Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger and Burlington Electric Department (BED) shared Burlington’s Net Zero Energy (NZE) Roadmap update for 2023 and announced exciting new programs and incentives to accelerate electrification. The update shows a significant overall decline of 18.2 percent in greenhouse gas emissions in the ground transportation and thermal sectors from 2018 to 2023, marking the second largest year-over-year drop in that period. The greatest change was in the building sector, with a 19 percent reduction in fossil fuel use since 2018.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Governor Phil Scott tapped a maple tree at Buck Family Maple in Washington Monday to recognize this year’s maple season.  With sap boiling ongoing around the state, the governor joined the Buck family and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts to join in the tradition of Vermont’s maple season and celebrate this important industry to the state’s economy and culture.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) announced this week that he has secured nearly $30 million in federal funds in the recently passed budget to support 19 Vermont projects. The projects will improve local infrastructure and accessibility, bolster economic revitalization, preserve community landmarks, and build more affordable housing. Project recipients were nominated by Welch through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process. One of the recipients was SRDC $1 million for the Springfield Regional Development Corporation for the Park Street School: Business Incubator & Accelerator in Springfield.

Vermont Business Magazine Craig Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albany Field Office, and Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, announced today the FBI is offering a reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to the recovery of Brianna Maitland. Brianna was last seen during the late evening hours of March 19, 2004, as she was completing her shift at a restaurant in Montgomery, Vermont. She was just 17 years old. She left the restaurant in a green 1985 Oldsmobile 88, which was later located backed into the side of an abandoned barn about a mile from the restaurant.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that COVID-19 cases fell steeply from over 100 to 75, their lowest level since early fall. In addition, hospitalizations continue to decline, and fatalities have eased back. There were 6 fatalities in this report after only 1 the week before. The pandemic death total now stands at 1,138 as of March 9, 2024 (the most recent data available). Total reported deaths in January were 28, which is the highest monthly total in nearly a year, but only 15 so far for February and 6 so far reported in March. The VDH reported last week that COVID-19 hospitalizations were at a statewide total of 18, which is among the lowest they've been in several months. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. 

Vermont Business Magazine Fast Company announced today that Green Mountain Power (GMP) is one of the Most Innovative Companies in the World for 2024, joining Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment, the National Women’s Soccer League, and Open AI on the prestigious list. Fast Company introduced the list this morning, saying “The challenges facing business and the planet are immense, but the process of selecting these winners gave us optimism.” GMP is second on the list of ten companies honored in the Energy category, with the magazine noting GMP’s groundbreaking work to boost resiliency and equity for all customers.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Unilever on March 19 announced steps to accelerate its Growth Action Plan (GAP) by spinning off of its Ice Cream division into a separate company, while launching a major productivity program. This separation will include Ben & Jerry's. Unilever also owns Breyers and other ice cream brands. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, said that Ice Cream has been a lagging part of the consumer-products giant. Unilever's brands include Dove, Hellmann's and another Vermont legacy company, Seventh Generation. Those products presumably will stay with Unilever. WSJ said the spin-off is likely because Unilever could not find an outside buyer for its Ice Cream division. Unilever did not provide details of the separation but said it will happen by the end of 2025. Unilever said the separation would affect 7,500 jobs, but Unilever did not indicate exactly how or where. Ben & Jerry's is based in South Burlington, Vermont. Unilever bought Ben & Jerry's in 2000 for $326 million. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Commission for Public School Employee Health Benefits unanimously agreed to a two-year extension of the current school employees’ healthcare plan while pledging to work together toward systemic changes that would lower costs and make healthcare more affordable. The extension comes as the commission was gearing up for bargaining over the agreement that was set to expire on December 31, 2025. Instead of a third round of negotiations that would have likely taken months to complete, the terms and conditions of the current arrangement will now be in effect through December 31, 2027. Under the terms of the current agreement, premium co-shares, co-pays, and deductibles will not change for the majority of covered employees, except for some support staff who will see a 1 percent increase in their premiums if they aren’t already contributing 20 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott announced today that he has appointed Bram Kranichfeld as permanent state’s attorney for Franklin County. The Governor named him interim state’s attorney in September, following the previous state’s attorney John Lavoie’s resignation. Lavoie was facing impeachment by the Legislature at the time. His resignation ended the impeachment process. The appointment was effective last week for the term ending January of 2027. Kranichfeld previously served as chief of the criminal division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office from 2018 to 2019. He currently serves as Priest-in-Charge at All Saints & St. Paul’s Episcopal Churches.

by Virginia Ray, The Commons State Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Durkin has denied a third appeal to stop the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) from proceeding with its Alice Holway Drive community housing project. The development has been planned since 2019 as two new buildings intended to provide 25 mixed-income, energy-efficient, and accessible apartments on the 0.91-acre site in Putney Village next to Putney Community Gardens. In their appeal, neighbors to the site Laura Campbell and Deborah Lazar contended the Trust's lots are not contiguous - and should be. Because Alice Holway Drive runs between the lots, they maintained the site does not meet the legal definition of "affordable housing" vis-a-vis Act 250, the state's environmental protection law.

Vermont Business Magazine A group of high-income and wealthy Vermont residents sent an open letter to the Vermont Legislature on Tuesday, asking legislators to increase their taxes in response to pressing needs across the state. The group, which includes Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Olympic cross-country skier Hannah Dreissigacker, Phoenix Books co-owner Renee Reiner, green energy entrepreneurs Duane Peterson and David Blittersdorf, and others, stressed the importance of public investment and their willingness to contribute more in taxes to fund public investments necessary to improve the quality of life for all Vermonters. The Vermont legislature is currently considering legislation to enact a 3% surcharge on personal annual income above $500,000, which would raise at least $74 million in state revenue each year.

Vermont Business Magazine Funding is now available for Vermont organizations in the Brattleboro area through the Crosby-Gannett Fund grant program at the Vermont Community Foundation. The purpose of the Crosby-Gannett Fund is to support endeavors that contribute to the betterment and vitality of the Brattleboro area. The Crosby-Gannett Fund evolved its giving strategy last year and will now award a grant to one applicant annually. The grant term will be active for three years, and the grantee will receive $7,500 per year, totaling $22,500 over the three-year period. The goal of this model is to provide reliable capacity-building support to creative ideas and community-based organizations that will enable meaningful improvement in the Brattleboro area.