Current News

​Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber announced that they will be operating the State of Vermont’s Alburgh Welcome Center beginning May 1, 2022. The Center will operate Thursday to Monday from 9am to 5pm through October. The Alburgh Welcome Center is well positioned to engage with visitors in the region and provide them with information on events, things to do, and places to stay. The Lake Champlain Chamber looks forward to ensuring a warm welcome for all travelers.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 417 cases of COVID-19 for Thursday (399 Wednesday). There were three additional deaths from the virus. The total death toll is now 637 lives lost. April, with 16 to date, one short of March's total. March saw the fewest COVID deaths since last July. The VDH today reported the death of someone in the 50-59 age range, this is the first fatality from COVID-19 of anyone under 60 in Vermont in over two months.

Vermont State Police As part of the ongoing investigation into a shooting in Grand Isle that occurred Friday, April 22, 2022, the Vermont State Police is releasing photos showing a person of interest detectives are trying to locate. The individual is a black man believed to be in his 20s and described as having small dreadlocks, a slim build, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, and known by the nickname “Taye.” The attached photos were taken from a bank ATM surveillance camera in the Burlington area in the hours after the shooting. This is the same individual who was pictured in an initial surveillance photo taken in Grand Isle and released last week.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Air National Guard held a deployment ceremony Thursday evening to recognize the sacrifices of Airmen and their families ahead of the 158th Fighter Wing’s deployment to Europe. During the ceremony General Knight presented a Green Mountain Boy battle flag to two deploying Airmen. The flag is used as the regimental flag of the Vermont National Guard and accompanies units on missions as a symbol of the trust and confidence the Adjutant General places in the unit to succeed in their assigned mission.

Vermont Business Magazine Hundreds of Vermont contractors, architects, equipment suppliers, and manufacturers gathered this week for Efficiency Vermont’s 24th Better Buildings by Design (BBD) conference, to learn how to incorporate carbon-reducing, energy-saving strategies into Vermont homes, businesses, and public buildings. The two-day conference concluded on Thursday. Efficiency Vermont welcomed more than 600 attendees Wednesday morning to the DoubleTree by Hilton in South Burlington, thanking Vermont’s building professionals for the work they have done over the last two decades to help Vermonters access the benefits of energy efficiency.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont remains on track to meet its water quality goals. That’s the conclusion of a recent report card issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each year EPA Region 1 evaluates the work being done by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM). The most recent report card gives Vermont high marks. “Beyond the successful implementation in the Winooski, Lamoille, and Mississquoi basins, we are pleased to note the many broader accomplishments documented in the Performance Report. EPA continues to be pleased with the quantity and quality of work completed since passage of Act 64.”

Now on its way to the governor’s desk, the pension bill did not receive a single ‘no’ vote as it worked its way through the House and Senate

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont-NEA teachers union said today that by giving a final, unanimous nod to the framework for strengthening public worker pensions, lawmakers today reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that teachers, state workers, and troopers have financial security after a career serving Vermonters. The Senate passed the bill 28-0 and the House passed it 144-0.

Governor Scott on Tuesday reiterated his frustration with the legislation that it did not contain an option for new hires to choose a "defined contribution" retirement plan, instead of just the existing, traditional plan.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Ariel Quiros, 65, of Puerto Rico, and formerly of Key Biscayne, Florida, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison by Chief Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford in United States District Court in connection with his involvement in the AnC Vermont EB-5 investment project. Chief Judge Crawford also ordered Quiros to serve a three-year term of supervised release and to pay $8,338,600.77 in restitution. Today’s sentencing follows Quiros’s guilty pleas in August 2020 to three felony charges: conspiring with co-defendants William Kelly, Jong Weon (Alex) Choi, and William Stenger in a multi-year wire fraud scheme to defraud immigrant investors seeking green cards through the EB-5 program.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), is proud to participate with local organizations to share National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 30. The observation provides a reminder for community members to look through their medicine cabinets and safely dispose of medications that could cause harm to others.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University announced a $20,000 grant from the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation to support the Peace and War Center’s 2022 Overseas Cultural Immersion Trip. Eleven students will travel this year to Kyrgyzstan May 4 – 15. Since 2005, about 78 students have benefited from this grant and have traveled to Tanzania, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Croatia, Senegal, El Salvador, Chile, Turkey, Slovenia, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Israel and the Balkans.

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CWST), a Rutland-based regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, today reported its financial results for the three month period ended March 31, 2022. The company also updated certain guidance ranges for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Revenues were $234.0 million for the quarter, up $44.5 million, or up 23.5%, from the same period in 2021. Net income was $4.2 million for the quarter, down $(0.1) million, or down (2.8)%, from the same period in 2021.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 399 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday (424 Tuesday, 327 Monday, 179 Sunday). Cases have edged up in recent weeks and 8.5 percent in the last week. There were four additional deaths from the virus. The total death toll is now 634 lives lost. April, with 13 to date, is still on track to have the fewest COVID-related fatalities since last July. Still, fatalities and hospitalizations have increased the last part of this month. More than half of all deaths have been of Vermonters 80 or over.