Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is moving forward with a policy of unsheltering vulnerable Vermonters, revoking access to the state’s emergency housing program for approximately 300 households as of last night. Lawmakers enacted new restrictions on the state’s motel voucher program earlier this year, implementing a seasonal 80-day cap for each household which began on July 1, 2024, and a total room cap of 1,100 for the program that took effect over the weekend. As a result of these changes, state officials recently projected that over 900 households would lose access to the program—many of them families with children and people with disabilities—by October 8.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) is delighted to present the 2024 Arthur Gibb Award for Sustainable Community Leadership to Jessica Laporte, in recognition of her deep dedication to Vermont’s land and people. Jess is a dynamic leader, collaborator and statewide advocate for community resilience and equity. As Co-Director of Community Resilience Organizations, Jess has expanded the organization's capacity, enabling it to support six times more community projects since 2020 and demonstrating how creative fiscal sponsorship can empower communities to respond to their own needs. Jess was a foundational member with Seeding Power Vermont, a collective of organizers working on systemic changes for BIPOC self-determination and healing relationships with land and between people.

Vermont Business Magazine After six years of planning, design, and fundraising, the Alburgh Family Clubhouse (AFC) has six weeks to close its final funding gap to break ground before the end of 2024. When completed in 2025, the Clubhouse will provide affordable, community-based child care for over 60 children in an area that currently lacks any significant child care facilities. The current landscape of child care in Vermont presents many challenges for young families, especially in a small, rural community like Alburgh. As an organization, it is AFC’s mission to expand educational access and opportunities, especially for children at risk of poor developmental and learning outcomes, by promoting and providing affordable, high-quality Early Care and Education for young children and their families in Alburgh and surrounding communities. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Economic Development today announced the Brownfields Revitalization Fund (BRF) – State Program is investing $1,594,500 to clean up two properties in Bennington and Northfield. Once completed, the projects are poised to bring 64 housing units online. “Brownfield remediation is not only good for the environment but is also an important tool that can be used to revitalize communities,” said Governor Phil Scott. “These projects will help Northfield and Bennington redevelop vacant sites, create housing units, and bring jobs to their downtowns.” Today's awards go to 650 Main Street LLC in Bennington and Northfield Village Development LLC.

Vermont Business Magazine Following the success of last month’s VCIA Conference, ICCIE (The International Center for Captive Insurance Education) today announced in partnership with VCIA its fundraising results. ICCIE’s 20th Anniversary Reception held opening night at VCIA’s 39th Annual Conference yielded close to $60,000, far surpassing previous fundraising years. “Usually, we anticipate about $10,000 coming in from our annual reception sponsorships,” commented Mitch Cantor, ICCIE’s Executive Director. “Due to the milestone of our 20th anniversary and the high visibility of the VCIA Conference, we netted 500% more fundraising this year. A far better outcome than any of us could have imagined!” The fundraising will be used to further develop ICCIE’s captive educational offerings and helps solidify the organization’s standing for the future as the captive industry continues to rapidly grow and more professionals seek captive career development.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.26 per gallon, down 5 cents per gallon from last week's $3.31/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.79/g while the highest was $3.89/g, a difference of $1.10/g. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 6.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.15/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine Sterling College of Vermont has been recognized as a top performer in the 2024 Sustainable Campus Index, securing the top Curriculum and Food & Dining rankings and receiving a Gold rating for overall excellence among Baccalaureate institutions. A publication from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Campus Index recognizes top-performing sustainable colleges and universities overall and in 17 impact areas, as measured through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets is now accepting applications for the Farm to Institution Market Development Grant. This grant connects farms to institutional market opportunities to help grow their agricultural businesses while increasing local food access for Vermonters. Important institutional markets for farms include schools, early childhood programs, hospitals, colleges, prisons, and nursing homes. Grant projects will increase sales for at least one local farm and will increase the amount of local food served at Vermont institutions. Vermont farm or food businesses, Vermont producer associations, and supply chain facilitators (non-profits, economic development authorities, food hubs, food brokers, etc.) are eligible to apply. Awards will range between $10,000 and $30,000.

The Vermont State Police is investigating suspicious deaths in the Rutland County town of Pawlet. Early Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 2024, when police received a call reporting a suspicious person. Subsequent investigation led the state police to a residence on Vermont Route 133, where troopers located the deceased victims. This investigation is in its preliminary stages and involves members of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Crime Scene Search Team, Field Force Division and Victim Services Unit.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), member of the Senate Commerce Committee, in conjunction with the U.S. Travel “Travel Works” program, hosted an event at Richmond Mountain Trails’ (RMT) The Driving Range, the first fully accessible trail network, located in Bolton. The event included a hike around RMT’s new adaptive-ready trail system, and a discussion with U.S. Travel, Vermont Tourism, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and State, local and industry leaders on tourism and outdoor recreation in Vermont. Participants talked about the challenges and issues facing the travel and outdoor recreation industry, including accessibility issues, cross-border travel and business, infrastructure repairs, immigration policy reforms, rural development, and the need for outdoor recreation marketing and development funding.  

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University, the nation’s only private military college and the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), has been at the forefront of progressive military education since its beginnings in 1819. Founder Captain Alden Partridge envisioned educating both women and men as citizen-soldiers, but it took 155 years for that to come to fruition. On September 19-22, Norwich University will celebrate a milestone in the institution’s 205-year history: the 50th anniversary of women living on the Northfield campus and joining the Corps of Cadets. The celebration will take place as part of the annual Homecoming Weekend.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Brewers Association (VBA) is thrilled to announce that registration is now open for the Vermont Craft Brewers  conference presented by TripleSeat Event Management. The conference will take place from November 11-12, 2024 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Burlington. This year’s conference is expected to attract over 300 professionals from Vermont and beyond, coming together to advance and celebrate the craft beer movement.