Current News

Airbnb has already reached tax agreements with the State of Vermont & Burlington, and has collected more than $8 million in tax revenue for the state

Vermont Business Magazine Airbnb has finalized a new tax agreement with the City of Rutland, which will allow the company to collect and remit room rental tax on behalf of hosts who have listings across the city. With this new agreement, Airbnb is now collecting and remitting taxes in Vermont statewide, as well as in Burlington and the City of Rutland.

Airbnb has been collecting and remitting hotel-type taxes in Vermont since 2016, when it began collecting and remitting to the State. In total, Airbnb has collected and remitted more than $8 million in taxes in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada presented nine awards to the Diocese of Burlington — including the prestigious top diocesan “Magazine of the Year” Award — during the Catholic Media Conference in June in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Community Bank NA New England branches recently donated $15,000 to The DREAM Program to support its mentoring program. To present the donation, 18 team members joined members of the DREAM Program at Camp DREAM for a work day. The team helped paint, clear trails and get the camp ready for children who will be attending the camp this summer.

​Vermont Business Magazine BioTek Instruments continues to improve laboratory workflows while simplifying the user experience with the launch of their next generation 405 TS Microplate Washer. With new capabilities, 405 TS provides even more time-saving convenience and value for applications such as cell-based assays, ELISAs, bead washing and more.

Vermont Business Magazine Hickok & Boardman Insurance Group is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Plattsburgh, New York. The office, located at 14 Durkee Street, Suite 430 in The Gateway Building overlooking Broad Street and the Saranac River is scheduled to open in July and will be Hickok & Boardman’s first physical location outside of the state of Vermont.

“Hickok & Boardman, Inc has been doing business in northern New York for more than fifty years. We are excited to now have a physical location in Plattsburgh. We view our location in the Gateway Building as the logical next step to foster current and build new relationships with the Plattsburgh community and its businesses” noted Scott Boardman, President at Hickok & Boardman, Inc. 

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine Education and higher education in particular isn’t just about education. It’s an industry in its own right and an economic driver. For Rutland County, economic development officials and business leaders are faced with a double-barreled loss: Green Mountain College and the College of Saint Joseph. Not unlike many small colleges around the country both GMC and CSJ fell victim to declining enrollments putting the schools in financial jeopardy and losing their accreditation. 

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine As it nears its 30th anniversary, the Howe Center, in the heart of Rutland, continues to serve as a guidebook to the dos and don'ts of reviving the industrial properties of a bygone era. The Howe Center boasts an abundance of history as the home of the Howe Scale Company, which opened for business on the site in 1878. Over the ensuing hundred years, the company built scales known worldwide for their ability to weigh everything from a human hair to a box car and even an airliner.

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine Situated alongside Route 30 in Castleton Corners, Hubbardton Forge produces modern lighting fixtures and a variety of other forged items for a high-end market. Since its launch in 1974, the enterprise has evolved from “two guys, an old barn and some borrowed tools,” in the words of the company's website, to a 120,000-square-foot plant with a payroll of about 230.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille has announced that Reeva Murphy will be stepping down as Deputy Commissioner within the Department for Children and Families (DCF). Reeva Murphy has served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Child Development Division (CDD) within DCF for the last ten years.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) crews restored power to about 35 customers in the Harvest Lane/Taft Corners area of Williston on the Fourth of July. A problem with an underground cable knocked out power around 10:45 in the morning, before the town's parade had concluded just up Route 2. Crews responded quickly and were able to safely restore power to all customers around 1 pm.

The Williston Police Department noted that some stop lights in the area were also knocked out during the outage. They did not report any accidents as a result.

During the outage, the GMP team also responded on scene to communicate directly by visiting many of the businesses including Home Depot, Walmart, and Gardener’s Supply.

Vermont Business Magazine Birdseye, the architecture and building firm located in Richmond, Vermont, has been named a top 5 finalist for the prestigious international 7th Annual Architizer A+ Awards. Their design project, WOODSHED, is a finalist for the Private House 3,000 – 5,000 SF category. Designed as a guest house, the Vermont project is conceptually inspired by the vernacular woodshed, a familiar and iconic element in the rural landscape, and is clad throughout in reclaimed corral board.

Vermont Business Magazine The 2019 Vermont Small Business Person of the Year is awarded to Steven Gagner, 14th Star Brewing Company, co-founder and owner. Gagner is recognized for growing his company, increasing sales, employee growth and contributing to the local community.