Current News

Saint Michael’s College Amid a fanfare of cowbells, kazoos, and cheering, the Class of 2028 officially arrived on Saint Michael’s College campus on Aug. 22.  Orientation Leaders – the sophomores, juniors, and seniors responsible for this enthusiastic display, otherwise known as O-Leaders – held signs with messages such as “You Belong Here” and “Welcome Home” as they waved the incoming cars onto campus.

Vermont Agency of Transportation 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 September 2, 2024. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.  Monday 9/2 is Labor Day, and most crews will pause work for the holiday. At this time of year, many projects are completed and therefore no longer listed in this report.  

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Public has launched ‘Small Vermont Businesses in Small Vermont Towns’, an eight-part series of short films by filmmaker Rocket, as part of the station's Made Here Fund. Rocket is a storyteller and the driving force behind Eat Vermont and Stellar, a mobile application that empowers people to create custom recipes and navigate the kitchen. He's an alumnus of The Putney School '10 and Middlebury College '14, and recent graduate of the Vermont Law School. New episodes are being released on Tuesdays at vermontpublic.org and YouTube through October 1.

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine A Brattleboro store has lost its right to distribute tobacco products for 15 days after it was caught a third time in less then a year selling to minors, according to the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery. Smoke and Munch, operated by M. Sajan LLC at 707 Putney Road, will be allowed to stagger the suspension days over several weeks instead of being continuous, the Liquor and Lottery Board ruled. The vote was unanimous to uphold the minimum 15-day suspension mandated by Vermont law, according to the order signed by Chairman Marty Manahan of St. Albans. The 15 days will be served on mutually agreeable days and must be completed before Dec. 24, the board said in its 6-page ruling. The staggering is designed to provide less interruption to the business, the order said.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Once the center of local drug trafficking, a rehabilitated building now serves as a residence for Jenna’s Promise, a nonprofit that supports women in recovery. “Someone said to us, you know, I used to come to Johnson for drugs, and now I come to Johnson for recovery,” Interim Co-Executive Director Daniel Franklin said. “We’re not cloistered up on some hill,” said fellow Interim Co-Executive Director Gregory Tatro. “Instead, we’re out there actively engaging with the community, and the community is engaging us back.” In Tatro’s opinion, society addresses substance use disorder in a way that is similar to giving someone an aspirin for a headache that’s caused by a deeper chronic condition. Eventually, the aspirin stops helping because it’s not mitigating the headache’s true cause.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Reid Wobby has heard all the reasons why people don’t want to administer naloxone, a medicine used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. “Why should I care?” the audience will ask. Or… “They made their choice.” Or… “They got themselves into a drug addiction, and they can get themselves out.” Wobby believes these comments come from a host of life experiences and discomfort. He responds, “I believe you. But if you go home and someone that you love is laying on the ground and they're showing these signs and symptoms that they're overdosing - I think you would use the Narcan [brand name for naloxone] if you had it in your first aid kit. So let's just get it in everybody's first aid kit, and we can argue about if you're going to use it or not later."

Vermont Business Magazine A Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is now open in Island Pond in the town of Brighton, at the Brighton Town Hall Gym from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The joint DRC, a temporary facility established in partnership between Brighton, the state of Vermont and FEMA, has disaster assistance specialists available to help disaster survivors apply for FEMA Individual Assistance, upload documents needed for their application and answer questions in person.

Vermont Business Magazine While providing its clients unparalleled legal services in a wide variety of disciplines, four Gravel & Shea partners have earned the honorable distinction of “Lawyer of the Year 2025” by Best Lawyers, a peer-reviewed guide to the legal profession.  

Vermont Business Magazine News in brief from July 2024 includes: State health care system in crisis, GMCB report warns; Economists raise revenue targets; Tax revenues finish fiscal year $143.6 million above targets; ANR releases annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for VT; Child Care Contribution Payroll Tax under way; GMCB conditionally approves UVMMC request to build an outpatient surgery center; Sports gambling exceeds state projections, hauls in $3.5 million; Vermont Business Conditions Index from Citizens skyrockets in Q2; BMH, Copley, NMC sign on to new healthcare collaboration; and more.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims increased last week after falling to their lowest levels since before the pandemic the week before. For the week ending August 24, 2024, new claims were 260, which is a typical of summer low. Meanwhile, unemployment claims and hiring have stalled nationally, and the stock market recovered after stumbling as the Federal Reserve Bank decided not to lower interest rates in early August. The Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated last week that the time has come to cut rates as employment nationwide has slowed. For the week, initial unemployment insurance claims were up 72 for the week and down 4 from this time last year. Meanwhile, the state unemployment rate remains near historic low levels as employment and the labor force have increased (2.1 percent in July 2024). 

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office in Burlington announced that Madison Carrig, 30, of Whitehall, New York, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to two counts of access device fraud. Chief Judge Christina Reiss released Carrig on conditions pending sentencing, which is scheduled for January 3, 2025. On July 12, 2024, the United States Attorney filed an information charging Carrig with two counts of access device fraud. Carrig pleaded guilty to the information at today’s court hearing. According to the charging document, from September 2022 through November 27, 2023, Carrig defrauded the three Vermont car dealerships who employed her as office manager or controller.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Education released the first report from its Listen and Learn Tour. The State Education Profile Report provides data to guide education leaders, school communities, and the Agency as they work together to ensure that every student in Vermont has equitable access to high-quality educational opportunities. The initial report highlights emerging trends in enrollment, student demographics, student outcomes, staffing, and expenditures. This information is intended to prompt conversations and further exploration.