Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced several of his legislative priorities included in the biennial Water Resources Development Act of 2024 were advanced by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with bipartisan support. The legislation will now be considered by the full Senate. The Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA 2024) authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform vital projects including flood control, water navigation, and ecosystem restoration.

Vermont Business Magazine At his weekly press conference Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott discussed his decision-making on bills coming to his desk. He highlighted the challenge of balancing benefits, costs and risks, his Administration’s efforts to find compromise, and concerns about the realities of new costs and short timelines for numerous new initiatives coming out of the Legislature. He was joined by Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Moore, who shared some specific examples from this legislative session.

by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine The supervisory staff attorney at the Rutland County Public Defender’s Office has emerged as the new front runner for possible nomination as the next federal judge for Vermont. The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice have been privately vetting Mary Kay Lanthier, 53, of Orwell in recent weeks, according to four sources who said they were directly aware of the process but were asked not to speak publicly. Sources say she will be named to the federal bench by the White House today. Lanthier, who has been a public defender for more than 20 years, oversees a handful of lawyers who represent indigent defendants in state criminal cases in Rutland County. The advancement of Lanthier means Assistant Federal Defender Steven L. Barth, Vermont Law School Professor Jessica C. Brown and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher are now on a back burner, the four sources all independently reported.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington-based Teucrium Investment Advisors, LLC and the Board of Trustees of Listed Funds Trust have decided to liquidate the Teucrium AiLA Long-Short Base Metals Strategy ETF. The Fund will cease accepting creation orders on or about June 5, 2024, and shares will stop trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. prior to market open on June 6, 2024. Liquidation proceeds are expected to be distributed to shareholders on or about June 6, 2024. During the liquidation period, the Fund will deviate from its investment objective and increase its cash holdings. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers regarding the potential tax implications of the liquidation. Shareholders can call (800) 617-0004 for additional information.

by Cedulie Benoit-Smith, Community News Service Chickens moseyed around the yard of Karen and Brian Wiseman’s Worcester house on a warm May afternoon. But the free-range flock is only one piece of the couple’s homestead just down the road from the town center. The focal point of their business, Peaceful Harvest, instead sits inside a humid, metal-lined room in the barn out back: medicinal mushrooms. The Wisemans grow and process seven species of mushrooms — none of them psychedelic — to turn them into an array of products: powders, tinctures, baggies of dried strips. Some products are blends of species. All of them, the Wisemans say, can boost immune systems, improve memory and energy and spur a range of other healthy body functions. They’re closing in on a decade in business, and their products line the shelves of over 30 co-ops and wellness stores across Vermont — and appear in shops in 10 other states.

Vermont Business Magazine GasBuddy, the leading fuel savings platform providing North American drivers with the most ways to save money on gas, has released its 2024 Summer Travel Survey results and forecast for Memorial Day travel, revealing a near-record number of Americans planning to road trip this summer as gas prices continue to decline ahead of the holiday weekend. GasBuddy estimates the national average will hold in the mid-$3 per gallon range for much of the summer, with potentially tens of thousands of stations falling below $3 per gallon throughout the next several months. GasBuddy forecasts that gas prices will average $3.58 per gallon nationally between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Right now in Vermont, average gas prices are $3.59 per gallon, down 1 cent from last week. The national average is $3.61, up 1 cent from last week.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has announced the   2024-2025 migratory game bird hunting season dates and bag limits. A printable copy of the Migratory Bird Syllabus can be downloaded from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) under “Hunt” – “Waterfowl.”  A printed version also will be available from license agents and post offices in August.  A statewide Vermont open hunting season for resident Canada geese will occur September 1-25.  The daily bag limit is five Canada geese in the Connecticut River Zone and eight in the rest of the state during this September season.  The purpose of the September season is to help control Vermont’s resident Canada goose population prior to the arrival of Canada geese migrating south from Canada. A second Canada goose hunting season for resident and migrant geese will be held October 12-November 10 in the Lake Champlain and Interior Zones with a daily bag limit of three Canada geese.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Camp Association (ACA) has announced that over 20 camps across the United States will join Phase 2 of the Leadership Pathways Project. This includes Camp Hochelaga in South Hero, Vermont. The project provides financial support to nonprofit summer camps and qualifying organizations that run camp. Grant recipients will receive up to $18,000 per year for three years to support creating, improving, or expanding counselor-in-training (CIT) or similar leadership development programs at camp. 

Lake Champlain Basin Program Spring is in full swing throughout the Lake Champlain Basin, and so is the LCBP. Our team has been hard at work finalizing the 2024 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators Report, a publication we release every three years that contains the most up-to-date data on the present state of Lake Champlain. In the three years since our last report, we have both celebrated improving trends and acknowledged ongoing challenges to our waterways. The report explores the effects of a changing climate on our region in greater depth than before. We discuss the flooding of July 2023, which demonstrated that climate change can no longer be regarded as a future threat. Yet even amid the impacts unfolding now, we experience hope and resolve in the concerted efforts to build resilience in our waterways and communities.

Vermont Business Magazine NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB), the parent of NBT Bank with branches across Vermont, announced that its CEO Succession Plan unanimously approved by NBT’s Board of Directors in January was executed today with Scott A. Kingsley succeeding John H. Watt, Jr. as NBT’s fifteenth President and Chief Executive Officer. Kingsley was also elected to NBT’s Board of Directors. Watt will continue to serve on the Board and has been named Vice Chairman. NBT also announced the promotion of Joseph R. Stagliano to President of NBT Bank, N.A., the Company’s wholly owned banking subsidiary, Annette L. Burns to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Shauna M. Hyle to Executive Vice President, Retail Community Banking. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) graduated its first class of students after Castleton University, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College unified to create Vermont State last year. The class of nearly 1,000 students encompassed Vermonters from more than 200 Vermont towns, not to mention students who chose VTSU from states throughout the country. Bergh also noted the graduates spanned a wide variety of majors—96 in total.

Vermont Business Magazine 24 Southern Vermont Emerging Leaders were recognized on May 21 during the Southern Vermont Economy Summit. With sponsorship from the Community College of Vermont, the annual recognition event was conducted by the Southern Vermont Young Professionals and the Shires Young Professionals, celebrating young people from the Bennington and Windham regions. Individuals were nominated based on their work as community leaders and volunteers, and for their professional accomplishments and commitment to serving the region.