was elected to serve as chair-elect for the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) Board of Directors for the 2022-2023 year. Harrington was elected to the position by NASWA members, which represent states and US territories nationwide. Harrington joined the Department of Labor in January 2017 as deputy commissioner and was appointed commissioner in June 2020. Prior to state government, he served as the Economic and Community Development Director for the Town of Bennington.

by John McClaughry The recent discussion of “Vermont’s housing crisis” reminds us that this problem never goes away. That’s because the interests active in shaping housing policy continue to be far apart on almost any policy change that promises more affordable housing. My first experience in this subject came in 1972. I sponsored a House bill whose purpose was “to encourage the Vermont building industry to increase the supply of housing within the reach of the average Vermont family by removing the barrier posed by a multiplicity of different building codes, each containing local embellishments and some deliberately used to keep out new moderate-income housing.”

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group named Daphne Larkin external communications and media relations director as of October 3. Larkin joins National Life Group after 14½ years at Norwich University, where she most recently served as director of media relations and community affairs. Prior to that, she was a freelance writer and journalist. At National Life, Larkin will serve as spokesperson, identify and secure media opportunities and write and distribute releases and content about the many ways National Life does good for its policyholders, agents, employees and the community.

Vermont Business Magazine On December 1, 2020, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued the Stormwater General Permit 3-9050 (bit.ly/SW-3-9050) to help protect Vermont waterways. The permit regulates stormwater discharges or runoff from impervious surfaces (any hard or solid surfaces like roofs, roads, and parking lots where water runs off instead of soaks in). Within the 2020 permit, the DEC listed activities that require permit coverage, including the new development or redevelopment of ½ acre or more of impervious surface starting July 1, 2022.