Current News

Vermont Business Magazine US Representative Peter Welch’s campaign for Senate closed the books at the end of the December 31 reporting period with over $2.5 million cash on hand according to a report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The campaign received more than 1,200 contributions – including donations from all 14 Vermont counties, 48 states and Washington D.C. – and raised $550,022 in the six weeks following the campaign's launch on November 22. Educator was the most common occupation among online contributors to Welch’s campaign and the most frequent online donation amount was $5.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets Is your business looking for a fun way to connect with new customers across New England? Apply to join us at the Vermont Building at the Eastern States Exposition's Big E! The Vermont Building is one of six New England buildings on the Avenue of the States at the Big E, a 17-day fair and exposition that will take place September 16 - October 2, 2022, in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont (3.0 cents/gallon) and Burlington (4.8 cents/gallon) have risen in the last week, averaging $3.39/g in Vermont and $3.44/g in Burlington today, according to GasBuddy's survey. Prices in Burlington are 8.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.03/g higher than a year ago and in Vermont 5.4 cents higher for the month and $1.00 higher for the year.

by Kellie Campbell, EdD, Co-Chair of the Vermont Commission on Women​ If you have been to a restaurant lately, you have probably seen signs on the door about being short-staffed and asking for your patience. Perhaps you are a parent who received a message from your childcare provider about having to close early or shorten hours due to staffing challenges. If you have read the local newspaper, you might have seen an article about nursing shortages around the state. There is no way around it: times are tough and there are many systemic reasons we are faced with these challenges.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 597 cases of COVID-19 for Saturday. Cases the last week were down 27 percent and for the last two weeks were down 37 percent. There were no additional deaths reported for 533. While Vermont was slower to get the Omicron variant than the rest of the Northeast, it is showing a similar trend with a spike followed by an overall decrease in cases.

Vermont Business Magazine David Hiler, and Tim and Amy Brady, owners of Whetstone Brands, including Whetstone Craft Beers, Whetstone Station Brewery and Taproom, and River Garden Marketplace in Brattleboro, and Kampfires Campground, Inn & Entertainment in Dummerston were named Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce “2021 Entrepreneurs of the Year” at the organization’s annual meeting, January 25.

Vermont Business Magazine Forty-five new captive insurance companies were licensed this past year in Vermont, making 2021 Vermont’s 4th highest year of growth in its 40-year history. Vermont is now home to 620 licensed captives, consisting of 589 active and 31 dormant captives. Vermont’s 52 sponsored cell captives currently host nearly 500 cells and separate accounts, in addition to the licensed captive companies. The new captives were licensed in 17 different industries, the main industries being healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, insurance, and transportation. At least 5 of Vermont’s new captives in 2021 were formed by companies with international roots — including Japan, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) offers a wide range of online resources, counseling, step-by-step assistance, and plenty of encouragement to help you plan for college or training, whether you’re a high school senior or an adult learner ready to update your skills for a new career. An important deadline is approaching on Friday, Feb. 11 – it’s the last day to apply for VSAC-assisted scholarships.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 481 cases of COVID-19 for Friday. This was a decrease of about 700 from Tuesday. Cases the last week were down 27 percent and for the last two weeks were down 37 percent. There was one additional deaths reported for 533. There were 49 COVID-19 related fatalities in Vermont in September 2021, and 47 deaths in October, which had been the second- and third-worst months on record. There were 42 fatalities in November, 62 in December, and 53 so far in January 2022. January is now the third worst month for COVID fatalities. December 2020 was the worst month with 71.

by Meg Smith Women business owners in the state of Vermont are invisible. Researchers first learned that this vital data was missing in 2016 when examining the economic status of women in Vermont. Of the 81,132 businesses currently operating in Vermont, no one knows how many are owned and operated by women. This omission is proving to be costly. When Federal Paycheck Protection Program funds became available in Vermont to women-owned and minority-owned businesses two years ago, there was no official way to identify them.

Vermont Business Magazine In 2021, shoppers at Healthy Living Market and Café’s three locations rounded their purchases to the next dollar — and raised $119,193 for local nonprofits. Through the Together We Can Help front-end fundraising campaign, guests at the Saratoga, NY, store and others in South Burlington and Williston, Vermont, locations chose to give to regional organizations — and the people who utilize their services.

Leonine Public Affairs Legislative priorities are beginning to take shape as policy committees have moved beyond the introduction and review phase which generally marks the first few weeks of the session. The Joint Rules Committee set March 11 and March 18 as crossover deadlines for policy and money bills respectively, setting the time frame for committees to finish work on their priority bills.