Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont business owners came together on Wednesday to discuss the unprecedented economic struggle they face due to the pandemic, and to ask the legislature to increase funding for Economic Recovery Grants.

“I urge the legislature to appropriate the full $50 million in additional funding for additional Economic Recovery Grants for those businesses who continue to show economic loss through COVID-19,” said George Sales, Managing Owner of Pica-pica Filipino Cuisine, a restaurant in Saint Johnsbury. “It is small businesses like ours that help to share our communities, provide spaces and places for our friends, neighbors and visitors to come together. Losing these businesses will be devastating to our communities. We’ve come so far as a state through this pandemic, and we are doing all that we can to stay afloat.”

Vermont Business Magazine The National Endowment for the Arts is recommending an award of $747,400 to the Vermont Arts Council in the NEA’s first distribution of funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The emergency funding is designed to support the arts sector as it recovers from the devastating impact of Covid-19. It is part of the $135 million allocated for the Arts Endowment in the legislation, which represents a significant commitment to the arts and a recognition of the value of the arts and culture sector to the nation’s economy and recovery.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of Directors of Superior Technical Ceramics, a middle-market leader in advanced ceramics in St Albans and portfolio company of Artemis, the Boston-based Industrial Tech firm, announced today that James R. Callan has been appointed President and CEO, effective April 19th, 2021. Callan brings more than 30 years of proven advanced manufacturing leadership to STC.

With federal charges against Andrew and questions of ownership, Degrees of Freedom and Marlboro Music Festival still plan to open

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine Last week, residents of Marlboro, in the hills of Windham County, got big news – twice. On April 27, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed a criminal complaint against Seth Andrew, the motivating force behind Democracy Builders Fund, which purchased the campus of the defunct Marlboro College last July. On April 30, Degrees of Freedom, an innovative but non-accredited educational institution and a DBF project, announced it was delaying launch of its operations on the 533-acre campus.

Vermont Business Magazine On May 4th, the Burlington Board of School Commissioners unanimously approved the appointment of Lauren McBride to the role of Principal of Burlington High School (BHS) beginning July 1, 2021. McBride was chosen for the position after a national search yielded a pool of 19 qualified candidates from nine states and two countries.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced action on H195 and H128, as passed by the General Assembly. H195 is An act relating to use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement in cases involving sexual exploitation of children. H128 is An Act Relating to Limiting Criminal Defenses Based on Victim Identity. Scott said, "What this bill does is make sure a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity can’t be used to defend or justify a criminal act, or to lower a sentence."

Vermont Business Magazine More than 14,000 Vermonters collected 241 tons of trash and 9,000 tires May 1 -- in the 51st Green Up Day. Students submitted 290 poster designs and the winning poster design went to a third grader. Student reporters with the Community News Service posted stories from across the state. Also, A recent study looked at human-bear conflicts in Vermont finding that more than half are caused by humans with bird feeders (27%) and garbage outside of the house (26%) leading the way. There is little indication that hunting bears to reduce the population is a solution. In fact, destabilizing bear family units can lead to more unstable behavior, which can result in more human-bear conflicts.

Vermont Business Magazine The Restaurant Revitalization Fund is a federal grant program that will provide restaurants with funding equal to pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million. Program eligibility includes restaurants, food stands/trucks/carts, caterers, bars, saloons, and other similar places of business. During the program's run, the SBA will hold a series of webinars. Topics will include an overview of the program, eligibility and the application process.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Pillow Co, the fast-growing Vermont-based startup aiming to help bring a great night’s sleep to all, launched their all-new mobile responsive website today. Beyond its adaptive design for visitors using smartphones and tablets, the new site has an extremely fast load time and a new streamlined checkout process offering a wider variety of payment options.

by Michael Metz There is ample evidence to illustrate why workforce development is essential. Vermont’s rate of job growth lags behind the national average. Colleges have closed with more likely to fail. Employment has shrunk and not entirely due to COVID. Vermont is the second grayest state in the nation and many of our companies are facing a labor shortage crisis with the retirement of their skilled workforce. Some of our wealthier retirees disappear to Florida, taking their tax dollars and accumulated wisdom with them – a double loss for those of us left behind. The youth too flee the state, largely for jobs and affordable housing.

Vermont Business Magazine National Nurses Day is May 6 and local Dunkin’ franchisees will thank nurses and healthcare professionals by offering them a free medium hot or iced coffee this Thursday. From the very start of the pandemic, Dunkin’ and its franchisees have offered their support and gratitude to healthcare professionals nationwide. In honor of National Nurses Day, the brand is once again showing its appreciation for these heroes’ tireless efforts to keep us all healthy and safe.