Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In a unanimous final vote this afternoon, the Vermont Senate passed H.10, a bill that allows candidates to use campaign funds to cover the expense of dependent care while running for office. Having passed final reading in the House on March 17th, H.10 will now head to the Governor’s desk. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) supports this legislation as part of a larger suite of democratic reforms aimed at making Vermont elections more fair, functional, and accessible.

Vermont Business Magazine The real estate community in northwestern Vermont is once again coming together to support local food shelves. The Community Service Committee for the Northwestern Vermont Board of Realtors (NVBR) has launched its annual food drive. Due to the pandemic, the Committee has altered the fundraiser by foregoing the physical collection of food. Instead, the Committee is seeking donations from the NVBR members including Realtors® and businesses affiliated with the real estate community.

Vermont Business Magazine The VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, (VNAHSR), one of the state’s largest providers of skilled home health and hospice services, announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Sara C King as Chief Executive Officer she will replace Ron Cioffi, RN, CEO who is retiring in June. King will assume the leadership role as of April 5, 2021.

The Board of Directors, through an Executive Search Committee, began the search process in December and did a full review of the scope of responsibilities, and surveyed staff regarding leadership.

“Sara is a natural choice for this position,” said Dan DiBattista, President of the Board of Directors at VNAHSR. “With her 20-year background in home health care and her demonstrated skills as a leader, Sara is committed to advancing home-based care and hospice care in Bennington and Rutland Counties.”

Vermont Business Magazine April kicks off what is typically the three most active months of the year for tornadoes in the United States, and tornado territory extends well beyond the Great Plains, as recent outbreaks have made clear. A rare twister touched down in Addison County March 26. Only the second tornado ever recorded in Vermont in the month of March. The state is near the bottom of those region's hit by the storms.

Vermont Business Magazine Award-winning specialty food producer Stonewall Kitchen announced Wednesday its acquisition of Vermont Coffee Company based in Middlebury, Vermont. Vermont Coffee Company is the best-selling brand of bagged organic coffee in grocery stores across the Northeast. The company sources and blends high quality, certified organic arabica coffee from all of the leading coffee regions around the world, slow-roasting them in small batches to make coffees with big bold flavor. Vermont Coffee will remain in Middlebury and plans to open a new cafe later this year.

Vermont Business Magazine On March 29, 2021, the Public Utility Commission (Commission) issued an order extending the temporary moratorium of natural gas, electric, and traditional landline telephone service through May 31, 2021. Water service is presently covered by an involuntary disconnection moratorium, which will remain in effect for the duration of the state of emergency as declared by the governor, currently April 15, 2021. He is expected to extend it month-to-month for the foreseeable future.

Vermont Business Magazine Shelburne Museum will reopen on June 2 with a full slate of new exhibitions and programs, Director Thomas Denenberg announced. Closed since the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum’s 45-acre grounds along with select exhibition buildings, will be open four days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, through October 17. Buildings that will be open include: the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, Pleissner Gallery, Webb Gallery of American Art, and the 220-foot steamboat Ticonderoga.

Vermont Business Magazine On February 23rd, the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation Board of Directors voted to fund “Welcoming Communities.” The BDCC is supporting the launch of a new program that seeks to make the region more welcoming, equitable, and inclusive for BIPOC community members, foreign-born workers, and non-citizen residents. It will improve how existing BDCC programs serve diverse audiences, and launch new targeted activities through partnerships with employers and community-based organizations.

Vermont Business Magazine Jason Maulucci, press secretary for Governor Phil Scott, on Wednesday evening issued the following statement to clarify the state’s residency definition as it relates to college students and others. College students who are residents of another state, and who do not intend to stay in Vermont for the summer, do not meet the current residency requirement at this time. Discussions have been ongoing regarding when to make non-resident students (defined as those who do not intend to stay during the summer months) eligible for vaccination. This will largely depend on vaccine supply.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Peoples Bank of Marietta, OH, has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement dated March 24, 2021, with NS Leasing, LLC, which is headquartered in Burlington, Vermont, and does business as North Star Leasing Company. The Asset Purchase Agreement calls for Peoples Bank to acquire assets comprising NSL’s equipment finance business and to assume from NSL certain specified liabilities for total consideration of approximately $47.5 million, plus a potential earnout payment of up to $3.1 million. North Star Leasing’s business operations will remain in Burlington. North Star Leasing has 42 employees.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and Audubon Vermont recommend people check to see if the area they are planning to hike or climb is open. In addition to the many trails that are currently closed to limit the spread of the coronavirus and reduce impacts during mud season, several cliff areas are closed to protect nesting peregrine falcons. Also, Vermont's trout season opens April 10. And the trail at Snake Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Addison is closed immediately to hiking because of mud season.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Lantern Solar and the Franklin West Supervisory Union are pleased to announce that Bellows Free Academy High School in Fairfax and Georgia Elementary & Middle School are now participants in Vermont’s net metering program. The two schools started receiving credits in December 2020 from Green Lantern’s newest 500 kW array located in Saint Albans. Since the array went online, Green Lantern has had the opportunity to share details of the array’s development and ongoing production with the students of the BFA Climate Change Club, which is studying the effects of climate change and potential solutions, guided by FWSU science teachers Laura Heil and Thomas Lane.