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Vermont Business Magazine 1979 saw the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, and the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in Vermont the first modern snowboard was going on sale, and in Lincoln, Vermont, Maple Landmark Woodcraft was founded by Mike Rainville. Rainville came by his attraction to create things out of wood naturally, as he often helped when his grandparents were building houses or sheds.  Their keen minds, Yankee Ingenuity, and frugality taught Mike the importance of focusing on local resources. While the last 45 years have brought an abundance of changes, the importance of local resources is even stronger than ever.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s Northern New England District Office found Tito’s Taqueria, a counter service restaurant in Brattleboro, Greenfield, MA, and Keene, NH, illegally required employees at three locations to share a portion of their tips with managers and failed to pay workers time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The Fair Labor Standards Act forbids owners and managers from keeping any portion of an employee’s tips for any purpose. 

Vermont State Police During the ongoing search for Roberta Martin, the Vermont State Police located human remains at about 11 a.m. Sunday in a wooded area off Sand Hill Road in Enosburg. The area, which is close to Ms. Martin’s home, has been secured, and members of the Crime Scene Search Team responded to process the location. The human remains are believed to be those of Ms. Martin. The remains will be sent to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. No one is currently in custody. This investigation remains active and ongoing, and the Vermont State Police would like to speak to anyone who has information that could assist detectives. 

Vermont Business Magazine When the owners and founders at Rovers North in Westford started considering their succession strategies over a decade ago, they weren’t enthused about the options until learning of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, the most common broad-based employee ownership business model in the United States. The company’s founders Mark and Andrea Letorney were not interested in selling to an outside buyer, fearing the likelihood they would close the Vermont facility and consolidate, putting their loyal employees out of work. 

Associated General Contractors of Vermont The Power of Associations Summit Awards recognizes outstanding associations that work beyond their missions to benefit America, its workforce and the world. AGC/VT was recognized for Vermont's Employee Wellness Partnership, comprised of Jenna's Promise, Reid Wobby, AGC/VT Overdose Prevention Program.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.44 per gallon, down 2.0 cents per gallon from last week's $3.46/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.09/g while the highest was $3.59/g, a difference of 50.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.47/g today.

Vermont Agency of Transportation VT Route 121 in Westminster at the I-91 overpass will be closed to all traffic beginning at 5:00 PM on Monday, July 22, 2024. The roadway is expected to remain closed until 7:00 AM on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The purpose of this planned closure is to facilitate the pouring of the I-91 northbound bridge deck. 

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets needs your help to thoroughly capture the type and scale of flood-related damage agricultural producers suffered around the state. If you are a business, organization, or individual that raises animals, meat, or poultry and/or grows feed or crops for anyone beyond your immediate family, we kindly request that you fill out the 2024 Flood Loss and Damage Survey. Survey data will be used to inform flood response efforts, allocate resources, and advocate for future relief and recovery programs. The goal is to understand everyone’s need so relief and recovery efforts are better informed at the community and industry scale.

Vermont Business Magazine On Sunday, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermnt) issued the following statement on President Joe Biden: “Today, Joe Biden made a difficult and selfless choice. He put our democracy and the future of our nation ahead of himself. For this, and for all he has done, Joe Biden will be remembered as one of the greatest presidents of our time. His agenda, which has unified our party, will be his legacy. His ability to overcome personal tragedy has inspired generations of Americans."

by Charlotte Oliver, Community News Service A Honduran mother and her two kids, who had been living in Vermont after fleeing threats to their lives, were deported last week after being detained by immigration authorities in St. Albans. Now, activists and legal experts say Greisy Mejia and her children were denied their rights and that officials violated immigration procedure. The 29-year-old woman, along with her 9-year-old daughter and infant son, had twice fled violence in Honduras and, on their second attempt, crossed the southern border this February while avoiding border agents, according to her advocates. After entering the States, she and her kids were kidnapped, abused and held for several thousand dollars in ransom for weeks, her supporters said. 

Vermont Business Magazine The National Life Group Do Good Fest hosted 6,500 people on its back lawn on Saturday, July 13, raising a total of over $110,000 for Branches of Hope, the cancer patient fund at Central Vermont Medical Center’s (CVMC) National Life Cancer Treatment Center and youth mental health programs at Howard Center. In its 10th anniversary and born out of the company’s “Do good, Be good and Make good” values, the National Life Group Do Good Fest has brought national acts to the back lawn of its Montpelier campus every year since 2014 (except two pandemic years) in support of Branches of Hope. This year, Howard Center, which has been supporting youth since the Civil War, was added as a recipient in alignment with National Life’s corporate cause of supporting youth mental health.