Current News

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Depending on who you ask, Vermont needs anywhere from 3,500 to 7,000 new housing units to meet its immediate needs. Both estimates, however, exceed the amount of new housing built annually in the state. Commissioner Alex Farrell, Department of Housing and Community Development, acknowledged a disparity between the amount of effort the state and communities have put into housing and the amount of new housing coming online. After the 1980s and 1990s, he said Vermont stopped producing housing for various reasons. Some reasons are within the state’s control, and some are not. He said the state can control the regulatory environment that fosters more housing.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Agency of Transportation highway and bridge projects scheduled for 2024.

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine As construction season gets underway in Vermont, the Agency of Transportation appears to have resolved the most urgent problems created by last July’s floods — undercut roadways, damaged culverts, washed-out roadside slopes and so forth. Less than 8% of the projects being advertised to prospective bidders this year are directly tied to the floods. But Jesse Devlin, VTrans’ highway safety and design program manager, said that ”numerous permanent emergency relief projects” currently in or scheduled for design development will be advertised within the next several years. Several large multiyear road construction projects, meanwhile, continue apace. These include Burlington’s Champlain Parkway, the widening of the I-89 crossing of the Connecticut River at White River Junction, and the revamping of the I-89 interchange with US 2/7 in Colchester.

Vermont Business Magazine The extensive inventory of ceramics by artist and Benedictine monk Brother Thomas Bezanson (1929-2007) created while he was part of the monastic community at Weston Priory (Weston, VT) will be sold in two sessions at Maine auction company, Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, on June 28, 29 & 30 and August 23, 24 & 25, 2024. Weston Priory Vermont is a community of Benedictine monks inspired by a tradition of prayer, manual work and hospitality. It has been the home of the largest and most important repository of Bezanson's work completed between 1959 and the early 1980s. The 61-piece collection represents the evolution of his artistic skill and refinement of his glazes throughout this period, and it has been lovingly cared for since he left the monastery in 1983.  

Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies Who knew being a chef in New York City would inspire Ashley Farland to start a luxury home goods business! Founder of DandyLion Designs, Ashley joins us to share her exciting journey into the realm of luxury goods, but with a unique twist – her creations are crafted from deadstock materials. With a commitment to premium materials and sustainability, DandyLion Designs is taking luxury to the next level. Did we mention it’s a fraction of the price?

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) announced the winners of the 2024 Vermont Writers’ Prize, which are featured now in the summer issue of Vermont Magazine. In the poetry category, D. Slayton Avery won for “At the Fair,” and in the prose category, Thea Lewis won for “Farm Boy,” a short story. Along with being published in Vermont Magazine, both writers also receive $1,250. The Vermont Writers’ prize has been awarded each year since 1989 and is sponsored by Green Mountain Power and Vermont Magazine.

Vermont Business Magazine A new study has revealed the states with the most Olympic gold medal wins, with Vermont taking the top spot. Online casino review site Lucky Gambler analyzed data from Team USA to find the number of Olympic gold medals won by American athletes in the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics and Paralympics since the first Olympics in 1896. Each gold medal win was categorized by the birth state of the athletes who won them. The total number of gold medals in each state was weighed against the population to calculate wins per 100,000 residents. The states with the highest rate of gold medals determined the ranking. Vermont ranks top, with 2.63 Olympic gold medals per 100,000 people. The state has a total of 17 gold medals, five silver medals and four bronze medals. Vermont lands the top spot mainly thanks to Sarah Will, an alpine skiing champion with 12 gold medals to her name.  

Vermont Business Magazine Walmart has announced it is starting a new annual bonus program for eligible full- and part-time hourly associates in stores, including hourly associates in the pharmacy and optical departments. Associates in Vermont and elsewhere must be employed with the company for one year to be eligible - that means approximately 500 of the hourly store associates in Vermont are eligible for this new bonus.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Williston-based iSun Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, June 3. Also, the SEC delisted iSun as a publicly traded stock. This comes after a significant financial loss in 2023, multiple shakeups in leadership in April, which included the hiring of a restructuring officer, and the canceling of a reverse stock split. Seven Days was first to report the bankruptcy filing. The assets, if approved by the court, would be acquired by an affiliate of Texas-based energy investment firm Siltstone Capital. The iSun subsidiaries include SolarCommunities, which does business as SunCommon, the solar panel installer based in Waterbury. iSun is the former Peck Electric, which has grown into a firm that reported to VermontBiz in 2023 that it has 275 employees on $95.7 million in revenues. It also reported a 2023 net loss of $19.4 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Saturday, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) will host the annual Women’s Economic Opportunity Conference, which includes interactive workshops on growing economic opportunity, cultivating new audiences, and improving skills. The conference will open with remarks from Vermont-born stand-up comedian Tina Friml, Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL) and Senator Welch. The conference will be held in Randolph on June 8th. The Women’s Economic Opportunity Conference was created by Senator Patrick Leahy and his wife Marcelle and has been a Vermont tradition for decades. Senator Welch and his wife Margaret Cheney are pleased to continue this tradition of bringing Vermonters together to learn, network, and build economic opportunity for women in Vermont and across the country.  This event is held in partnership with the Vermont Women’s Fund and the Vermont Community Foundation.  

Vermont Business Magazine The Windham Foundation announced today the appointment of Dan Lerner, Ph.D. as its new Executive Director, effective mid-June 2024. Lerner succeeds Bob Donald who retires this summer after 14 years as CEO/CFO. The Windham Foundation is dedicated to supporting and enhancing the vitality of rural communities in Vermont. Under Lerner's leadership, the Foundation aims to continue its work in grantmaking, community development, and fostering connections among rural areas to ensure their sustainability and growth.

Vermont Business Magazine More than 500 people gathered in Bellows Falls for back-to-back conferences celebrating efforts to revitalize Vermont communities. About 300 people attended the 2024 Vermont Downtown and Historic Preservation Conference on June 5 and 200 went to the 2024 Creative Sector Convening on June 6. Both events were made possible by a partnership between the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, Preservation Trust of Vermont, and Vermont Arts Council. The biannual Vermont Downtown and Historic Preservation Conference kicked off at the Bellows Falls Opera House with remarks from members of the Abenaki Tribe, Preservation Trust of Vermont Executive Director Ben Doyle, and State Treasurer Mike Pieciak. Congresswoman Balint shared some thoughts via a video.