Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Sugarbush Resort is raising its minimum wage for all non-tipped positions to $15/hour, effective immediately. In addition, the resort will be making wage adjustments for other eligible staff members to maintain a differential in pay. The announcement was made to all staff at Sugarbush’s annual summer employee party on Wednesday afternoon.

“Our staff continue to be the key reason for this resort’s success,” said Annemarie Todd, Vice President of Human Resources. “Their dedication and attention to exceptional guest service, particularly over this difficult past year and a half, is remarkable. We believe that in order to retain this excellent team and further build upon it with future staff, it is necessary we increase our starting wages.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) today announced that it has awarded approximately $3.3 million in grants to municipalities for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvement projects. The construction projects and planning grants will benefit cities and towns statewide by improving connectivity and safety for the traveling public and providing tangible economic benefits.

The Agency continues to work toward its goal of improvements that enable use of all modes of transportation effectively in communities. Municipalities are answering a call for better conditions for walking and bicycling, especially in downtowns and village centers.

Vermont Business Magazine The SBA Vermont District Office is hosting a webinar from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 10 about the new Direct Forgiveness Portal for Paycheck Protection Program borrowers. The Direct Forgiveness Portal allows PPP borrowers whose loans are $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA.

Vermont participating lenders are Community National Bank, Vermont State Employees Credit Union, Bank of Bennington, National Bank of Middlebury, New England Federal Credit Union, Union Bank, Vermont Federal Credit Union, and Bar Harbor Bank.

Vermont Business Magazine Chase will swing open the doors of its first Vermont branch Wednesday when it opens a state-of-the art bank location at 1 Church Street in Burlington. Current plans call for three branches in Vermont over the next two years including South Burlington and Williston.

“I am thrilled and so proud to open the first Chase branch in Vermont, especially in downtown Burlington,” said Branch Manager Steven Wald. “Our team is excited and invites the Burlington community to come by and enjoy the difference Chase brings to the client experience.”

Vermont Business Magazine What role did music play in a newly independent United States? In the 1780s music in commemorative rituals focused on gratitude, virtue and educating youth, according to new research that draws on extensive music archives from Bennington, Vermont Music played a central role in commemorating the revolutionary war, which was an important counter to the perceived fragility of the new republic. As political rifts developed at the close of the century, songs and songwriting became a tool for political expression and criticism.

Vermont Business Magazine The 21st Century Business Forum will help viewers crack the code on virtues that real team players possess and what it takes to build a thriving culture in August.

The webcast features bestselling author and organizational health guru Patrick Lencioni and is hosted by bestselling author Jon Gordon. It will air at 12PM Wednesday, August 11. Registration is free.

Lencioni is founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and employee engagement.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Medical Society (VMS), which represents 2,400 physicians and physician assistants across Vermont, has signed onto a joint statement urging that employers mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all workers in health care and long-term care settings.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger announced Daniel Richardson as Burlington’s next City Attorney. Richardson brings nearly two decades of legal experience to the City, most recently as Partner at Tarrant Gillies, Richardson & Shems and as an Adjunct Professor at Vermont Law School where he created the school’s first municipal law course.

“Dan’s wealth of experience makes him the clear best candidate for the critical position of City Attorney,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “His knowledge of municipal law, skills in litigation and mediation, professional integrity and superior work ethic will make him an outstanding leader in the City Attorney’s office. I am pleased to welcome him to the City team and know that Burlingtonians will benefit from his work.”

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday issued the following statement after President Joe Biden announced his administration would put in place a new 60-day eviction moratorium in areas with high levels of COVID-19 infections:

“As we’re combatting a deadly pandemic that caused a level of economic suffering we’ve not seen in this country since the Great Depression, we cannot allow families to be thrown out on the street. Today’s extension of the eviction moratorium is life-changing news for millions of people.

“I want to thank the Biden administration for finding a way to keep people in their homes while states distribute the $47 billion in assistance that Democrats in Congress provided in the American Rescue Plan. I’m also very proud of Reps. Cori Bush, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Progressive Caucus for leading the effort to push the federal government to respond directly to the needs of the working class.”

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced that his office has reached settlements with three different online sellers of electronic cigarettes for violations of Vermont’s Delivery Sales Ban and Consumer Protection Act. Under the settlements, the companies resolved claims that they sold electronic cigarettes, e-liquids, or other tobacco paraphernalia to individual consumers. As of July 1, 2019, it is illegal to sell electronic cigarettes and related vaping products over the internet to individual Vermont consumers. In total, the companies will pay $165,000 in civil penalties to the State of Vermont. The three settlements come on the heels of announcements in December 2020 and May 2021 that the Attorney General’s Office reached settlements with 10 other online sellers of electronic cigarettes, totaling $307,500 in civil penalties.

Vermont Business Magazine The federal government has authorized the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) to provide temporary food benefits to households who:

• Received 3SquaresVT benefits, and
• Had children under 6 years old in the household.

The first round of benefits, called Pandemic-EBT Childcare, are now being issued for the period October 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021. Children did not have to be enrolled in child care to get the benefit. However, children who received a Pandemic-EBT school benefit in a given month will not get the Pandemic-EBT childcare benefit for that month.

Benefit amounts are as follows:

Vermont Business Magazine Wildgood, a plant-based ice cream and the first non-dairy frozen dessert made with extra virgin olive oil, can now be delivered directly to consumers' doors. Starting today, the brand is offering nationwide shipping (with the exception of AK and HI) for orders placed on Wildgood.com. This expansion comes on the heels of a successful grocery store roll-out in select stores across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region earlier this spring.

Made for ice cream lovers, Wildgood is creamy and decadent yet surprisingly lower in calories and saturated fat. The brand launches with eight flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Coffee, Mango, Pistachio, Chocolate Hazelnut, Sea Salt Caramel and Mint Chocolate Chip. Each flavor is made from pronounceable vegan ingredients and contains less than 2g of saturated fat per serving.