Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Barr Hill Gin, America's most awarded gin and creator of Landcrafted spirits, announces its 7th Annual Bee's Knees Week, set for September 20-29, 2024. This initiative combines cocktail culture with conservation, aiming to protect vital pollinator habitats across the United States. As a 1% for the Planet partner, Barr Hill will provide funds to 1% for the Planet-approved partners on outcomes that benefit pollinators and communities. Since its inception, Bee's Knees Week has helped create more than 700,000 square feet of pollinator habitat. This year, Barr Hill sets an ambitious goal: to reach 1 million square feet pledged and planted by the end of the event.  

Vermont Business Magazine Price Chopper/Market 32 customers and teammates raised $113,855.80 during May and June for its annual “Fill A Glass with Hope/Fill A Plate with Promise” campaign in partnership with the Northeast American Dairy Association, Garelick Farms, and local food banks. During this campaign, customers were encouraged to round up their change at the register. Combined with a $10,000 corporate match, the total gift of $123,855.80 helps provide local food banks with the means to purchase milk and other nutritious foods for the families they serve.  Based on contributions throughout the state, Vermont Food Bank will receive $7,442.19.

Vermont Business Magazine Elli Parr LLC, the celebrated Vermont-based jewelry brand, is thrilled to announce the grand opening of its new flagship store & headquarters in South Burlington, VT this October. This flagship location represents an expansion for the brand and promises to be a vibrant addition to the local community. The new store, located at 41 IDX Dr. South Burlington VT [formerly the space occupied by Ideal Weight Solutions] will be a one-stop destination for jewelry lovers, offering an extensive range of handcrafted jewelry pieces from Elli Parr alongside a curated selection of complimentary products from small, independent makers & brands specializing in accessories, beauty, and body products. 

Vermont Business Magazine Fidium Fiber has expanded its multi-gig speed fiber network, with service now available to more than 2,000 combined New Hampshire (Northumberland, Stark, and Stratford) and Vermont (Maidstone) homes and businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, in collaboration with Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott, released a PSA video today about voting access in Vermont. The three leaders created a video, with a shorter version shared on social media and a longer version posted on YouTube, that explains and reinforces Vermonters’ right to register and vote in the upcoming November 5th General Election. The YouTube video has subtitles accessible in many languages: viewers can click CC > Settings > Auto-translate for language options. 

Vermont Business Magazine After more than ten months of organizing, 79% of Support Staff at Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC)on Thursday voted yes (244-66) to formalize their union. Once the votes are certified, Support Staff will begin the process of bargaining their first contract with the CVMC administration. 

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth Loan Fund, a community development organization of Evernorth, has received a $10 million donation to support its efforts in financing affordable housing projects in Vermont. The donation comes from an anonymous Vermont philanthropic donor who shares Evernorth's commitment to creating vibrant, healthy communities through the development of affordable housing.  The funds are already supporting over 200 affordable homes under development in Putney, Waterbury, Berlin, West Rutland, Shelburne and Burlington. 

Public Assets Institute Vermonters have been understandably upset by the abrupt rise in their school taxes for fiscal 2025. Most of the complaints focus on the rise in spending, as does the response from policymakers. But taxpayers may also be affected by changes that make the funding system less fair. The Agency of Education presented some clear analyses last spring explaining the main reasons for the spending increase: rises in salaries and benefits in response to inflation; health insurance cost increases exceeding inflation; the expanding need for expensive mental health services for students; the loss of federal funds the schools received as part of the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). There are other reasons as well, related to fiscal decisions made in the past few years. The expenditures are critical for providing kids with a quality education. But knowing that doesn’t make the tax bumps easier to take. Even modest increases can be a problem if the costs, and who pays them, are not distributed fairly.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today announced the committee will move forward with its hearing on Steward Health Care’s disastrous bankruptcy, despite CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre’s refusal this week to comply with a bipartisan subpoena compelling his testimony. The committee will hear from patients, medical professionals, and community members whose lives have been impacted by Dr. de la Torre.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Police Department is warning the public about recent scam emails in which the sender demands money from email recipients. This week, law enforcement officials received notice from the Chittenden County State's Attorney’s Office describing suspicious emails to residents that demand money from email recipients through extortion and threats. Specifically, the scam emails demand money from recipients and threaten to expose their confidential online search history to all of their contacts if they do not comply. The scammers insinuate the recipients’ search history are pornographic, or sexual in nature. They instruct recipients to pay a fee through a Bitcoin QR code. 

Vermont Business Magazine Dr. Bruce Hamory and the team at Oliver Wyman Life Sciences will present their final report to the Green Mountain Care Board in a public board meeting on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. Oliver Wyman was contracted to develop community- and data- informed options to transform Vermont’s healthcare system. The Oliver Wyman final report includes extensive recommendations designed to ensure an affordable, equitable, accessible, and sustainable healthcare system. Oliver Wyman’s recommendations focus on issues ranging from hospital operations to housing and transportation. Community meetings across the state with the consultants this summer have indicated a health care system in crisis.

Vermont Business Magazine A Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is now open in the town of Hinesburg at the Hinesburg Town Hall. The DRC will be open Sunday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The joint DRC, a temporary facility established in partnership between Hinesburg, the state of Vermont and FEMA, will have disaster assistance specialists available to help disaster survivors apply for FEMA Individual Assistance, upload documents needed for their application and answer questions in person. There are now six DRC offices open in Vermont.