Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Mark Bissonnette, 54, of Groton, Vermont, was arraigned Thursday on six felony counts and three misdemeanor counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials and one felony count of Attempted Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance. The charges brought against Mr. Bissonnette are the result of a criminal investigation conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), including personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Vermont State Police, and Homeland Security Investigations. Mr. Bissonnette pleaded not guilty to all counts at his arraignment in Vermont Superior Court, Caledonia Unit, Criminal Division. 

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Fairs and Field Days Capital Grants and Operational Stipends Program will be open for applications starting November 1st. Vermont’s fairs and field days draw over 300,000 visitors each year, and many fairgrounds are utilized for other events, drawing many more visitors into Vermont communities throughout the year. Fairs and events offer opportunities for the agricultural community to highlight the practices, products, skills, and livelihoods that contribute to maintaining Vermont’s working landscape. $300,000 is available for 20-year capital improvement projects that fairs across the state can use for lighting, building, electrical, and structural upgrades. An additional $110,000 is available in the form of stipends, which support operating costs. 

by Alyana Howard Rigo Melgar is a Ph.D. candidate in Ecological Economics in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, a Gund Institute for Environment Graduate Fellow, and a fellow of the transnational Leadership for the Ecozoic (L4E) project between UVM and McGill University. Melgar is working alongside advisors Dr. Jon D. Erickson and Dr. Joshua Farley to inform the theory of ecological macroeconomics. His focus is on the implications of the financialization of the U.S. economy for a just energy transition and thinking beyond GDP metrics to incorporate the goals of wellbeing economies. Melgar is a past recipient of the Rubenstein School’s Outstanding Ph.D. Research and Scholarship Award, which recognizes doctoral students’ exceptional work and contributions to their field of study.

Vermont Business Magazine Located in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom, and embracing the values of that region, lies MKVT Farm.  The Glover farming operation, run by Mark and Karen Rodgers, was recently selected as the 2024 Vermont ‘Fantastic Farmer’.  The farm selected for this recognition receives a $5000 grant from the A. Pizzagalli Family Farm Fund. A Vermont ‘Fantastic Farmer’ recipient is recognized for the way in which they impact our lives, often going unnoticed.  Hidden away in remote parts of Vermont and the depths of the local grocery or farm stand; maybe in our lunch, on top of our pancakes or in a slice of cheese on our sandwich, a Vermont farmer has touched our life today.  A Vermont ‘Fantastic Farmer’ must also embrace stewardship of the land, management of resources, education and promotion of Vermont agriculture and farming to the public and fellow farmers.

by Charlotte Oliver, Community News Service Jason Struthers makes a living selling the cannabis he’s licensed to grow in his half-acre backyard in Essex Junction — but his growing and raising of ducks on his property has gotten him into tiffs with neighbors and tangled in legal ambiguity. In August, Vermont Superior Court Judge Thomas Walsh sought to put the question over the Taft Street backyard to rest, siding with Struthers after the Essex Junction resident sued when local officials tried to ban him from raising ducks last year. But now an appeal from Struthers’ neighbors could call the ruling — and legal precedent — into question again. It seems straightforward to next-door neighbors Stephen and Sharon Wille Padnos, who say they shouldn’t have to smell Struthers’ cannabis or hear his ducks in their residential neighborhood. In turn, it seems straightforward to Struthers, who has legal permission from the state to farm and cultivate in his yard. 

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly 50 acres along the Johns River in Derby—a tributary to Lake Memphremagog and nursery stream for wild trout—is now permanently protected and open to the public as part of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s Johns River Streambank Management Area (SMA). The department partnered with the Memphremagog Watershed Association (MWA) to work with four private landowners to protect properties along the river with high conservation value.  On top of their importance for wild brook, brown, and rainbow trout, the new additions to the Johns River SMA will help strengthen flood resilience in Derby and provide Vermonters with more places to enjoy fishing, hiking, and wildlife watching in the watershed.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Economic Development Authority, or VEDA, marked its 50th anniversary in the state through the release of its annual report at its annual meeting at the Essex Resort. VEDA CEO Cassie Polhemus was joined by Governor Phil Scott, Treasurer Mike Pieciak, industry leaders, lenders and friends at the luncheon event. Scott discussed the value VEDA has provided to the business community, especially for startups and entrepreneurs and Pieciak led a discussion on manufacturing with Chroma Technologies in Bellows Falls, OnLogic in South Burlington, Rigorous Technology in Williston and Vermont Precision Tools in Swanton.

Vermont Business Magazine This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will affect traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of October 28, 2024. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.  

Vermont Business Magazine The statistic for investments in women-owned businesses and start-ups is staggeringly low compared to their male counterparts. Leading Vermont business and philanthropic organizations aim to change that in our state. Currently in the United States, only around 13 percent of venture capital dollars go to startups with a woman on the founding team and the 30-year average of all-female founders’ share of venture capital is just 2.4 percent. The Vermont Women’s Fund, the Vermont Community Foundation, and Hula are proud to present the premiere Vermont screening of the documentary Show Her the Money at 6 p.m. Wednesday, October 30 at Hula’s Lakeside Avenue campus in Burlington. A discussion of our business landscape and the need for dramatic change will follow.

Local organizers will host a VERMONT WOMEN'S RALLY on the Statehouse Lawn in Montpelier on November 2, 2024, AT 10 A.M.  This event will be a sister event to the NATIONAL WOMEN’S MARCH in Washington, DC, on the same date. State parking lots will be open and free for public parking. Melinda Moulton is the Master of Ceremonies. Members of the Taiko Drummers will Awaken Montpelier and Greet Rally Goers. Singer-songwriter Patti Casey will open the Rally. Beverly Little Thunder and her daughter Lushanya Echeverria will speak together to honor the original Indigenous inhabitants with a land acknowledgement. Vermont Poet Laureate Bianca Stone will deliver a poem. Governor Madeleine Kunin and Representative Becca Balint will address the gathering.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School continues to be a leader in addressing key challenges facing agriculture, environmental protection and energy policy. Through innovative programs, partnerships and academic events, the school emphasizes innovation in legal education, policy development and advocacy.

Vermont Business Magazine Smugglers’ Notch Distillery is once again, for the fifth year in a row, been chosen by fans across the country in the USA Today 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards! Nominated for this award by a panel of experts, SND extends many, many thanks to the extremely loyal customers who voted SND yet again as one of the top eight vodka distilleries in the USA, one of the top eight specialty distilleries, and most exciting, one of the top three distillery tasting rooms across the country – an inviting stop on anyone’s travels! Put the expert opinions aside, and what this vote confirms is what loyal fans have been saying for the last fourteen years – they love SND’s Vermont spirit, story, and attention to the extraordinary!