Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Democratic candidate for governor Christine Hallquist has received the endorsement of former Vice President Joe Biden. The press release announcing the endorsement Thursday evening said Biden has dedicated much of his life in public service to standing up for marginalized and forgotten people—he fought tirelessly for the people of Delaware as a Senator and for all of us as vice president. He has been a champion for the working class, universal access to health care, and gender equality, the statement said.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger on Thursday, along with the Department of Public Works, City Councilors, and other partners, announced the Clean Water Resiliency Plan: a seven-point, $30 million initiative to stabilize, modernize, and upgrade Burlington’s wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. The investments in the Plan are proposed to be funded by a $30 million wastewater and stormwater revenue bond. This Monday, the City Council will vote to place the bond question on the November ballot, and if passed by voters, new investments will begin this winter.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) will release the 2019 Vermont Farm to School Grant Program Request for Applications on Tuesday, October 2, 2018. This new round of grants will bring more than $250,000 in financial and support services investments to Vermont schools and early care providers. Eligible applicants include Vermont schools, supervisory unions, school districts, and early care providers.

Vermont State Police On September 13, 2018, the Vermont Drug Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested James E. O'Dell in Bennington and executed a federal search warrant at his Bennington home. O'Dell's arrest came after a drug investigation which began in 2017. During the investigation, O'Dell was identified as a significant source of cocaine in Bennington, Vermont. On four separate occasions, O'Dell delivered cocaine to Robin S. Buell who was selling the cocaine to a confidential informant during controlled buys under the supervision of the Vermont Drug Task Force.

by Representative Laura Sibilia (I-Windham/Bennington) “By the 1930s nearly 90% of U.S. urban dwellers had electricity, but 90% of rural homes were without power. Investor-owned utilities often denied service to rural areas, citing high development costs and low profit margins. Consequently, even when they could purchase electricity, rural consumers paid far higher prices than urban consumers.” – from the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has secured more than 10 of the largest aerospace and defense companies to participate in the annual Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Trade Show on Thursday, September 27. These companies will land in Vermont searching for companies to expand their supply chains, creating more opportunities for their companies and economic growth for Vermont businesses.

​Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Thursday announced $1,448,371 in grants to the University of Vermont and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets to expand market opportunities and support research and education in the maple industry.

Vermont Business Magazine For 33 years, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) across the country have helped expand the number of small businesses that successfully compete for and win federal, state, and local government contracts. On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, PTACs will celebrate the first National PTAC Day which is a national campaign celebrating the contracting success of the tens of thousands of small business who have benefited from training and technical assistance delivered by their local PTACs. In the future, PTAC Day will be observed each year on the fourth Wednesday of September.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Housing Authority (BHA), Vermont’s oldest and largest municipally-chartered housing authority, announced today that it has secured additional funding for its rental assistance program, expanding BHA’s capacity to help low-income Vermonters find housing. BHA currently provides over 2,500 very low-income families in the City of Burlington and neighboring communities access to safe, affordable housing and support services, promoting self-sufficiency and vibrant neighborhoods.

Competing nationally with its community partner, the Howard Center, BHA was awarded 45 additional Section 8 Vouchers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These additional vouchers will enable BHA, working in collaboration with the Howard Center and other community organizations, to increase the number of extremely low-income non-elderly disabled individuals able to live independently within the community.

Vermont Business Magazine A new state report of a pilot program to test school drinking water for lead recommends that all Vermont school water systems be tested for the toxic metal. Sixteen schools from across the state participated in the voluntary initiative to help determine whether a comprehensive state-wide testing program should be considered.

“There is no safe level of lead in the human body,” said Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD. “We have an obligation to ensure that students and school staff have safe drinking water, and one thing this project made clear is that you have to test the water to know if there is lead in it,” said Dr. Levine.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The nurses union and the University of Vermont Medical Center have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. After many months of often vitriolic accusations from the union and despite a line in the stand drawn by the Burlington hospital just last week that it had offered "a last, best and final" offer to the union, the two sides tweaked that offer which could now end the labor dispute, pending a vote by the 1,800 nurses. Both sides issued press releases announcing the deal about 10:30 pm Wednesday.

by Ski Vermont Skiing and snowboarding in Vermont are experiences that can’t be beat – but they can be improved. Green Mountain State ski areas have had their noses to the grindstone this off-season, revamping everything from their facilities, terrain and ticket/pass options to off-slope activities and amenities. There are a myriad ways in which Vermont areas have made the state’s official sports even more enjoyable for visitors and their families for the 2018-19 season.