Current News

Vermont Business Magazine After more than 75 years in Burlington, the Vermont Department of Health is moving most offices and operations to the Waterbury State Office Complex. The state is selling the Zampieri State Office Building, located at 108 Cherry Street in Burlington, which currently houses the Health Department and the Department for Children and Families’ Division of Economic Services local office. The Health Department’s move will take place in stages starting Jan. 29 and continue over the next two months. No changes in services are expected during this time.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington gave the following statement regarding the announcement of layoffs at Putney Paper Mill operated by Soundview Vermont Holdings LLC.  According to the Brattleboro weekly The Commons, the paper mill has operated next to Sacketts Brook in downtown Putney for more than 150 years - a tradition that came to an abrupt end on January 16 with its sudden closure by its current owner, New Jersey–based Soundview Vermont Holdings LLC. All 127 workers were laid off.

Vermont Business Magazine The Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont (HHAV), Vermont Interfaith Action, and Chittenden County Homeless Alliance are planning the upcoming 2024 Homelessness Awareness Day in which we as shelter and service providers, various stakeholders, and community members work to raise community awareness of the homelessness issues facing the people of our state. Persons with lived experience and those working in the field will provide testimony to the house and senate committees at the State House in Montpelier on the morning of January 18th, 2024. The “Pop up Soup Kitchen” event will take place at the WRJ VA Healthcare System campus on Thursday, January 18th from 10:00-1:00p or until the food runs out.

Vermont Business Magazine A recent Americans for the Arts study found that Greater Burlington Area nonprofit arts organizations generated $93.5 million for the local economy in 2022. On January 17, 2024, at the BCA Center, leaders from the Vermont Arts Council, Vermont’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Burlington’s Business, Workforce, and Development department, and Burlington City Arts shared and celebrated the results. The Vermont arts and business organizations were joined by New England Foundation for the Arts Executive Director Harold Steward. Americans for the Arts released the findings of the Arts and Economic Prosperity study (AEP6) in late 2023. The study documents the economic and social benefits of the nation’s nonprofit arts and culture industry.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined his Senate colleagues in urging Senate Appropriations leadership to support funding for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (IPR) grant program in the fiscal year 2024 spending legislation. The Joint Economic Committee passed the U.S. Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill which included $100 million for the account. However, the funding is at risk of being eliminated by House Republicans, which would devastate efforts to improve rail infrastructure throughout the Northeast, including projects such as the Vermonter route expansion to Montreal. 

Vermont Business Magazine In the wake of the catastrophic 2023 severe weather and floods that caused widespread damage along Vermont waterways, several business and government leaders are stepping up for farms fighting to remain solvent. Threats to solvency include potentially permanent seasonal and perennial crop damage, inadequate winter feed supplies for animals, financial ruin from lost harvests necessary to pay loans, and irreparable damage to equipment and facilities. This new fundraising campaign, envisioned by a group of agriculture supporters working in concert with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets (VAAFM) and championed by the Vermont Association of Broadcasters (VAB), Ski Vermont, the Association of Vermont Credit Unions and a dedicated alliance of local and out-of-state private enterprises, will make donations to local communities possible through a first-in-the-country crisis response template.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced today that Ryan Buckley, 35, originally from New Hampshire, was arraigned in the District of Vermont on January 16, 2024 after a federal grand jury sitting in Rutland, Vermont returned a one-count indictment charging Buckley with possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. Buckley had been ordered detained in state court as a result of state charges he is facing and assented to detention in this federal case. According to court records, on June 27, 2023, police came upon Buckley passed out in his pickup truck at the community baseball field in Chester, Vermont. Buckley had a handgun in his lap. Buckley admitted to the police that he had smoked methamphetamine recently, having a prior felony conviction, and to knowing that he could not possess firearms.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today announced the release of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission’s annual report, including statistics, trends, and recommendations. The Commission, housed within the Attorney General’s Office, found that in 2022, six of Vermont’s 26 homicides were related to domestic violence. Included in the Commission’s report are key recommendations, including making the probate process more responsive to the needs of survivors of domestic violence and calling on the Legislature to require regular and ongoing training about domestic violence for all judges and court staff. From 1994 to 2022, there were 403 homicides in Vermont, of which 45 percent, or 183, were determined to be related to domestic violence.

by Pat McDonald, President, Campaign for Vermont Dear Speaker Krowinski and Pro Tempore Baruth: This fall we undertook a project to understand Vermonter’s perspectives on the trajectory of our state by conducting a 400-person scientific public opinion poll. The results tell us that Vermonters are concerned about their cost of living, housing affordability, and public safety. They believe the state is failing in the delivery of critical services like infrastructure, public education, housing, and economic development: key functions of state government. It also seems that Vermonters blame the Legislature (40% favorability) instead of the Governor (64% favorability) for these failings. You have an opportunity to change that narrative this legislative session as we head into the 2024 elections. We are hoping that you will consider taking a more measured approach to policymaking this session. Vermonters are yearning for it.

Vermont Business Magazine The Red Cross is facing an emergency blood shortage. The lowest number of people in 20 years are giving blood, per the nonprofit. Shortages are not uncommon in the US, as the number of donors has fallen 40 percent in the last two decades. When nursing students in Vermont State University’s first-year class learned about blood and blood products and the critical need for them, several classmates strongly felt the need to start donating—and the idea spread. 

Vermont Business Magazine Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ: CNSL), a leading broadband and business communications provider, has announced that the Consolidated Connects Educational Grant Program is now accepting funding applications. Consolidated Connects provides grants to schools serving K-12 students in the company’s service area. Since launching in 2021, Consolidated Connects has provided $112,500 to schools for a variety of technology-centered projects, including the creation of a maker space, virtual and augmented reality curriculum integration, a podcast enhancing student literacy, and a technology services summer work internship program for students.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration and coordination with the Shires Young Professionals, announces its selection as one of the esteemed grantees of the Grants for Relocation Outreach Work (GROW) program by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM). The GROW program aims to support local, regional, county-wide, or state-wide organizations engaged in new resident relocation, recruitment, and retention activities. Governor Phil Scott expressed his support, stating, "Welcoming new Vermonters to our communities is a top priority for my administration, and this funding can help. Vermont needs more people and more workers, and GROW is an important tool in our toolbox."