Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On International Women’s Day, the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with Berkshire Bank, is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated third annual Women In Leadership Luncheon! The luncheon and networking event is scheduled to take place at the historic Carriage Barn of Park-McCullough in North Bennington, Vermont, on Wednesday, May 15th, from 12pm to 3pm. This event promises enriching conversations on careers and leadership, alongside a delectable catered lunch provided by Pangaea. The highlight of this year's luncheon is the keynote address by speaker and author Kate White, former Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. Kate White is the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of eighteen novels of suspense, including The Last Time She Saw Him (due out on May 14). 

by Kate Kampner, Community News Service Rush hour is no joke during Stowe’s ski season. Cars can stretch for miles up to Stowe Mountain Resort, fueling a persistent parking problem that’s left locals fuming. The resort’s response? Telling people to carpool or take the bus. Management last year rolled out parking fees, carpooling incentives and bus service improvements — but it may not be doing enough. As a result, both the town and the resort are working with the Vermont Agency of Transportation to improve road safety and capacity but not at the expense of aesthetics. 

Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Vermont Department for Children and Families received a report of child sexual abuse called in by a mandated reporter. The investigation began on 2-26-2024 and resulted in the arrest of Andre S. White. 

Vermont Business Magazine Serve Learn Earn (SLE), a nonprofit workforce development collaborative, has launched its new website, www.servelearnearn.org. At the core of its mission, Serve Learn Earn is creating pathways to high-wage employment and affordable education. Each of our programs provides vocational training and the opportunity to serve the state through projects in critical areas such as flood rebuilding, housing, food security, outdoor infrastructure, conservation, weatherization and environmental education.

Vermont Business Magazine Three hundred support staff and technical employees at Porter Medical Center, part of the University of Vermont Health Network, voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday in favor of organizing a union (204-30) and plan to begin negotiations to improve wages, benefits, working conditions and the quality of patient care. The new group joins the 100 RNs at Porter who organized in 2013 and the 9,500 healthcare and higher education professionals of AFT Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Specialty Food Association (VSFA) has promoted Karin Cioffi to the role of Executive Director. Cioffi, who previously served as the Director of Membership and Development for the VSFA, brings a deep understanding of the organization's mission and a wealth of experience in the specialty food and beverage industry to her new position. Prior to her tenure with the VSFA, Cioffi served as the General Manager of J.Morgan's Steakhouse in Montpelier for nearly a decade, where she honed her leadership skills and developed a strong passion for the local food scene. Her extensive experience in the hospitality industry, combined with her dedication to supporting local businesses, uniquely positions her to lead the VSFA into its next chapter of growth and innovation. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced the death of Robert Brown, an individual supervised in the community on medical furlough. Robert Brown, 52, of Johnson, Vermont, was lodged at the Northeast Correctional Complex (NECC) in St. Johnsbury from November 8, 2023, until February 27, 2024. On February 27, Mr. Brown was transported by ambulance to Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital. Following his admission, DOC authorized release of Mr. Brown on medical furlough due to his worsening medical state and low risk to public safety. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today released the following statement on President Biden’s decision to build an emergency port to immediately deliver critical supplies to Gaza: "I welcome President Biden’s decision to direct the U.S. military to establish an emergency port on the Gaza coast to allow large quantities of food, water, medicine, and other essential supplies to be delivered directly to the people of Gaza. This is a necessary step to respond to the horrific humanitarian crisis unfolding there and address the widespread starvation, disease, and desperation caused by this war and Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the area. But let’s be clear about why this extraordinary step is necessary: Despite months of increasingly urgent requests from the very highest officials in the U.S. government, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his extreme, right-wing government have refused to let in sufficient humanitarian aid."

Vermont Business Magazine A study by a nationwide collaborative group including Larner scientists was recently published in Nature Communications. The study explored how the human body responded to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines—such as PfizerBioNTech Moderna. Both vaccines work by helping the body produce antibodies against the COVID-19 virus’s spike protein, but the study team found that the efficacy of the vaccines varied among subjects. Researchers found that individuals over the age of 65, men, those with higher weight, smokers, diabetics, and those with a history of emphysema tended to have lower antibody levels. To contrast, subjects who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 previously—particularly those with COVID-19 severe enough to lead to hospitalization—had significantly higher levels of anti-S1 than other groups in the study. Surprisingly, those who had taken the Moderna vaccine also reported a significantly higher level of anti-S1 than the PfizerBioNTech recipients.

Vermont Business Magazine With the United States on track to spend more than $1 trillion on the military this year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and five colleagues this week sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urging him to reconstitute the World War II-era Truman Committee to investigate war profiteering and price gouging in the American military industrial complex. Sanders was joined on the letter by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Peter Welch (D-Vermont). Congress has already authorized an $886 billion base defense budget. When defense spending outside of the Department of Defense (DOD) budget is included, the total rises to more than $900 billion.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) announces the selection of the Energy 2024 cohort of the Vermont-based DeltaClimeVT climate economy business accelerator. Eight early-stage energy companies from across the U.S. and Canada will work directly with Vermont utilities to contribute to Vermont’s 90% renewable by 2050 and Burlington’s Net Zero by 2030 goals over three months of intensive work sessions, including two online and two in-person intensive sessions (each 2-4 days in duration), weekly assignments and bi-weekly webinars as well as frequent 1:1 engagement. The first in-person sprint starts March 25 in Burlington, VT at Burlington Electric Department and will wrap up with an awards ceremony in Burlington June 13.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.22 per gallon, down 1.9 cents per gallon from last week's $3.24/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.97/g while the highest was $3.39/g, a difference of 42.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 10.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.34/g today. "As we enter the madness we tend to see in March with refinery maintenance hitting its peak, impacting how much gasoline can be produced as we make the changeover to the summer blends."