Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.38/g, up 2 cents per gallon from last week, up 14 cents/g from last month and down 6 cents/g from last year. The lowest price in the state is $3.18/g in Colchester, while the highest is $3.59/g in Arlington. The national average price of gasoline has risen 5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.64/g today. In Vermont, and more so across the nation, prices are up as refiners switch to summer formulations. Also, there has been supply reductions because of maintenance on West Coast refineries.

Northeastern Vermont Development Association The LEAP Energy Fair (April 13 in Duxbury) is the largest in Vermont, and it’s completely FREE! Tour 65+ exhibits and talk to experts about heat pumps, weatherization, solar power, energy audits, electric vehicles, electric lawn tools, financing, subsidies, and much more. This family-friendly event includes a free magician show, free ice cream, free electronics recycling, children’s activities, and local food and refreshments, while you learn how to shrink energy bills and save money. Brought to you by the volunteers of Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Bond Bank is pleased to announce the successful closing in late March of nearly $15 million in Municipal Climate Recovery Fund (MCRF) loans, which will benefit 18 communities across the state. In many cases, the subsidized loan will be the first financial assistance since the immediate aftermath of the flooding. “The Bond Bank knows the financial challenges faced by Vermont’s municipalities well and we immediately began to evaluate how we could help when the disaster struck this summer. We’re thankful for our partnership and loan from the State, which allowed us to bring this program from concept to reality in only a few months,” said Bond Bank Executive Director Michael Gaughan.

Vermont Business Magazine As millions of Americans prepare to file their taxes ahead of the federal deadline on April 15, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Wednesday introduced legislation to ensure that large corporations are finally required to pay their fair share. The Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act would stop corporations from sheltering profits in tax havens like the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg, eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and close loopholes in the tax code that allow corporations to get away with paying little to nothing in taxes. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, closing corporate use of offshore tax havens would raise more than $1 trillion in revenue over 10 years. This legislation would also roll back the Trump corporate tax rate cut and restore the top rate to 35 percent – a move that would raise an additional $1.3 trillion over 10 years.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board voted on April 10 to have 80 either-sex moose hunting permits and 100 antlerless moose hunting permits available this year for a hunt limited to Vermont’s Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) E in the northeastern corner of the state. The science-based hunt is expected to result in a harvest of about 94 moose, or about 10 percent of the current moose population in WMU E. Permit applications are now available on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website. The goal of the department’s 2024 moose harvest recommendation is to improve the health of moose in WMU-E by reducing the number of moose, thereby reducing the abundance and impact of winter ticks. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) and Working Fields today announced a partnership to provide vocational services, coaching, and support to individuals reentering their communities. The non-profit also connects directly with employers to facilitate hiring and boost employee retention. These services are supported by a $1.2 million Bureau of Justice Assistance Grant awarded to DOC to expand vocational training in Vermont correctional facilities. In addition to the $150,000 for the partnership between Working Fields and DOC, the remaining grant funds helped establish a correctional facility-based culinary pilot program and enhance pathways between correctional facility and community vocational services.

Vermont Business Magazine With spring underway and the bulk of construction season ahead, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is reminding those who withdraw surface water to track and report usage. Under the newly enacted Act 135 of 2022, anyone withdrawing surface water must file an annual report with DEC each January. The purpose of Act 135 is to collect baseline data on the use of surface waters such as rivers, streams, brooks, creeks, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Anyone who withdraws 10,000 gallons or more of surface water within 24 hours – or 150,000 gallons or more over 30 days – is required to fill out an online form to register and report their withdrawal.

Vermont Business Magazine In an effort to bolster composting and reduce waste, the Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS) will bring together industry leaders with learners from April 29 to May 3, 2024. Summit attendees will discuss creative ways to keep food and other organics out of the trash and to transform them into valuable products. Beginning on Monday, April 29, 2024, the Summit will kick off with in-person and hybrid sessions in Waterbury, Vermont. The remainder of the week will include a series of free virtual sessions through Friday, May 3. VORS is organized by the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV) and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is holding a series of introductory bullhead fishing clinics this spring, highlighting a seasonal opportunity to target one of Vermont’s most overlooked fish species. “The arrival of spring brings increased opportunities to catch bullhead (a small catfish) as they begin moving into their spawning grounds,” said Education Specialist Corey Hart.  “In addition to be being a blast to catch, bullhead -- or ‘horned pout’ as they are also known -- are excellent table fare.” Each clinic will explore different fishing styles used to target brown bullhead, which are found in many of the shallower, muddier lakes, ponds and rivers of Vermont.  Bullhead, like other species in the catfish family, are nocturnal bottom feeders.  So, the clinics will take place in the evening to take advantage of increased bullhead activity.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Outdoor Guide Association (VOGA) has announced the return of nationally known MasterClass Wilderness Survival Instructor, Jessie Krebs who will be teaching women's outdoor survival skills for 2 weekends in Monkton, VT in June. Jessie is a former U.S. Air Force SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training instructor and one of the few female S.E.R.E. specialists who taught military members how to stay alive and return home if they were shot down behind enemy lines. She is also an "Alone" Season 9 participant.

Vermont Business Magazine Reynolds and Son, Inc, Vermont’s largest, privately held industrial distributor, announced the signing of a lease for a 1,100 square foot office suite located at 41 Gauthier Drive, Suite 3, in Essex Junction, Vermont. The move comes after the previous office complex occupied by Reynolds was sold to a developer, who was looking to expand on a different concept for the property. Esther Lotz, Broker, LLC was the tenant broker consultant & Steve Donahue was the listing broker.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bennington County Sheriff's Department hosted 22 Vermont career and technical high school students for the SkillsUSA 2024 Criminal Justice (CJ) and Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) competitions on Thursday, April 10. The students were vying to earn a spot at the national competition that will be held in Atlanta, GA on June 24-28, 2024. James Gulley, Jr., Bennington County Sheriff, and his department have been managing this competition for the past seven years. Also on hand were members of the Vermont Sheriff’s Association (Windham Sheriff Mark Anderson, Windsor Sheriff Ryan Palmer, Middlebury Sheriff Michael Elmore) and the Vermont State Police’s Crime Scene Search Team. High school students from Southwest VT Regional Technical School District, Stafford Technical Center and Burlington Technical Center competed individually in the Criminal Justice competition; traffic stop, and suspicious person service call scenarios were presented to them. Additionally, three teams of three students from each of the schools competed in the Crime Scene Investigation competition. Each student took a written and oral exam before competing in the hands-on scenario portion of the competition.