Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Student reporters with the Community News Service at the University of Vermont posted stories and photos from across the state for Green Up Day. More than 14,000 Vermonters collected 241 tons of trash and 9,000 tires May 1 -- in the 51st Green Up Day. There were also free muffins and coffee for Green Up Day participants outside of the Richmond Congregational Church.

Vermont Business Magazine #Farm24VT, a social media celebration of agriculture, food, and dairy in Vermont, is set for May 12 at 5:00 a.m. and will run for a full twenty-four hours. Nearly 60 Vermont farmers, agribusinesses, food producers, and others in the agricultural community will be sharing photos, videos, and stories to show the passion, hard work, and commitment that goes into growing and producing food. All of the posts will include the #Farm24VT hashtag so members of the public throughout the region can easily find them.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) announces the selection of the Energy 2021 cohort of the DeltaClimeVT climate economy business accelerator. Seven early-stage energy companies from across the US and Canada will work with climate economy leaders, industry experts, potential partners and investment professionals over the next three months while completing an intensive curriculum, developed by ecosVC, during online workshops, webinars and mentoring sessions.

Vermont Business Magazine The VDH knows that many people, especially younger Vermonters, may simply be waiting for a convenient moment to get their COVID-19 vaccination. To help make it as easy as possible, they are arranging for more walk-in opportunities at several locations. The VDH is also reporting today continued positive COVID-19 data, with 53 cases and no deaths, which remain at 248.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Wednesday issued the following statement after the Biden Administration announced it supports efforts to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines: “I applaud President Biden and his administration for taking this bold step in response to the world’s most urgent crisis. Our vaccination efforts here at home will only be successful if vaccination efforts in the developing world happen simultaneously. Supporting this waiver, and putting people over profits, will help us to do that by speeding up the production and availability of vaccines."

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."