Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced Mike Smith as the next secretary of the Agency Human Services.

“I’m pleased to appoint Mike to this post. He has served in many different leadership roles across state government and the non-profit and private sectors,” Governor Scott said. “As was the case with his predecessor, Al Gobeille, Mike has a wide and varied background and has been a dynamic and effective leader. I feel fortunate to attract Vermonters with such skill and integrity into state government.  Their leadership ability is an incredibly important and critical part of the work we are doing to strengthen the economy, make Vermont more affordable and protect the most vulnerable.”

Vermont Business Magazine On October 11th, representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Man and Biosphere Program (MAB) and the U.S. National Park Service will gather at the University of Vermont for the Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere Reserve’s (CABR) Annual Meeting.  The meeting will focus on how to improve human interaction with protected landscapes in order to maintain social, economic and ecological integrity.

Cheryl Sullivan was in the woods one warm October day, flicking yet another tick from her leg, “which felt like the tenth of the day,” she says.

Lyme-disease bearing deer ticks like the ones climbing on Sullivan, a Ph.D. student in UVM’s Entomology Research Lab, were certainly causing problems for humans, she remembers thinking. But a different species – the winter tick – was an even worse scourge for one of the northern woods most iconic species, the moose, for whom the parasite was an existential threat. A 2018 study published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology found that winter ticks, also known as moose ticks, were the primary cause of an unprecedented 70 percent death rate among moose calves in northern New England over a three-year period.

“I was thinking about the work that we did at the lab, and it's like, gosh, I wonder if granular fungus would work on moose ticks,” she says, referring to the insect-killing fungi in granular formulation her colleagues had used to effectively control pests like the pear thrips, which attacks maple trees.

Following the autopsy performed by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office on Wednesday, the Vermont State Police is able to positively identify the victim found deceased Tuesday in Salisbury as Nicholas Louras, 34, of Rutland. The cause of death is gunshot wounds, and the manner of death is homicide.

Louras is a cousin of Christopher G. Louras, 33, of Rutland, who died after exchanging gunfire with Rutland City and Rutland Town police officers Tuesday morning in downtown Rutland. The cause of death for Christopher Louras is gunshot wounds, and the manner of death is homicide.

Vermont Business Magazine The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and Vermont Law School's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) has released an updated guide with new funding resources for farmers and businesses interested in pursuing animal welfare certification. According to recent research, the demand for products with meaningful welfare certifications has continued to rise at a steady pace as consumers become more concerned about inhumane factory farming practices.

by Christine McGowan Somewhere between the Oak trees near the Massachusetts border and the Maple trees of  Northern Vermont, Ken Gagnon earned his trail name: the walking sawyer. “You meet folks along the trail and get to talking,” said Gagnon, owner of Gagnon Lumber in Pittsford. “People were interested to learn about the species of trees and forest vegetation, or the parts of the Long Trail that were built along old woods roads. Once they began to understand how the trails and trees around them connected to Vermont’s 250-year-old logging history, they saw the forest differently.”

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and representatives from the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) and the Department of Labor (DOL) on Wednesday highlighted progress on the new Vermont Logger Safety and Workers' Compensation Insurance Program, including a 15% workers’ compensation premium credit.

Vermont Business Magazine The LEAP program is hosting a follow up training course for those who have completed the Introduction to Mechanized Logging Safety course. This training will focus and review the basics for First Aid Rural environment care. The program will be done through hands on team approach training, with an emphasis on “Move or NOT Move” situations. Both courses are required for mechanized logging contractors participating in the newly created Vermont Logger Safety and Workers’ Compensation Insurance Program.

Among the many topics of discussion, the course will focus on rural first aid, a review of bloodborne pathogens, first aid versus trauma kits, communication, GPS, personal accountability, forming a response team, scene assessment, rescue of a trapped and pinned logger, actual hazard exercises, and a final wrap up and review of real trauma and honest expectations of positive outcomes.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University will present “Climate and Security in an Era of Great Power Competition and Global Disruption,” a talk by Sherri Goodman, senior fellow at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and Polar Institute, on Friday, October 11, at noon in the Mack Hall auditorium.

Vermont Business Magazine The ruffed grouse is an iconic game bird of Vermont that is widely recognized and enjoyed by both hunters and non-hunters alike. However, biologists are concerned that grouse populations across the Northeast appear to have declined over the past 30 years. This trend has prompted more ruffed grouse research on any potential causes, including emerging disease threats and habitat loss. Recently, West Nile Virus has been implicated as a significant contributor to population declines in Pennsylvania.

What’s Happening in Vermont?

Vermont is set to participate in a multi-state research project to determine the distribution, prevalence and potential impact of West Nile Virus on ruffed grouse across their range in North America.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on Wednesday announced that two economic development projects in Addison and Essex Counties are receiving significant infusions of federal funds. Leahy – the Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee -- authored a unique partnership between the Northern Border Regional Commission and the US Economic Development Administration that will result in the agencies awarding $500,000 to the Town of Bristol, and $390,130 to the Northeast Kingdom Development Corporation.

Vermont Business Magazine Four craft distilleries in New England — two in Vermont and two in Rhode Island — earned nods on the best craft distilleries in America lists, which were released Friday as part of USA Today’s 2019 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards. Smugg’s was seventh in the Best Craft Vodka Distillery category. Saxtons River Distillery in Brattleboro was 10th in the Best Craft Specialty Spirit Distillery category.