Current News

Vermont Business Magazine US Senators Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, Thursday asked for an ethics investigation of Attorney General William Barr’s decision to approve an illegal mass surveillance program by the Drug Enforcement Administration in a letter to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Barr approved the DEA program in 1992, during his first stint as attorney general, without conducting any analysis of whether it was legal, according to an Inspector General report released earlier this year. The vast surveillance program swept up billions of phone records over more than 20 years, using subpoenas that were never reviewed by a judge.

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy It has been 810 days since Hurricane Maria destroyed the homes, businesses and lives of countless American citizens of Puerto Rico, and for 810 days President Trump and his administration have been dragging their feet on delivering aid that the island desperately needs.  Implementing appropriations passed by Congress and signed into law is not optional. It is not left to the whims of a President who holds a petty political grudge against the American people of Puerto Rico. 

Vermont Business Magazine ISO New England, operator of New England’s power system, expects the region to have the necessary resources this winter to meet consumer demand under both normal and extreme temperatures. Consumer demand is expected to peak at 20,476 megawatts (MW) under normal weather conditions or 21,173 MW at extreme temperatures.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has named Judge William “Bill” Cohen of Rutland to the Vermont Supreme Court after serving 20 years as a Superior Court judge with distinction. Cohen will be sworn into office by Governor Scott in a ceremony later this month. He replaces former Associate Justice Marilyn Skoglund, who retired in September. Cohen grew up in Rutland and was educated through the Rutland public school system. He graduated Rutland High School in 1975, followed by a year as a chair lift operator for Killington Mountain Resorts. He then went on to obtain a BA in Environmental Science from George Washington University, and a JD from Vermont Law School. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) worked with local financial institutions to fund affordable homes that will be sold to low- and moderate-income Vermonters. Passumpsic Bank, Mascoma Bank, Union Mutual Insurance, Community National Bank, and Union Bank invested in Vermont Affordable Housing Tax Credits available through VHFA. Sale of the credits has raised roughly $2.5 million for affordable housing.

The Vermont State Police are identifying the two troopers who fired their patrol rifles as Robert Helm and Matthew Hood. They are both assigned to the New Haven Barracks. Trooper Helm joined the Vermont State Police in 2014 as a trooper at the Derby Barracks. He transferred to the New Haven Barracks in September 2016, then worked on temporary assignment at the Rutland Barracks from November 2017 to February 2018 before returning to New Haven.

Vermont Business Magazine Not to be a grinch, but as we enter the holiday season, a time of giving and celebration, it’s sobering to remember that the amount of waste generated is staggering. That waste isn't limited to wrapping paper and packaging. It includes food waste as well.  According to Worldwatch Institute, Americans generate an extra five million tons of household waste each year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, three times more food waste than at any other time of the year.  

Vermont Business Magazine In just about 24 hours the slopes of Burke Mountain will kickoff the 19.20 winter ski and ride season. The Mid Burke Express will begin daily operations of 9am-4pm Friday servicing eight trails off the summit. Get there early and be first chair famous with the first four skiers and riders who grab that coveted spot receiving an overnight stay to the Burke Mountain Hotel.  

Discounted tickets will be available for purchase: $45/adult; $35/junior; half-day tickets starting at 12:15 will be $28/per person. Sunday, 12/8 will be NEK Sunday all day long with tickets for all ages available for just $28/per person.  

The First Chair Famous from last year at Burke. Courtesy photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) has been awarded a grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Clean Water Initiative Program to organize a three-day wetland restoration training workshop. The aim of this workshop is to fulfill the current training needs of natural resource professionals across the state of Vermont in relation to ecologically effective and economically efficient wetland restoration design.

This training will be led by skilled wetland restoration professionals and will cover a variety of topics including restoration goals, evaluation techniques, funding opportunities, monitoring, and much more. It will feature a mix of both indoor instruction and outdoor site visits, including visits to a potential restoration site along the Black River in Plymouth, VT.

LCC Lake Champlain Committee In early September, Lake Champlain Basin Program Boat (LCBP) Launch Steward Matthew Gorton was conducting a routine boat inspection for invasive species prevention at a public access site in South Hero when he noticed an unusual plant hanging off a boat trailer backing into the lake. Gorton checked the boat and removed the plant specimen, which he later relayed to the Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society and ultimately sent to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for genetic analysis. Results confirmed the plant as Hydrilla verticillata, a particularly aggressive aquatic invasive.

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine The statutory Vermont Rail Advisory Council (VRAC) voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday night in Barre in favor of a site near Burlington's McNeil Generating Station as the best place for overnight storage of the Amtrak train that is scheduled to begin serving the Queen City in late 2021. The vote opened a new phase of the prolonged controversy over the overnighting issue. A Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission report issued in July had rated a yet-to-be-built rail siding at Burlington Union Station as the best of five options for accommodating the Ethan Allen Express train overnight in Burlington.