Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) is pleased to announce the 25th year of funding to support projects on municipal roads that improve water quality and result in maintenance cost savings. The grant funds are provided by AOT in partnership with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. The Vermont Better Roads Program promotes the use of erosion control and maintenance techniques that save money while protecting and enhancing water quality around the State.

Vermont Business Magazine New York’s Empire State Passengers Association and the Vermont Rail Action Network today jointly called for the swift restoration of Amtrak’s Adirondack train to Montreal along with Amtrak’s Maple Leaf train to Toronto with the November 8th reopening of the U.S.—Canadian border for vaccinated travelers.

Both trains ceased operating in March of 2020 as a result of the CoVid-related closure of the international border. Amtrak resumed operation of the Maple Leaf between New York City and Niagara Falls in July, but the Adirondack service remains fully suspended.

“While we realize there is a certain lead time required and a checklist of preparatory actions that Amtrak must take before trains can start running again, ESPA calls upon Amtrak, its host railroads and New York State to move swiftly to restore these important international travel options,” said ESPA President Gary Prophet.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company based in Williston, with 50-years of construction experience in solar, electrical and data services, today released certain preliminary operating results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2021. Third quarter revenues are estimated to be between $6.2 million and $7.2 million, gross margin between 18% and 20% and net loss between approximately $1.2 million to $1.5 million. Margins are anticipated to return to more normal pre-COVID pandemic levels as the company works through its backlog.

​Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a comprehensive review of previously completed site cleanup work at both the Pine Street Canal Site in Burlington and Commerce Street Plume Site in Williston this year. The sites, listed as National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund sites, will undergo a legally required Five-Year Review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to be protective of human health and the environment.

by Lori Fisher, Lake Champlain Committee Since the time of European settlement, Vermont has lost half of its wetlands in the Champlain Basin to development and agriculture, and more than a third of wetlands that existed statewide. Wetlands are known by a lot of different names – swamps, marshes, peatlands, sloughs, bogs, fens, and potholes, among others – and are a critical part of Vermont’s landscape. Wetlands comprise just 4% of Vermont’s land area, yet they serve an outsized role.

by Rob Roper In the spring of 2011, then Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law the bill that was supposed to set Vermont off leading the nation to a single payer healthcare system. The activists rejoiced, the politicians puffed their chests, the bean counters got to work. Then, in December 2014 the three-year adventure in denying reality came to an end. Shumlin was forced to admit the whole scheme was too expensive, too disruptive, and simply wouldn’t work. So, never mind! A similar scent of impending failure is beginning to seep out from the (virtual) chambers of the Vermont Climate Council.

by David Hirsch, Dartmouth College Organisms at the base of the aquatic food web may be hidden from sight, but they are just as sensitive to climate change as other plant and animal life, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. The study looked at two effects of climate change on water that researchers expect to increase in coming years: warming and “browning,” the discoloration caused by high loads of dissolved organic matter.

Vermont Business Magazine A team of Green Mountain Power (GMP) employees including line workers and mechanics left for Maine this morning, to assist Central Maine Power’s restoration effort after Tuesday’s powerful Nor’Easter knocked out power to more than 600,000 customers across New England, more than 26,000 of them in Maine. GMP and Central Maine Power are part of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group, which connects utilities so they can help each other recover from storm damage.

by Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Over the past few weeks, I have given considerable thought to the message I want to convey to Vermonters on this important topic. The world of cybersecurity has changed significantly for election officials over the last five years. Turn back to September of 2017, when Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed what we had suspected for months: Russian cyber actors had attacked our elections in an attempt to unduly influence the outcome.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Women’s Fund announces the launch of This Way UP: there’s power in our numbers, a new initiative to identify and track women-owned businesses (WOB) and women leaders throughout the state. While women business owners are a strong part of Vermont’s economy, there is no conclusive data to determine how many there are, in what sectors, and what gender-specific challenges they might face such as lack of access to funding.

State also warns Vermonters that ticks are active now, so know how to avoid bites
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has confirmed a case of human illness due to West Nile virus. This is the first such case since 2017. A Chittenden County resident was diagnosed earlier this month with neuroinvasive disease – a more serious form of the illness which affects the nervous system. The individual was hospitalized but has since been released.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting today that COVID-19 cases increased today after a steep drop Wednesday, but remain under 200. COVID cases fell from 265 on Sunday to 140 on Monday to 91 Wednesday to 164 today. Cases spiked last Thursday to their fourth highest number on record. The four worst days for cases have all come since mid-September, as the Delta variant has taken over since early July. However, the VDH also reported today two more deaths for 356 statewide. The vast majority of fatalities have come among those 80 and over, while having by far the fewest number of infections for any age band. Both fatalities reported Wednesday were in this age band.