Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain CBD, the leading CBD Oil brand in the Northeast, and number three brand nationally, is transitioning its name to Sunsoil. The Vermont company is poised to further disrupt the hemp industry with a recent USDA Organic certification for its hemp, and infusion of $7 million in capital secured in late 2018 from strategic partners with a shared vision for the future.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan urged the US Senate to enact the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, legislation to curb illegal robocalls and spoofing. A coalition of 54 attorneys general sent a letter on Tuesday to the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation supporting the TRACED Act. The TRACED Act would require companies to take advantage of a system for call identification to curb illegal robocalls.

“Robocalls can be annoying, but when there is a scammer on the other end of the phone, they can be disastrous,” said Attorney General Donovan. “I call on Congress to do what they can to protect people from illegal robocalls.”

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University officials announced that Professors Allison Neal and Thomas Shell each earned a $75,000 Project Award from the Vermont Genetics Network (VGN) for their research projects, totaling $150,000 to Norwich to advance research. Assistant Professor of Biology Allison Neal has been awarded a VGN Project Award for $75,000 for her work titled “Division of Labor in Freshwater Trematodes: The Host Longevity Hypothesis.” Previously, she has received a Pilot Award and a Small Award from VGN for her work related to this project. 

Vermont Business Magazine A new report funded by the National Life Group Foundation, “Evidence-Based Strategies to End Childhood Food Insecurity and Hunger in Vermont,” details what’s working well, gaps and opportunities to address this issue. Published by the Urban Institute, an independent research organization based in Washington, DC, the report highlights key contributing factors to childhood food insecurity and hunger in Vermont, including how school consolidations are extending bus routes for some children, resulting in missed breakfasts at school.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development today announced the awarding of ThinkVermont Innovation Grants. The grants support new business strategies that accelerate growth and support vibrant communities, while also serving as a model and roadmap for other businesses to follow.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) on Wednesday welcomed as a “breakthrough” an advisory opinion published by the Judicial Conference of the United States’ Committee on Codes of Conduct that warns federal judges and their clerks against participating in events sponsored by anonymously funded partisan organizations. The guidance follows revelations that a Heritage Foundation training program, funded by “generous donors” seeking to make “financial investments” in attendees, required participants to sign agreements tantamount to loyalty pledges.

Vermont Business Magazine National results show that college completion patterns among Black, Hispanic, white, and Asian four-year, public starters vary widely across states, according to a new nationwide report released today by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Vermont results indicate college students finished here at a much higher rate than the national average for Asian and white students and for an overall completion rate at over 75 percent. Vermont was below average when private colleges were analyzed, at 74.43%; the US average was 76.31%.

​Vermont Business Magazine Funding is now available for Brattleboro-area projects and organizations through the Crosby-Gannett Fund and the Dunham-Mason Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation. The two funds were established at the Foundation in 2009. The purpose of both funds is to support endeavors that contribute to the betterment and vitality of the Brattleboro area.

Vermont Business Magazine On March 5th, Burlington residents once again voted to support students and schools. The Burlington School District’s proposed 2019-2020 budget request passed with nearly 70 percent of the vote on Town Meeting Day.  

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group announced today the introduction of TotalSecure, a new, flexible whole life insurance product that offers more living benefit options than any other life insurer.

by Rebecca Holcombe Vermont now spends tens of millions more dollars on child care and prekindergarten markets than it did only three or four years ago. Yet, a Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) study recently found Vermont now has about 1,693 fewer regulated child care spots than we did in 2015—a 25% decline. Before spending more public money on the early care and learning market, Vermont needs to ask: Are we managing this market the right way?

Many Vermonters responded to JFO’s recent report on child care capacity by concluding we have a crisis. While child care centers and school programs held their own in the market, Vermont had almost 27 percent fewer regulated home-based child cares in 2018 than in 2015. Overall, home-based programs now have about 25 percent fewer infant and toddler spots.

Vermont Business Magazine S.J. Cahill is the winner of the 2019 Vermont Writers’ Prize for his short story “Family Ground,” which explores the moral dilemma of the Vietnam War and its impact on a Vermont community.