Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Food Connects in Brattleboro is set to begin construction of their 1,200 square-foot cooler and freezer space in mid-August. The expanded operational space triples the available volume of cold and frozen storage space available to Food Connects to aggregate and distribute local foods. In November of 2018, Food Connects moved to their new facility at the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s (BDCC) Business Park. This large space offers many benefits—access to a loading dock for their fleet, increased office and storage space, and most importantly, room to move and store more food. The latter is essential to Food Connects’ future as they work toward building more market opportunities for local producers of refrigerated, frozen, and shelf-stable foods. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) hosted its Annual Meeting at the King Farm, joined by Commissioners and guests from across the TRO Region. The event was hosted to celebrate and highlight some of the fantastic work being done by TRORC to enhance the region’s quality of life over the past year.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine You may not know her name, but if you've ever watched your select board on public access television, you owe a debt of thanks to Lauren-Glenn Davitian. Or if you've watched Town Meeting, your fire department’s barbecue, your kid's dance recital or any other community event. Davitian, 58, is the co-founder and executive director of Burlington's CCTV/Center for Media and Democracy, otherwise known as Channel 17. She has been a vital leader in the world of Vermont public access television for over 35 years.

Public Assets Institute Half of Vermont counties lost workers last year, and the state’s labor force dropped overall. The total change was small—75 fewer people working or actively looking for work—and may have been a temporary dip. Two years of growth preceded it, and the latest figures from the Vermont Department of Labor show the state’s labor force grew again in the first half of 2019. Labor force numbers are based on workers’ places of residence; jobs are counted at the place of employment. So while the labor force of Vermont’s northwest counties fell, the region still accounted for more than half of Vermont’s job growth.

Vermont Business Magazine A program long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will invest $98,918 in bolstering efforts to bring local agriculture into the classrooms and cafeterias of Vermont schools.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced Farm to School grants to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers.

Leahy said:  “Tying local agriculture to our schools not only provides our children with healthy meals and improved nutrition, it encourages a long standing connection to the farms that define our Green Mountain State.  Every student deserves equal access to healthy meals, and I’m proud that our school nutrition leaders will use these funds to help all children gain a better understand about where their food comes from.  This announcement is another example of how Vermont continues to lead the nation in implementing this effective strategy.”

Vermont Business Magazine Since CFES Brilliant Pathways was founded in 1991, rural America has experienced declines in population and jobs as well as lower aspirations among youth. On Saturday July 13, CFES reinforced its commitment to rebuild rural America by raising over $450,000 to help students become college and career ready. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following update in response to Brookfield Properties’ announcement that its CityPlace Burlington project is faced with additional delays. While lacking details, the project will be redesigned and likely scaled back. "Like many in our community, I am frustrated and disappointed that the developers have not commenced construction of CityPlace Burlington. At the same time, Brookfield’s statement today and recent actions demonstrate that there remains a potentially very good path forward with them to transform this long-troubled site into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood."

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Electric Department, Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) and Green Mountain Power (GMP) are encouraging members to conserve electricity during late afternoons and evenings this weekend as demand for electricity is expected to spike because of high temperatures throughout New England.

Vermont Business Magazine In a letter sent on July 11, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) endorsed Vermont’s clean water funding plan - as outlined in Act 76 of 2019 - as meeting the requirements of the Lake Champlain Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Act 76, passed in May, makes a long-term, annual commitment of more than $20 million in state funds to leverage other funding sources, resulting in an estimated annual clean water investment of more than $50 million. For this year anyway, both a portion of the Rooms & Meals tax and surplus budget funds from last fiscal year are contributing to the fund. Act 76 also creates a project delivery framework to ensure water quality projects meet Vermont’s clean water goals.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Patty Murray (D-WA) late Thursday reintroduced their legislation to strengthen privacy protections in the United States by limiting the unreasonably large “border zone.”  Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) introduced an identical version of the bill in the House of Representatives.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for June was 2.1 percent, as all three major metrics showed improvement. The rate itself reflects no change from the revised May rate. Since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics online historical series started in 1976, the current seasonally-adjusted estimate of the number of unemployed Vermonters (7,245) as well as the statewide seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate are at historically low levels. Vermont’s unemployment rate was again lowest in the nation. New Hampshire was number four lowest (2.5 percent, up one tenth). Alaska was highest at 6.4 percent. The comparable United States rate in June was 3.7 percent, which was an increase of one-tenth.

Vermont Business Magazine The Community Bank NA's Rutland, Woodstock Ave, and Green Mountain Plaza branches recently helped Habitat for Humanity of Rutland close the funding gap for its Crescent Street build through a $3,000 donation to purchase necessary supplies. Once complete, the Crescent Street house will become home for a local family in need.