Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Caledonia Spirits, nationally recognized distillers of Barr Hill since 2011, is launching Experiments in Agricultural Rectification – a new small batch spirits project with a mission to capture the provenance of Vermont’s agricultural and forage crops. The first release of the project will be available on Saturday, April 7th at the Caledonia Spirits Distillery in Hardwick, and the Made in Vermont Marketplace at the Essex Fairgrounds.

Vermont Business Magazine A storm heading toward Vermont this afternoon is bringing precipitation and strong winds. Weather experts shifted their predictions overnight and are now forecasting gusts to 65 miles an hour in some locations. That increases the chance for downed trees and power lines. GMP has been tracking the forecast and preparing in advance of the storm. GMP crews are positioned around the state to respond to possible outages as well as additional external crews.

The National Weather Service issued High Wind Warnings for later today into tonight for Eastern Rutland County, Bennington County, Windham County and Windsor County. The rest of Vermont is under a Wind Advisory.

See Outage Center.

Green Mountain Power is reminding everyone to stay safe during this storm. Don’t touch downed lines and be prepared for possible outages.

by Scudder Parker Education of our young people is one of the most important obligations of our democracy. And a funding system that enables school district voters throughout the state to make thoughtful budget decisions is key to fulfilling that obligation in Vermont. After the Vermont Supreme Court’s Brigham decision in 1997, the Legislature made a structural school funding change. The result was the current system, which is not a "formula" that attempts to equalize a flawed and inherently unfair local school property tax as the various efforts in the seventies and eighties were.

Instead, it is a fundamentally fair, sustainable, and workable statewide system that supports local school districts to equitably invest in the education of our children. Vermont’s school funding system is widely viewed as the most equitable in the nation.

​Vermont Business Magazine Shelburne business Vermont Tortilla Company has been named a winner of The 2018 American Small Business Championship by SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. The Championship awarded this title to 102 entrepreneurs for their dedication to the success of their small businesses, awarding them an all-expense-paid trip to a training and networking event, SCORE mentoring and publicity throughout the year, and a chance to win one of three $15,000 grand prizes, made possible with the support of Sam’s Club.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Thomas J Donovan, Jr, and Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore announced today that the State of Vermont will continue to vigorously oppose the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) planned efforts to weaken greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for 2022-2025 model year cars and light-duty trucks. Late Tuesday, the EPA announced that it had completed its mid-term evaluation process for greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and light duty trucks for model years 2022-2025 and determined that the standards were too stringent. The EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) intend to begin rulemaking to weaken greenhouse gas emission standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. EPA’s threat to weaken the federal standards will endanger both public health and the environment and make driving more expensive.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Tuesday that the US Department of Agriculture will be reopening the enrollment next week for the much-improved Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy). The changes implement improvements that Leahy included in the Bipartisan Budget Act in February to give Vermont dairy farmers a far more cost-effective risk protection option. Reopening enrollment is especially important now as dairy farmers are experiencing a difficult year with falling prices for their milk.

Leahy wrote and pressed for enactment of the reforms in his role as Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Leahy also is a leading member and former Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

by Representative Heidi E Scheuermann, R-Stowe On Thursday evening (April 5th), the House General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee, the committee on which I serve, will be having a Public Hearing on S. 40, the bill that would increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour. I have written some about this topic in the past, and shared with readers my significant concerns about this legislation, but further investigation and testimony received about it have only served to solidify those concerns.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency released Vermont’s clean water report card today. The report evaluates the state’s efforts to implement the Lake Champlain phosphorus reduction goals. The EPA commended the state’s work in meeting nearly 90 percent of its water quality milestones, and for making significant progress toward the remaining milestones.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency reversed the agency’s previous decision to increase federal fuel efficiency requirements, known as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The efficiency standards would have required cars to reduce polluting emissions for model years 2022-2025. These standards were adopted in 2012, after intensive analysis and with support of automakers. Existing standards have led to transportation innovation and accelerated the progress of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said the 2012 standards were not appropriate and he especially wants to rein-in California's even stricter emission standards.

The Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont Conservation Voters, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Vermont Natural Resources Council, VPIRG issued their own press release Tuesday in response to the EPA's announcement.

by Bill Schubart While most of the civilized world has abandoned execution for moral as well as practical reasons, President Trump is now proposing an expanded application of the death penalty – traditionally applied only in first degree murder cases – for all “major” drug dealers.

And even then, the death penalty has become so problematic and costly that the thirty-one states where it’s still legal only executed, or tried to execute, twenty-three people last year. The legal and correctional cost of execution vastly exceeds the cost of a life sentence.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont farms have built up a massive phosphorus surplus – one that is growing at an estimated 1,500 tons per year – as farmers continue to import large quantities of animal feed and fertilizer, a new University of Vermont study says.

Vermont Business Magazine In a startling report released today, National Safety Council research shows just 13 states and Washington, DC, have implemented comprehensive, proven actions to eliminate opioid overdoses and help protect their residents. In Prescription Nation, a digest analyzing how states are tackling the worst drug crisis in recorded US history, the Council assigned its highest mark of "Improving" to Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, DC, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.