Current News

​by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine The pressures on Washington County’s housing market essentially condense down to affordability and availability. According to Karen Hatcher, the national vacancy rate is 6.7 percent. Vermont’s is 3.4 percent. Washington County’s is even lower at 2.5 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine To accelerate transformative societal response to today’s unprecedented and interconnected environmental, social, and economic challenges, the University of Vermont and the Institute for Sustainable Schools at Shelburne Farms recently launched two new Education for Sustainability (EFS) graduate certificate programs. The new programs combine UVM’s research capacity, land-grant mission, and track record of high-quality teacher education with Shelburne Farms’ international reputation for EFS professional learning for teachers.

Vermont Business Magazine Nine new cases of COVID-19 were detected in outbreak testing conducted on November 18 at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport. Six of the cases were identified in the incarcerated population and three among staff. There are now a total of 20 active incarcerated cases and seven active staff cases at NSCF. The facility remains on full lockdown and contact tracing on the new positives is underway.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported 433 cases of COVID-19 Saturday, just under Friday's count of 461, which was among the highest on record, though down from Thursday's 517. The Department of Corrections also reported on Saturday nine more cases at the Newport prison, as six inmates and three staff tested positive. The VDH also reported three additional COVID-related deaths, for 404 statewide.

by Heather Lemon, Retirement Plan Consultant, NBT Investment Services Vermont’s small-town feel and picturesque beauty make it an ideal place to escape the hustle and bustle of a big city. If you’re looking for a place to retire with natural surroundings and a strong sense of community, Vermont should be on your list. If you are considering retiring in Vermont, planning your path is important.

Vermont Business Magazine The 2021/22 ski and ride season is officially underway, and Vail Resorts' annual Cyber Sale offers travelers a limited-time opportunity to save on lodging rates at hotel rooms, condos, and chalets across its portfolio of premier destinations in the United States and Canada. From Tuesday, November 23 through Tuesday, November 30, guests can book midweek stays discounted up to 40% throughout the entire ski and ride season. Vail owns Mt Snow, Okemo and Stowe Mountain resorts in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power and VERMONT Magazine are urging writers to get their entries ready for one of the state’s premiere literary contests, the Vermont Writer’s Prize. The prize is awarded in two categories – prose and poetry. Each winner receives $1,250 and their works will be published in VERMONT Magazine’s Summer 2022 issue.

Vermont Business Magazine The Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has awarded accreditation to the laboratory at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC). The laboratory is staffed by a team of phlebotomists, technical laboratory technologists, medical technologist, cytologist, and pathologists who work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to deliver laboratory results to the patients of SVMC.

“Laboratory accreditation ensures accuracy,” said Karen Bond, the department’s director. “CAP’s vigorous inspection confirms that SVMC is delivering high quality results that patients and their physicians can trust.”

Vermont Agency of Transportation This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities for the week of November 22 that will have traffic impacts on state highways throughout Vermont. Most crews will wrap work by Wednesday evening and be off through the weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday. As projects wind down for the season, this will serve as the final report for 2021. Travel Safely.

Vermont Business Magazine Livian, the real estate platform based in South Burlington and formerly known as Hergenrother Realty Group (HRG), has recently launched. HRG and Keller Williams (KW), the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count, have come together to form a new partnership: Livian. Livian currently has 33 real estate teams in 21 states, powered by 270 real estate agents and 40 employees nationwide. Through partnering with KW, Livian now has the full support it needs to truly scale its platform and help its partners grow their businesses to their highest potential.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Smoke & Cure, founded in 1962, is stepping out of a crowded meat sticks landscape post-pandemic with renewed strategy and robust product innovation. The Vermont Smoke & Cure team makes delicious meat sticks at their smokehouse in Hinesburg, Vermont. Launched in eCommerce on August 24, 2021, the new Hickory Smoked Uncured Bacon Pork Mini Sticks taste like the protein you love, bacon, with a smoky flavor and a hint of maple syrup.

Vermont Business Magazine Years in the making, Peaceful Harvest Mushrooms is excited to announce the launch of their latest product, Cordyceps Militaris, Dried, Whole, Fruiting Bodies. They’re one of only a handful of certified organic cultivators of the whole fruiting body, the mushroom itself, in the United States. Most US cultivators only grow the mycelium which is much faster and easier. The coveted fruiting body is more potent, providing all the potential benefits known, and yet to be discovered.