Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids announced today that construction of the largest solar canopy in the state of Vermont is now complete at the company’s Brewery and Taproom in Waitsfield. Built by SunCommon, the structure features 495 individual solar modules (REC 375W) seated above 40 covered parking spaces and 10 level-two electric vehicle charging stations. The project, built throughout 2021 and early 2022, represents the latest investment from Lawson’s Finest Liquids in sustainable practices. With the addition of the new solar array, about 60 percent of the Waitsfield Brewery’s operations will be powered by solar energy.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and GMP today announced that public transportation in Rutland County will be cleaner with the arrival of two new all electric transit buses. The Marble Valley Regional Transit District (MVRTD) is now operating these electric buses in place of two diesel fueled buses. The buses, infrastructure upgrades, and equipment were funded through the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund with a grant of nearly $1.5 million and additional support from Green Mountain Power through clean electrification incentives designed to cut carbon and costs for all customers. With support from VTrans, Marble Valley Regional Transit District also provided funds for the e-buses.

by Devon Green Senate Appropriations beat expectations by voting the budget out on Friday, which signals that the session will go at a frenetic pace until the expected adjournment date of May 6. Meanwhile, a coalition of health care provider associations, including VAHHS, testified in House Health Care last week against S.285, a bill that provides $4.45 million to the Green Mountain Care Board and $550,000 to the Agency of Human Services to develop alternative payment models, including hospital global budgets, and lead a community process on the sustainability of the hospital and health care system.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets Farm First, the State’s resource for providing farmers and their families support, information, and resources to reduce stress, is expanding its services to include stress reduction training for agriculture service providers and a Farmer Peer Network. The agriculture service provider trainings are for the many folks who work with farmers as part of their jobs and want to learn ways to support farmers in their stress management. The Farmer Peer Network is a group of farmers who understand the stresses of farming, can be a helpful ear while farmers process challenging situations, and who can help direct them to the numerous resources available to help them thrive.

​Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), is pleased to announce that it has earned “shared governance accreditation” from the Forum for Shared Governance. Shared governance is an innovative management model that ensures nurses are empowered to make clinical decisions at the point of care and to influence the availability of resources that support their practice. The process of accreditation requires a rigorous survey of nursing staff. There are only 31 organizations in the country who have achieved this accreditation.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine If you've decided that this spring might be a good time for a new deck or to install new drywall, you may know that finding an available carpenter or a contractor is nearly impossible. And if you are lucky enough to find one, just wait until you try to nail down the price of lumber. Surely, these are unsettled times. No one knows that better than Josiah — everyone calls him Joe — E Miles, 58, the owner and president of the third-generation building materials supplier rk Miles. Based in Manchester Center, the company has branches in Middlebury, Morrisville, Stowe, Barre, Montpelier, St Johnsbury and Waitsfield in Vermont, and Williamstown and West Hatfield in Massachusetts.

by Kelly Nottermann Nils Behn vividly remembers sitting in class at Harwood Union High School and deciding that he would use his time on this planet to have a positive impact on the environment. “There was this aha moment in a tenth-grade anthropology class,” said Behn, now CEO and president of Aegis Renewable Energy. “I remember thinking that whatever I did in my life, my existence would ultimately have a net positive impact on the planet.” Fast forward a few decades and Behn is right back where he started in Waitsfield. Only this time, he and his wife, Sonia, own a company that is installing solar panels on his former elementary school and helping regional businesses to move away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Commerce and Community Development’s Division for Historic Preservation announces the illumination of the Bennington Battle Monument in support of the people of Ukraine. The 306-foot Monument will be illuminated for six weeks, from April 18th to May 26th during the hours of sunset to 11:59 pm. This is a one-time special illumination event. The lighting of the Monument in the Ukrainian colors of blue and yellow will begin on Monday, April 18th at 8 pm.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine There’s a new US Senate candidate running in Vermont. And while he’s by no means a household name, you may have seen him on TV talking up cryptocurrency, quoted in the newspaper about his relief work in Puerto Rico or — no lie — appearing in a string of Disney movies in the 1990s. Oh, did we mention running for president in 2020? His name is Brock Pierce, and he’s set his sights on toppling, among others, Democratic Congressman Peter Welch and former US attorney Christina Nolan, a Republican, in the race to succeed retiring US Senator Patrick Leahy this November.

Vermont Business Magazine After having her daughter, Bangalore born and raised Akshata Nayak, who lives in Vermont, wanted to share her Indian culture and pass along her traditions to the next generation. Realizing there was a lack of diversity in children’s resources, she recognized an opportunity to open a reading experience for all young learners. This resulted in Little Patakha — or little firecracker, in Hindi. Starting first with books that introduce kids to the Indian languages of Konkani and Hindi, Little Patakha grew to empower kids to feel represented and learn about diverse cultures through books, puzzles, toys, dolls, stickers and more. Now, Little Patakha is seeking supporters for an expansion of products — affirmation cards and jigsaw puzzles — through a Kickstarter campaign. From now until May 8, 2022, backers can help reach the $20,000 goal.

by Wendy Rice, Resident of Burlington and Principal Vermont Connector As a new parent on the cusp of a global pandemic, I was doubly impacted by existing child care shortages and statewide COVID closures. My journey to find full-time child care spanned over eighteen months. This lack of child care necessitated a prolonged departure from the full-time workforce for me. Despite the obvious need for more child care openings, I watched in horror as center after center closed their doors over the last two years. High operational costs for child care, increased health risks for essential early childhood education workers, and staff burn-out and turnover, depleted an already taxed system.