Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Since planning and public outreach began in 2017, the voter-approved Winooski Main Street Revitalization Project, which launched in April 2024, has successfully completed its first construction season as of Tuesday, December 17, 2024. With construction paused until spring 2025, the detour on Weaver Street has been taken down. Two-way traffic is restored on Main Street after pavement and line striping were installed, making travel and parking through the area easier to navigate for the winter. 

Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, today announced that it has priced the previously announced offering of up to $45.0 million aggregate principal amount of the Finance Authority of Maine Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds (Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Project) Series 2024 (the “Bonds”) to be issued under an indenture between the Authority and the bond trustee, dated as of December 1, 2024. During the initial fixed rate interest period through June 1, 2035, the interest rate on the Bonds will be 4.625% per annum, and the Bonds will be guaranteed under a guaranty by substantially all of Casella’s subsidiaries

Vermont Business Magazine Stewart’s Shops of Saratoga Springs, NY, has acquired the assets of St Albans-based Jolley Associates convenience store chain and S.B. Collins, including its heating oil business Clarence Brown of St. Albans, Vermont. Terms of the deal remain confidential. The transaction includes the purchase of 45 Jolley stores including five in New York, two in New Hampshire and 38 locations in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine In a report released today by the state’s healthcare regulators, Vermonters could have saved over $400 million in hospital costs over the last five years if a reform known as reference-based pricing had been in effect. The Green Mountain Care Board’s study of the pricing standard – in which the cost of hospital procedures would have been capped at twice the Medicare reimbursement rate – shows that hospitals in Vermont charge educators three times the Medicare rate and state employees nearly as much. Should Vermont adopt reference-based pricing, annual savings for state employees and educators alone could total nearly $80 million a year.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 cases rose again while hospitalizations also edged up but remained low. There were 4 reported fatalities last week. Hospitalizations and general "syndromic" cases were over 5 cases statewide for the week. The number of reported COVID cases rose to 110 from 67  last week. Cases had been falling in April and May and were as low as 31 at the beginning of May, before rising at the end of summer through the early part of the fall. There were 20 COVID-related deaths in September and 15 in October, 5 in November and 3 so far in December.

Vermont Department of Economic Development Happy Holidays from the Department of Economic Development team! 2024 was another difficult year for many Vermont businesses, particularly those that once again experienced flooding. If you are shopping for gifts or celebrating this holiday season, please consider visiting businesses nearby. This is a great way that we can support our neighbors, and the local economy. We look forward to reconnecting in the New Year as we collaborate to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for all Vermonters. Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season.

Vermont Business Magazine Looking like a cross between an RV and a box truck, Howard Center’s Substance Use Services Mobile Unit hardly stands out, but for people who can’t get to a Howard Center location, the vehicle is a literal life saver. Howard Center recently introduced the new unit and it is already busy keeping a regular schedule of visits to some of the more rural parts of northwestern Vermont, providing access to treatment for opioid use disorder and other services to people who may not have transportation to brick-and-mortar offices. The custom-built unit was purchased with grant funding from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 

VermontBiz Magazine When Somdeb Chatterjee of South Burlington returned from a vacation overseas, he expected to jump back into the hustle and bustle of everyday life: his job, home improvement projects and beloved pastimes. Ten months later, after being diagnosed with a mysterious, fast-moving and progressive condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), Chatterjee, 39, is happy just to be walking again. GBS is a rare neurological condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, causing weakness, numbness and paralysis. Chatterjee was diagnosed with a rare GBS that is more destructive and resulted in near-total facial paralysis.

VermontBiz Magazine This month, Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) looks to the public to help sustain our diverse selection of free services for older adults in central Vermont.  Donations are crucial, allowing us to offer innovative programming we wouldn’t otherwise be able to support, such as our Creative Aging and Helping Paws programs. The Creative Aging Program continues to serve a vital need in our community, fostering life-long learning and creativity and giving homebound older adults joy and social connection. One of our participants, who is a caregiver for her husband, recently told us how great it is to have art supplies and access to instructional videos from teaching artists at home, since she is unable to get out due to her caregiver responsibilities.  

VermontBiz Magazine Five primary care sites of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health, have achieved national recognition for providing personalized, effective, and efficient care. The national designation recognizes SVMC’s practice sites for providing comprehensive care and follow-up, in addition to a number of preventative and wellness screenings.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Revision Military Ltd. (Revision) will pay $426,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by selling eyewear products that it falsely represented were wholly sourced in the United States. Revision is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Vermont. Revision manufactures protective eyewear systems, which the United States has purchased for use by military personnel through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistics Support (SOE TLS) Program. The SOE TLS Program requires that textile components in products be sourced from the United States in accordance with the Berry Amendment. 

Vermont Business Magazine On the heels of thousands of Amazon workers voting to authorize a strike at the company’s first-ever unionized warehouse, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), yesterday released a report entitled “The ‘Injury-Productivity Trade-off’: How Amazon’s Obsession with Speed Creates Uniquely Dangerous Warehouses.” The report presents the findings of a sweeping, 18-month investigation led by Chairman Sanders into Amazon’s abysmal workplace safety practices. “The shockingly dangerous working conditions at Amazon’s warehouses revealed in this 160-page report are beyond unacceptable. Making matters even worse: Amazon’s executives repeatedly chose to put profits ahead of the health and safety of its workers by ignoring recommendations that would substantially reduce injuries at its warehouses. This is precisely the type of outrageous corporate greed that the American people are sick and tired of.”