Current News

Vermont State Police An autopsy was completed Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. The victim is identified as Christina Chatlos, 38, of Williamstown and Barre. The medical examiner determined the cause of her death was a gunshot wound to the torso, and the manner of death is a homicide. The Vermont State Police investigation is continuing. 

Vermont Business Magazine Colleges and universities can now participate in the Vermont Campus Voting Challenge, a new nonpartisan initiative announced today by Vermont’s Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, in partnership with the nonpartisan nonprofit the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. All higher education institutions in Vermont are invited to be a part of the Challenge. Participating colleges and universities will be eligible for awards based on achieving their campus goals for the November 5, 2024, election. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.15 per gallon, down 4 cents per gallon from last week, down 15 cents/g from last month and 39 cents/g from this time last year, according to GasBuddy. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.79/g in Brattleboro, while the highest was $3.40/g in Lyndonville. The national average price of gasoline increased 1 cent per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.10/g today. The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.1 cents in the last week and stands at $3.87 per gallon.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environment Conservation (DEC) has released the Vermont Clean Water Initiative 2023 Performance Report. It highlights water quality progress achieved through public investment. By investing $420 million in clean water over the past eight years, the State has cut pollution going into Vermont’s waters. In the report, DEC details progress to reduce phosphorus pollution in Lakes Champlain and Memphremagog. Excess phosphorus can cause toxic cyanobacteria blooms that impact recreation and aquatic life. To restore water quality, it is key to cut phosphorus. Since the passage of Vermont’s Clean Water Act in 2015, Vermont has created and expanded a number of regulatory and incentive-based programs to drive implementation of clean water projects. Together, these projects have kept about 94,580 pounds of phosphorus out of Lake Champlain. This is 20% of the total reduction needed to restore the lake’s water quality. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) Wednesday celebrated the announcement of $3.7 million in grants from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to seven clean energy projects across Vermont. The investments are funded through USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and will work to reduce energy costs, increase revenue, boost job opportunities in rural communities, and bolster competition for U.S. farmers and agricultural producers. 

Vermont Business Magazine Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc (Nasdaq: PPSI), a leader in the design, manufacture, service and integration of electrical power systems, distributed energy resources, power generation equipment and mobile electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, today announced that it is launching its first zero-emission platforms. Developed in partnership with NOMAD Transportable Power Solutions, Inc, the leading domestic manufacturer of zero-emission, utility-scale mobile energy storage, Pioneer’s Zero Emission e-Boost (“ZEeB”) and EXZELCR platforms set a new bar in meeting the growing demand for low-carbon, mobile, e-Boost solutions with grid-gap solutions.

Vermont Business Magazine US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Vermont and New Hampshire, Sarah Waring, today announced $951,197 in Technical Assistance Grants (TAGs) to help rural small businesses and agricultural producers apply for funding through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). As directed by the Biden-Harris Administration, REAP, which increases energy efficiency and decreases costs for thousands of rural U.S. businesses each year, received $1.05 billion through the end of fiscal year 2024 under the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act, and doubled its maximum project funding levels. On Monday, the Agency announced more than $5.1 million in REAP grant funding throughout the Twin States. This includes: Farm Credit East - $200,000; Pecos Wind Energy – Two REAP TAGs, $152,050 each; and Ecology Action - $100,027.

Vermont Business Magazine This winter, the Clean Water Initiative Program (CWIP) at the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is launching the 2024 Clean Water Conversation Series. These monthly webinars are free and open to the public. The series spotlights the collaborative endeavors of the state and its partners aimed at enhancing Vermont’s water quality. “The Clean Water Conversation Series is a great opportunity for the public to learn about the long-term statewide efforts to meet Vermont’s clean water goals,” said DEC Commissioner Jason Batchelder. “This year’s series highlights how our clean water efforts support the state’s flood and climate priorities." DEC will host three talks this winter and announce the rest of the series in the spring.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Wednesday spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate about the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the responsibility of the US government to use its leverage to deliver urgently needed aid to Palestinians and demand an end to Israel’s indiscriminate bombing campaign. The speech comes on the heels of Sanders’ first-of-its-kind Senate floor vote on a resolution under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act – an overlooked tool of Congressional oversight. Sanders’ resolution would have required a report examining any human rights violations that may have occurred in the course of the military campaign being carried out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Vermont Business Magazine On January 17, 2024, the Board of Directors of Community National Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Community Bancorp, appointed Christopher L. Caldwell, age 58, to the position of President of the Bank, effective immediately. Kathryn M. Austin, who previously held the combined titles of Bank President and Chief Executive Officer, will continue to serve as the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer. No changes were made to the Company’s officers. Caldwell’s appointment follows the Bank’s leadership succession planning process in preparation for the planned retirement of Austin. Austin will retain her positions as Chief Executive Officer of the Bank and as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company until her retirement at year-end 2024.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) today announced the new 3-Acre Permit Obtainment Assistance Program. The program offers $12.4 million in ARPA funds to help property owners comply with a regulation, known as the 3-Acre Permit, that aims to clean up Vermont’s waters by capturing and treating stormwater runoff. The 3-Acre Permit contains requirements to capture and treat polluted stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces like roads, parking lots, and roofs before it reaches rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. There are over 700 sites that need to obtain this permit and implement its requirements to treat runoff, most of which are located in the Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog watersheds.

Vermont State Police — Following an investigation that began more than four years ago, Vermont State Police detectives have identified a suspect in a 2019 homicide in Barton. The victim, 37-year-old Richard Poginy of Glover, was found with serious injuries following a low-speed, minor car crash in Barton on Nov. 2, 2019. He died a week later at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Investigators determined that his significant injuries were inconsistent with a vehicle crash. New Hampshire’s chief medical examiner performed an autopsy and ruled the cause of Poginy’s death was “complications of blunt impact head injuries,” and the manner of death was a homicide.