Current News

Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released a new audit today of Vermont’s Dam Safety Program. Housed within the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Dam Safety Program is responsible for overseeing more than 1,000 known dams across Vermont. The audit found that the 10 dams in poor condition that were selected for review, which included state-owned dams, lingered in poor condition, some for more than 18 years. While the Dam Safety Program recommended that dam owners make needed improvements, suggested timeframes were not provided to do so and follow-up didn’t occur until the next inspection of the dam, which in some cases was more than five years later.

by Department of Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein Vermont is face-to-face with the opportunity to infuse federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars into transformational projects throughout the state. This is a once in a lifetime moment and the Department of Economic Development is focused on growing the workforce and shoring up a foundation of strong economic activity that will persevere into the future. We know the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated workforce and housing issues around the state, from our largest to our smallest communities. The need for investment is great.

Vermont Business Magazine Commissioner Michael Pieciak today announced that a digital-asset financial services company, BlockFi Lending LLC, agreed to settlement terms with the Department of Financial Regulation relating to BlockFi’s offers and sales of unregistered cryptocurrency interest-bearing account products to Vermonters. As of December 31, 2021, BlockFi had improperly induced over 470 Vermonters to hold over $6.5 million in cryptocurrency assets with the company in its interest-bearing account products. BlockFi agreed to pay $50 million to state regulators (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands) and $50 million to the SEC. The State of Vermont will receive just over $940,000.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Foodbank will temporarily relocate its distribution center and offices to 780 East Barre Road in Barre on March 1, in order to renovate its facility at 33 Parker Road in Barre. The Barre distribution facility currently serves as one of three food distribution warehouses and as administrative headquarters for the state-wide organization. The temporary move and renovations will create only short-term interruptions in services provided at the Barre facility. The Foodbank anticipates that the renovations will take 10 months to complete.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced his appointment of Wayne A. Laroche, of Franklin, to the Vermont House of Representatives, representing House District Franklin-5. Laroche replaces former Representative Paul Martin (R-Franklin) who recently resigned. Laroche served as the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife under Governor Jim Douglas from 2003 to 2011. After leaving state government, he worked as a staff scientist for Lake Champlain International, Inc. for more than four years, focusing on water quality and fisheries in the Lake Champlain Basin. Most recently, he was director of the Bureau of Wildlife Management at the Pennsylvania Game Commission, before retiring in 2018.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that two men— Quang Le, 58, of South Burlington and Steven J. Renaud, 52, of Hyde Park—were arraigned in Vermont Superior Court last week for separate incidents of possession of child sexual abuse materials. Quang Le, 58, of South Burlington, Vermont, was arraigned on February 8, 2022, on two felony counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. In a separate incident, Steven J. Renaud, 52, of Hyde Park, Vermont, was arraigned on February 10, 2022, on five felony counts of Promoting a Recording of Sexual Conduct and one felony count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals’ membership has voted to accept a UVM Medical Center wage proposal in advance of the nurses’ contract expiring this summer. The proposal accepted by the union increases nurse salaries by 10% effective within the next pay period, with an additional 5% increase in October 2022 and another 5% increase in October 2023. The remainder of the contract will be negotiated this summer. The agreement also includes $5,000 stabilization bonuses to all technical employees.

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Happy Valentine’s Day! Every year, just as the legislative grind is really hitting, Montpelier pulls off a small miracle and covers itself in hearts. Thank you to the forces behind this effort—it never fails to make me smile. And now, for what’s happening underneath the golden dome and in all the Zoom rooms.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets When Governor Scott created the Governor’s Commission on the Future of Vermont Agriculture in 2021, he recognized today’s crucial challenges and opportunities to help us chart a path forward. The 12 citizen commissioners appointed by the Governor were asked to study and strategize how best to grow agriculture in the Green Mountain State. In creating the report, the Commissioners shared ideas and tapped the expertise of young farmers, members of the public, and organizations working on environmentally sound farming practices, climate adaptation and resilience, and diversity.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine It's been a colorful life for spirits entrepreneur Raj Peter Bhakta, yet his greatest challenges lie ahead. In rough order, Bhakta has been: A candidate on Donald Trump's old reality show, “The Apprentice” (he lasted nine episodes before getting “fired”); a hotel owner in Vail; a failed Republican Congressional candidate from Philadelphia; the creator/founder of WhistlePig rye whiskey; forced out of WhistlePig; the man who bought and is trying to revive the campus of Green Mountain College; and the man now trying to fund the resurrection of the college campus by making — and selling, as an investment strategy — one of the world's rarest brandies. Throw in a lot of parties, a few DUIs, and now a wife, four small children and a new job as babysitter, and you just about have it. And he's only 46 years old.

Vermont Business Magazine In a ceremony held February 7, 2022, Burlington resident Melissa Davidson, MD, a faculty physician leader at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, was invested as the inaugural holder of the Howard Schapiro, MD ’80 and Janet Carroll, MSN, MPH, Green & Gold Professorship in Anesthesiology. This endowed professorship was made possible through the generosity of its namesakes—South Hero residents and married couple Howard Schapiro, MD, and Janet Carroll, MSN, MPH—as well as the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology in honor of their colleague and former leader, Schapiro.

​by Monica White Governor Scott has a plan to return over $50 million to Vermonters by expanding existing tax credits, and offering new ones, to make Vermont more affordable for those that already live here, and to help us to be more competitive in attracting new residents. Many of these changes are reflected in his affordability package (H.527), and one of the most important proposals increases the income thresholds for the Vermont Social Security income tax exemption. This change directly impacts Vermonters served by the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL).