Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Seven Days, Vermont’s free, independent newsweekly based in Burlington, won 23 first-place awards in this year’s New England Better Newspaper Competition — including top honors in investigative, climate change and religious issue reporting, and the prize for general excellence. Staff writer Chelsea Edgar received the top reporting prize for all weekly newspapers in the region: Reporter of the Year. The contest is organized by the New England Newspaper & Press Association; winners were announced at NENPA’s annual convention in Boston on April 30. This competition is the largest and most comprehensive journalism recognition program in New England.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott signed bill H.629 into law giving adopted persons greater access to their adoption records. The Vermont Adoption Registry is the central point of contact for information about all adoptions that have taken place in Vermont since 1940. The registry is part of the Department for Children and Families.

Vermont Business Magazine In an email to supporters today, former Department of Financial Regulation Commissioner Michael Pieciak of Winooski declared his candidacy for the office of Vermont Treasurer. Current Treasurer Beth Pearce announced on Wednesday that she would not seek reelection because of health concerns. Pieciak has served as DFR Commissioner in both the Shumlin and Scott Administrations. VermontBiz obtained a copy of the email this morning. He has played a prominent role in the investigation of the EB-5 fraud centered at Jay Peak Resort and in the state's COVID-19 response. Pieciak has been a regular participant in Governor Phil Scott's press conferences and presented the state's COVID-19 data modeling.

​Vermont Business Magazine Common Good Vermont is pleased to announce the Vermont launch of the 2022 Survey on Nonprofit Wages and Benefits in Northern New England. The survey is conducted every two years in partnership with the Maine Association of Nonprofits and the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits and is used to produce an annual report that tells an important and deeply informative story about nonprofit employment in Vermont and northern New England.  

Vermont Business Magazine Today Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos announced that Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters and members of his elections division attended a two-day regional conference on election cybersecurity and preparedness alongside other New England colleagues and federal partners led by the Depart of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS CISA).

“Cybersecurity is a race without a finish line. Ensuring the cybersecurity of our Vermont election systems has been and is a top priority of my office,” said Condos. “Our Vermont cyber posture grows stronger when we work together in partnership with other states and with our federal partners, sharing best practices and growing our channels of communication to improve our collective situational awareness.”

Vermont Business Magazine Bipartisan legislation backed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to crack down on anticompetitive behavior by foreign oil producing nations advanced Thursday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill now goes to the full Senate.

The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, or NOPEC, will let the federal government take action against price fixing by OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and its partner nations. The bill is sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and cosponsored by Leahy and by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah). Their bill was approved in a strong vote of 17 to 4. Leahy, a former chair and ranking member of the committee, led in developing and introducing earlier versions of the bill.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 345 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday. There were 504 on Tuesday, 304 on Monday, 98 on Sunday, 294 cases on Saturday, 323 on Friday and 417 on Thursday. Cases have edged up in recent weeks, especially in Bennington and Washington counties, and grew 5 percent in the last week (2,317 new cases, 318 more cases compared to last week).

Vermont Business Magazine Today Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced his plans for the 2022 campaign cycle by issuing the following statement:

“I will not seek reelection as Attorney General in 2022. I have wrestled with this decision for the past few months and it feels like the right choice. After nearly sixteen years as an elected official (19 years in public service), it is time to take a break from the political world and pursue other opportunities.

I have tried my best to do what was right over the course of my career. I have been guided by the belief that Vermonters are good, decent people who should not be defined by their mistakes, but should be given the opportunity to comply with the law. This belief stems from my own experiences growing up in Vermont, which taught me a valuable lesson: trust Vermonters and believe in their goodness. I’ve tried to pass this on to others and instill this philosophy in my office.

Vermont Business Magazine Nick Guastamachio wasn’t sure which employers were going to be at May Job Fest: Rutland, but after learning about the event he decided to take a look. Having recently applied to a few customer-service positions, Guastamachio used the job fair to explore and reconnect.

“I’ve been trying to find work and have had a few interviews at a few different places, but I haven’t had much luck in getting hired just yet,” said Guastamachio. “[The job fair] gave me a chance to see a few employers that I did interview with or filled out an application for and just hadn’t heard back from.”

Guastamachio said that he also learned about opportunities with other employers, including Rutland Regional Medical Center.

Vermont Business Magazine The inaugural America East Sustainability Conference is pleased to announce that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Casella) (NASDAQ: CWST) has been named Presenting Sponsor of the 2022 conference, taking place June 7-9, 2022, at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters turned in almost 3.5 tons of unused, unwanted and expired medication on the 22^nd nationwide Prescription Drug Take Back Day this past Saturday.

The total of 6,950.1 pounds collected eclipsed every previous Prescription Drug Take Back Day except for the event held in spring 2021.

“The continued success of this program is a testament to how seriously Vermonters take the issue of properly disposing of unused medication, which we know can fuel addiction when treated less carefully,” said Governor Scott. “Getting these drugs out of people’s medicine cabinets is a key element of our prevention strategies, and I thank our local, state and federal partners — and especially every Vermonter who participated — for their determined and ongoing work to address the opioid epidemic.”