Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today, with 31 of his colleagues in the Senate, called on the National Mediation Board (NMB) to urgently resolve unfairly delayed contract negotiations that have left more than 100,000 flight attendants and airline workers stuck in expired contracts without the ability to strike – all while cost-of-living expenses are on the rise and airline carriers rake in record-breaking profits. “We are concerned about the increasing number of contract negotiations before the NMB that are being unnecessarily drawn out at the expense of workers,” wrote the senators. “We understand that there are ongoing negotiations that have dragged on for as long as five years and we have heard from workers who are rightfully frustrated that they are being subjected to unfair delays in bargaining. Without new contracts, these workers are left further and further behind…”

Vermont Business Magazine NECANN will host its 5th Annual Vermont Cannabis & Hemp Convention June 14-15 at the Champlain Valley Expo Center in Essex Junction presented by Berkshire Bank. This year’s event will feature 15 speaker sessions with 40+ expert cannabis speakers with sessions on a variety of cannabis issues related to the Vermont industry. On the expo floor, there’ll be 100+ exhibitors covering the full spectrum of the industry: growing, distribution, brand development, ancillary businesses and more. The convention’s keynote address will be delivered by Riley Kirk on the topic: Understanding Cannabis Science to Help Consumers at 1pm Saturday June 15.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), member of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), shared a new report released this week by the JEC’s Democratic staff finding that flooding causes as much as $496 billion in losses each year. On Friday afternoon, Welch will visit two sites in Windham County that are hosting floodplain restoration and mitigation projects. In July 2023, Vermont experienced several days of nonstop rain, with nearly nine inches of rainfall falling on parts of the state. The torrential rain caused flash flooding, washouts, and mudslides across the state. Homes, businesses, farms, and public infrastructure were damaged, and many were completely destroyed.  

Vermont Business Magazine More than two hundred Vermont counselors, social workers, nurses, health care providers, and other health and human service professionals will come together on June 14th as part of the Collaborative to Advance Mental Health Treatment and Substance Use Recovery for Everyone (C.A.R.E). The Whole Person Care: Enhancing Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health Treatment conference is centered around the importance of holistic care for people with Substance Use and Mental Health concerns.  

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s alpine and cross-country ski area members joined industry partners, supporters, and friends at the Vermont Ski Areas Association's (VSAA) 55th Annual Meeting at Jay Peak Resort late last week to recap a challenging but successful season. Despite facing many weather challenges Vermont’s alpine ski areas reported 4.1 million skier visits for 2023-24, down less than half a percentage point from the 2022-23 season. Visitation this season remains 4 percent above Vermont’s 10-year average and outpaces a 6.2 percent decrease in Northeast region visits (12.4 million) and a 6.6 percent decrease in national visits (60.4 million).

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine A special food drive is underway to provide free weekly dinners to the Burlington mayor and her wife to help reduce the burden of being public servants. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, who took office as Mayor on April 1, and her partner Megan Moir, the director of water resources for the city of Burlington, make about $250,000 a year, but friends have started a food drive for the two women and their two children. The sign up is through a website known as MealTrain.com and features a picture of Mulvaney-Stanak, Moir and their two children. The website also says people can donate food cards to DoorDash, Panera, Chili’s, Visa and more to the family. 

The Vermont State Police has cited Veronica Lewis, 40, an inmate at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon arising from an attack on her cellmate. The assault occurred at about 4:55 a.m. Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Per standard protocol, the Vermont Department of Corrections reported the incident to state police, who initiated an investigation. VSP’s investigation determined that Lewis, who is serving a sentence for attempted second-degree murder for the shooting of her firearms instructor in 2015, entered her cell and attacked her sleeping cellmate, 52-year-old Yvonne Frederiksen, with a facility-issued tablet computing device and a lock that had been placed inside a sock. 

Vermont Business Magazine Through generous funding from KeyBank Foundation, the Pomerleau Family Foundation, the University of Vermont Medical Center, and many individual donors, Spectrum Youth and Family Services has been able to make its Nightly Shelter a year-round resource for homeless youth. On May 14, 2024, Spectrum officially expanded its seasonal warming shelter operations from seasonal to year-round programming to fill the critical gap in the local continuum of care, offering a youth-friendly overnight option when other shelter beds are full. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Foundation has announced that the Withington Fund has given more than $1 million to recreation and projects that benefit the public in Brattleboro, a milestone reached this year as the fund celebrates its 20th birthday. A permanent resource managed by the Vermont Community Foundation, the fund has distributed more than 30 grants to support the development and refurbishment of parks, trails, and public amenities ranging from basketball courts and playgrounds to a popular skate park and disc golf course. Brattleboro business leader and recreation enthusiast Nelson Withington decided to create the fund at the Vermont Community Foundation before his death at the age of 97 in 2002, so as to keep giving to the town he loved. The donor advised fund, also known as a giving account, opened in 2004. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that Vermont will receive $3.1 million over the next four years from Johnson & Johnson to resolve allegations related to the marketing of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and body powder products that contained talc, which often contained asbestos. Today’s settlement is the result of a four-year, multistate investigation involving 42 other attorneys general. The total nationwide settlement amount is $700 million. “Johnson & Johnson marketed their baby powder and body powder products as safe—when it knew they were not,” said Attorney General Clark. “I will continue to use the authority of my office to hold companies accountable for misleading consumers about the safety of their products.”

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health's weekly COVID-19 report shows that hospitalizations and general "syndromic" cases remain very low, fewer than five people are being treated at a Vermont hospital each week, which has been the case since late March. The number of COVID cases is unchanged from last week. There was one death, which was of someone over the age of 79.

Vermont Department of Health Warm weather has arrived in Vermont, and the mountains are lush and green. Swimming, hiking, biking, grilling, sports and even outdoor projects are among the many Vermont summertime activities on our to-do lists! It is easy to prevent illness and injury while enjoying the outdoors if you follow some simple health and safety tips. Vermont has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the U.S. However, most skin cancers can be prevented. Follow these tips to be sun smart when playing and working outdoors, including: Apply a thick layer of broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, even on cloudy days. Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours and after swimming, sweating, or toweling off.