Current News

Vermont Business Magazine USDA Rural Development has launched a Two-Tiered Income Limit Pilot for the Single Family Housing Programs in Vermont.  The pilot bands together the income limits of households with 1-4 members and with 5-8 members.  This banding significantly increases the range of households eligible for Rural Development's Direct Home Loan Program and the Home Repair Loan and Grant Program.​ More households are now able to apply for Rural Development's affordable home financing.

504 Home Repair Loan and Grant- Vermont Family Income Limits

Vermont Business Magazine The third annual FreshTracks Road Pitch, a five day motorcycle tour of Vermont in which a gang of “business bikers” (comprised of investors, entrepreneurs and business advisors) ride around the state and stop in various towns to listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts, will be held August 1 through August 5, 2016. The tour will stop in Essex Junction, Rutland, Bennington, Brattleboro, Barre, Randolph, St Johnsbury, Lowell, Hyde Park and North Hero. At each of the 10 stops the riders will award a “Riders Choice Prize” of $500 and a special edition “Vermont Biker Bear” contributed by Vermont Teddy Bear. Each stop is open to public viewing.

Entrepreneurs interested in pitching their concept or business to the riders should visit www.roadpitch.co, review the schedule and contact a local organizer to apply for a pitch slot.

by Mike Smith It’s a stunning transformation to witness. In restaurants, airports and other public places, often our companion is not the person sitting with us, but rather the electronic device we are clinging to. More and more our heads are pointed down, our eyes are glued to phones, tablets or computers, and we are focused solely on what is being transmitted over that device, oblivious to what is happening around us. And although we have the capacity to communicate more broadly and expand our knowledge and horizons, the question is: do we?

Ironically, the vastness of the information age has also given us the option to isolate ourselves in a bubble with others of like minds. Our knowledge of the world doesn’t expand, rather it constricts ,and all information that doesn’t conform to our point of view can be blocked, disregarded or mocked.

Vermont Business Magazine July is national ice cream month, and there is no better way to celebrate than with your two favorite guys. Why pick just one flavor, when you can have them all? Ben & Jerry's has a variety of new flavors this ice cream season, and we can't think of a better time for fans to pick up their spoons and unite in a euphoric, ice cream eating journey. What better way to ring in National Ice Cream Month than to celebrate Independence day with a scoop of Empower Mint, a Peppermint Ice Cream with Fudge Brownies and Fudge Swirls. Empower Mint was recently launched with the goal to support Ben & Jerry's long time commitment in advocating for a fair Democracy.

by Seth N Blanchard Are you dreaming about moving into your first home? While home hunting can be exciting, the process of buying a home can be somewhat challenging. Purchasing a home is a big financial commitment – potentially one of the biggest purchases you’ll make in your lifetime. With some planning, you can be ready to commit to a home with confidence. Here are some tips to help you get your finances ready for purchasing a home.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Fire Safety Director Michael Desrochers and other fire officials are encouraging Vermonters to leave the fireworks to the experts this Independence Day. Most fireworks are illegal in Vermont without a permit and pose serious injury risk. Possession, transportation and use of fireworks in which explosives are used, including those that are propelled by explosives, like firecrackers, torpedoes, sky rockets, Roman candles, cherry bombs, and others are illegal in Vermont.  The only exception is when a permit has been obtained from the appropriate municipal authority like a Fire Chief, Police Chief, Select Board, or City Council, depending on requirements of local laws.

Novelty items like sparklers, snakes, party poppers, glow worms, and others with no more than 0.25 grains of explosive mixture do not require a permit and can be purchased in many stores throughout the State.

Vermont Business Magazine - Working farms and forests give Vermont its beautiful rural character and unique sense of place while serving as an important part of the economy for many communities throughout the state. This fall, one event celebrates those great aspects of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Johnson State College has been designated Vermont’s premier public liberal arts college – a recognition that establishes JSC as the public version of Vermont’s more selective and costly private liberal arts colleges, such as Middlebury and Bennington. The designation comes from the board of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), which voted unanimously at its annual meeting last week in Utah to approve JSC for membership in the organization.

COPLAC recognizes institutions that “commit to providing superior liberal arts and sciences education to their students” and generally accepts only one college or university per state (or province, in Canada) for membership following an extensive application and review process.

Vermont Business Magazine College of St Joseph, Rutland, will offer an Associate of Science in Health Science with a concentration in Medical Coding and Billing beginning this fall. College of St Joseph added the concentration in Medical Billing and Coding as a way to respond to needs in the health care community, as well as providing good-paying careers for our students," said Dr Jonas Prida, interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. "Consistent changes in the field of electronic medical records mean that employers are looking for people with the most up-to-date skills, and our program provides them."

This 60-credit, undergraduate program can be completed in just two years. The faculty, consisting of experienced professionals, will educate students in basic health science principles, as well as more focused areas of medical terminology and medical coding and billing practices.

by Mike Faher/The Commons Several times a week, a tanker truck leaves Vermont Yankee carrying 5,000 gallons of tritium-tainted groundwater. But there may be a more convenient — and likely, more controversial — disposal option in the works: Entergy administrators and state officials have begun discussing the idea of discharging the contaminated liquid from the Vernon plant into the nearby Connecticut River.

Vermont Business Magazine Three icons of the craft beer world will discuss and compare craft brewing in two northern locations: the Nordic country of Denmark and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Lead instructors of the School of the New American Farmstead class “Small Batch Brewing,” Anders Kissmeyer and Jan Paul, along with Master Class instructor and Hill Farmstead founder Shaun Hill, will present “Comparative Craft Brewing: Vermont and Denmark” on Tuesday, July 19, at 7 p.m. in Simpson Hall, Classroom 3 on the Sterling College campus. This talk is free and open to the public. Kissmeyer, Paul, and Hill will entertain questions from the attendees. 

“The quality and character of a beer is the result of the passion, philosophy, and methodology of the brewer,” says Kissmeyer. “I look forward to discussing the practice and craft of place-based brewing in both Denmark and Vermont.”

Vermont Business Magazine More than 125 supporters and friends gathered at the Gifford Medical Center in Randolph on June 28 to celebrate the closing of Vision for the Future, the largest capital campaign in Gifford’s 113-year history. “In planning our campaign we believed that every gift was important, large or modest, and that the willingness to give to support others in the community was significant,” campaign co-chair Lincoln Clark told the crowd. “We have raised $4,685,548. Our largest gift of one million dollars came from the Gifford Medical Auxiliary, which laid the foundation for a successful campaign and the hundreds of gifts that followed.”