Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Please join Mayor Weinberger and the Burlington Police Department Tuesday evening for a community conversation to discuss Burlington's recent progress in our fight against the opioid epidemic – and where we go from here. Burlington has begun to begun to make significant and hopeful progress in our fight against this epidemic: In 2018, opioid-related overdose fatalities declined by 50 percent in Chittenden County, even as they continued to rise in the rest of the state. While we are heartened by this news, we know that our work is far from done.

This Town Hall Meeting will feature three of the country's leading experts on this topic: 

Vermont Business Magazine The owner of a St. Albans brewing company is named the 2019 Vermont Small Business Person of the Year. Steve Gagner, owner and founder of 14th Star Brewing Company is being recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration for employment growth, financial success, expansion and community involvement. The business plan for 14th Star Brewing Company was originally drafted on the back of a notebook by Gagner while he was serving in Afghanistan. Upon returning home to Vermont from deployment, Gagner and his best friend and fellow soldier Matt Kehaya, worked to refine the plan to make their dream of 14th Star Brewing Company a reality in 2012 (Gagner is majority owner). The brewery’s name signifies Vermont becoming the 14th state.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Systems, an employee-owned recreation management software company headquartered in Essex Junction, has received a workforce development grant of $150,353 through Department of Economic Development’s Vermont Training Program (VTP). The grant will be used to help train over 100 employees on their enterprise suite of software products.  Vermont Systems’ parks and recreation software solutions are installed around the world for the U.S. military and across the country for municipalities and universities. 

Vermont Business Magazine The farm families who own Cabot Creamery Co-operative are celebrating their Centennial in style with new packaging for their award-winning cheeses. The new modern-rustic feel for Cabot’s signature plaid honors the co-op’s proud past while looking to the future. For Cabot CEO Ed Townley, the new packaging “reflects the same attention to detail that goes into making our award-winning cheeses and our farmers’ unwavering commitment to quality. As we reach the next century mark, we remain focused on ensuring the next generation of family farmers are able to continue farming.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont leads the nation by a commanding margin as the top maple producing state. Total US maple syrup production in 2018 was 4.1 million gallons, with Vermont’s contribution accounting for more than 1.9 million of those gallons. In the spirit of friendly competition (‘tis the season of March Madness after all), Maple Open House Weekend, March 23 & 24, is a chance for Vermont sugar makers to do their victory dance while opening the doors of their sugarhouses for visitors traveling from near and far wanting to see, taste, and experience firsthand why people should think of Vermont first when they think of maple syrup.

Vermont Business Magazine It was crossover week for policy bills in the Vermont legislature. After a week long break for Town Meeting Day lawmakers returned to Montpelier and the policy committees worked diligently to pass their priority bills for 2019. Probably the most controversial hearing occured in Randolph, where the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from citizens on two gun safety proposals. The proposals, which would create purchase waiting periods and impose safe storage requirements, are being considered a year after Vermont passed landmark gun safety legislation in the wake of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement Friday in response to the death of former Burlington Mayor Francis J. Cain, who served as Mayor 1965–1971.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University is now accepting applications for its recently approved Master of Business Administration. This fully online program can be completed in just one calendar year and offers a variety of concentrations and meaningful micro-credentials which may also be taken separately to enhance career advancement.

by Robert Zulkoski, Social Entrepreneur, and Edward Cameron, Climate Advocate and Strategist Dirt farmers must anticipate everything about their crops before they even begin to sow their fields.  They must consider the soil, seeds, compost, plowing, insects and weather before they decide what crop they’re going to plant. They must participate in preparing the soil, setting the seeds, fertilizing the sprouting plants, understanding and watching for insect infestation, and building and monitoring proper irrigation as they toil toward a bountiful and profitable harvest.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Local. One of Vermont’s popular buzzwords. But for The Bank of Bennington’s President and CEO James Brown, local is how the bank does business. The philosophy remains simple: local customers deposit local money, that stays in the local economy, which supports the local community. If done well, then everyone’s boat rises.

Vermont State Police A Vermont state trooper is recovering Saturday after he collapsed following a traffic stop in the Addison County town of Leicester and was revived by multiple doses of Narcan. The incident began at about 11:25 p.m. Friday, March 15, 2019, when Acting Sgt. Brett Flansburg of the New Haven Barracks stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on Leicester Whiting Road in the town of Leicester. While speaking with the driver, Sgt. Flansburg observed the passenger swallow an item. The passenger, later identified as Taylor C. Woodward, 25, of Brandon, admitted the item was a baggie of cocaine.

Taylor C. Woodward, 25, of Brandon

Vermont Business Magazine Mark your calendar, set your alarm, and get ready for the Ben & Jerry-est day of the year. Free Cone Day is April 9! Every year Ben & Jerry's fans (and future fans) get a scoop of the good stuff ABSOLUTELY FREE. The tradition started in 1979, when Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield wanted to thank their Burlington, VT community for helping them make it through their first year in business.