Current News

VermontBiz U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to U.S. Consumer Protect Safety Commission (CPSC) Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric urging the CPSC to pursue a recall for Mattel’s Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker and the similarly-designed Kids2 Bright Starts Rocker, both of which have been linked to numerous infant deaths. The Senators also pressed CPSC to more aggressively protect infants from the risks associated with rockers as it develops the first federal safety standard for infant and infant-to-toddler rockers. 

VermontBiz On 03/14/24 at approximately 14:30 hours, The Grand Isle County Sheriffs Department was dispatched to 37 S Main St in Alburgh, the North Country Federal Union advising they had just been robbed.

Members from Vermont State Police, Vermont Fish Wildlife, US Border Patrol and Swanton PD responded to assist with the case.

Deputies from the Sheriff’s Department arrived on scene and spoke with employees who advised a male entered the Credit Union wearing a winter hat, hoodie, mask over their face. A note was handed to the teller and the male left the Credit Union on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

The male is described as being white about 5’10- 6 ft tall with a slender build.

Vermont Business Magazine For the first time ever, Vermont Works for Women is bringing Trailblazers - their free trades training program for women and gender-expansive individuals ages 18 and up - to Newport, Vermont. The seven week trades training program will run from May 20 - July 3, 2024 at the North Country Career Center. The pre-apprenticeship program, which has trained 145 individuals since 2019, provides a safe, non-judgmental environment for participants to build skills, gain confidence, and explore career fields that tend to be male dominated. During the seven-week program, participants get hands-on experience in construction, renewable energy, and other high-demand trades. Trailblazers is offered at no cost to participants.

VermontBiz Amid the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and other democratic Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging his administration to enforce the federal law that prohibits foreign countries that receive U.S. assistance from restricting or otherwise prohibiting access to humanitarian aid in Gaza or risk forfeiting certain assistance. 

VermontBiz Today, House Speaker Jill Krowinski and House Human Services Chair Theresa Wood provided statements to the media on housing legislation and the emergency housing crisis that is currently unraveling. The transcript of questions posed and subsequent answers is available upon request. The following remarks have been edited for clarity.

VermontBiz  Today, Mayor Weinberger provided the following statement in response to the Scott Administration’s proposal to open a temporary, congregate shelter at 108 Cherry Street in Burlington:  

“It is shocking that the State’s motel guests, Vermont cities, affected downtowns, schools, law enforcement officials, and service providers are being given hours to prepare for the opening of four huge temporary shelters around the state. For the good of the Burlington community and the hundreds of Vermonters who are about to lose a place in the motels, the City of Burlington is working hard to help the State implement their emergency shelter plan. We will always work hard to keep Vermonters sheltered. 

VermontBiz Today, U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hosted a briefing with World Central Kitchen (WCK) Founder and Chef José Andrés on Capitol Hill to discuss the critical need to get food into Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti, and other communities where food systems are disrupted by conflict or natural disasters and there is widespread hunger and disease. The discussion focused on WCK’s innovative, lifesaving work to combat famine around the globe by partnering with local organizations and community leaders to deliver meals, food kits, and supplies to people in need. 

Vermont Business Magazine On March 2, hundreds of UVM students, faculty, and staff danced the night away to raise funds and awareness for the UVM Children’s Hospital. RALLYTHON, the University of Vermont’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon, raised $106,532 by the end of the evening. The RALLYTHON’s student leadership team will present a check to UVM Children’s Hospital Chief of Pediatrics Lewis First, MD, on April 16. Now in its ninth year, RALLYTHON has raised a cumulative total of $904,797 for The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital. The event is part of a movement of more than 100 Colleges and Universities across the country who come together to raise money for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), alongside Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Col.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard “Dick” Durbin (D-Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacklyn Rosen (D-Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on Wednesday sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, urging him to stop any changes to United States Postal Service (USPS) service standards that would result in job losses and further degrade mail delivery performance, especially in rural states.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, US Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined US Representatives Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23) and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.-02) in leading their colleagues in the bicameral, bipartisan introduction of the Making Agricultural Products Locally Essential (MAPLE) Act, legislation that supports the maple industry by providing a new market for maple syrup producers while increasing seniors’ access to nutritious, locally sourced maple syrup products. The MAPLE Act would add maple syrup to the eligible products under the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), which gives low-income seniors access to locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs at farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and community-supported agriculture programs.  

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is seeking applicants for the fifth Climate Catalysts Leadership Program. Over the past four years, Climate Catalysts have worked to implement projects such as building a county-wide Farmer Climate Network; establishing community-wide weatherization efforts; facilitating the development of community solar projects; starting a town energy and climate committee; and more. The Climate Catalysts Leadership Program participants arrive with, or develop, transformative, community-scale climate economy related projects and work toward developing their concepts into reality while building peer connections, strengthening leadership skills, and receiving project development support. 

Vermont Business Magazine Here’s another great example of generous Vermont Electric Co-op members contributing to the success of young people in our region. The VEC Community Fund – supported by VEC members who voluntarily contribute by rounding up their electric bill or donating their member capital – recently awarded $1,000 to go toward prizes for North Country Supervisory Union students competing in a regional science and engineering fair. Aaron Miller, the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) coordinator for NCSU said the donation will add to the excitement of the North Country Science and Engineering Fair and contest, where students from grades 5-8 compete for prizes with science and engineering related projects.