Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Warden Service has completed a multi-month poaching investigation resulting in the arrest of five Windsor County males suspected of taking 14 illegal deer in Vermont during the fall of 2021.

Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Game Wardens and Detectives worked alongside Conservation Officers from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and Special Agents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service through the investigation. In addition to the 14 illegal deer taken in Vermont, those involved are suspected of taking multiple illegal deer in New Hampshire. They are facing additional charges in that jurisdiction.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced Commissioner Mike Pieciak will be stepping away from his role leading the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) next month to pursue other opportunities. Pieciak, along with Health Commissioner Mark Levine and former Human Services Secretary Mike Smith, was a familiar face at the governor's pandemic response press conferences beginning in March 2020. Pieciak provided data modeling related to the rise and recent decline of COVID-19. Commissioner Pieciak was appointed to lead the consumer watchdog agency by Governor Scott in January 2017. He joined DFR in 2014 as Deputy Commissioner of the Securities Division, appointed by Governor Peter Shumlin.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 424 cases of COVID-19 for Tuesday (327 Monday, 179 Sunday). There were 251 on Saturday and 372 last Friday, as cases have edged up in recent weeks and 8.5 percent in the last week. The seven-day positivity rate keeps rising and is now 12.9%; the record was 13.8% set January 8.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has funded an additional 18 projects in a second round of Municipal Planning Grants. The 2022 Budget Adjustment Act (Act 83) appropriated an extra $250,000 for municipal planning which allowed for DHCD to review and fund the highest scoring applications that were not funded in the first round. This second round of awarded projects range from creating an outdoor recreation plan, identifying ways to enhance existing and future recreational amenities, updating town zoning and subdivision regulations to support smart growth, developing a village center streetscape and green space improvement plan, and developing a bicycle and pedestrian connectivity plan.

Vermont Business Magazine On April 27, Governor Scott signed bills of the following titles: H.461, An act relating to excluding the income of asylum seekers and refugees from household income; H.718, An act relating to approval of the dissolution of Colchester Fire District No. 1; S.74, An act relating to modifications to Vermont’s patient choice at end of life laws; S.163, An act relating to State court petitions for vulnerable noncitizen youth; S.239, An act relating to enrollment in Medicare supplemental insurance policies.

​Vermont Business Magazine The J Warren & Lois McClure Foundation announced on Tuesday the McClure Free Degree Promise through the Early College Program at CCV for Vermont’s high school classes of 2023-2026. The McClure Foundation’s promise will cover tuition and fees after any federal and state financial aid, and provide enhanced career and education advising as well as stipends to help with books, transportation, and other costs associated with going to college. The state’s Early College program allows Vermont high school seniors the option to complete their last year of high school and their first year of college at the same time, earning free college credits that also count toward graduation from high school.

Vermont Business Magazine CEOs and business owners from across Vermont, representing nearly every industry, joined Vermont’s Child Care Campaign today on the steps of the state house and declared their collective support for a publicly funded child care system that meets the needs of all Vermont’s children, families, businesses, and economy. Employers including Lisa Groeneveld, Co-Founder of OnLogic, Mark Foley Jr, CEO of Foley Services, Dimitri Garder, CEO of Global-Z International, and Sam Hooper, President of Vermont Glove, during the event identified the extreme lack of high-quality child care as a central barrier to rebuilding Vermont's workforce and economy. The Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR), Vermont Regional Development Corporations, Main Street Alliance, and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility also participated and affirmed their support for public investment in child care.

Vermont Business Magazine As Amazon refuses to recognize the historic vote to unionize a warehouse on Staten Island, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Tuesday sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to fulfill his campaign promise to stand with workers and strengthen the union organizing movement by preventing companies engaged in illegal anti-union activities from receiving federal contracts paid for by the taxpayers of the United States. In the letter, Sanders urged President Biden to sign an Executive Order to implement this plan.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Regional Development Corporations of Vermont (RDCs of VT) announced their collective support for prioritizing investment in an early childhood care and education system that meets the needs of all Vermonters. For the RDCs of Vermont, prioritization of early childhood care and education as a primary public investment also means that public revenue sources must be transparent, equitable, competitive, and sustainable. All Vermonters must share the burden. We also believe that a truly impactful system must use data that is accountable to the outcomes produced. Our support stems from the belief that these goals can be achieved while ensuring every Vermont child has access to the care they need.

Vermont Business Magazine As Vermont continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to build resilience for future challenges, schools across the state are investing in ventilation systems to improve indoor air quality and make classrooms healthier for students and staff. This spring, the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) and Efficiency Vermont launched the second round of the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Grant Program, which makes $13.5 million of federal funds available to schools with qualifying projects, through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine Coinme, a leading cryptocurrency cash exchange in the US, today announced entry into Vermont with the launch of 23 bitcoin-enabled Coinstar kiosks located at select Shaw’s, Hannaford Supermarkets and Tops Friendly Markets grocery stores, giving Vermonters simple, instant and trusted access to bitcoin with cash in their local neighborhoods. This expansion brings the Coinme-enabled Coinstar kiosk network to over 9,500 locations across 49 states and provides far-reaching access to digital currency with cash.

Vermont Business Magazine Commercial real estate broker V/T Commercial from Burlington has reported its most recent transactions. They include: Yves Bradley of V/T Commercial announced that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company leased industrial space at 34 Catamount Drive, Milton from Catamount Holdings, LLC; Group Five Investments, LLC leased 1,736 square feet at 150 Kennedy Drive, South Burlington to the Stram Center; Jersey Mike's signed a lease for its first Vermont franchise location at Finney Crossing, Williston; and, among others, Bill Kiendl, of V/T Commercial as exclusive representative for TD Bank NA, announced the sale of the bank's property at 215 Main Street, Brattleboro to JMS Mich, LLC.