Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today sent letters to the CEOs of four pharmaceutical companies launching a major investigation into the extremely high prices these companies charge for inhalers that 25 million Americans with asthma and 16 million Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rely on to breathe. The letters were sent to the four biggest manufacturers of inhalers sold in the United States – AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Teva – which outrageously charge between $200 and $600 each for inhaler products that are typically purchased monthly.

Vermont Business Magazine In a landmark move to address Vermont’s urgent housing and homelessness challenges, the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition and the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, two advocacy organizations with deep-rooted histories in Vermont, have merged to form a single organization: the Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont (HHAV). As a merged organization, HHAV will help to unite voices from the housing and homelessness fields and leverage the expertise of its board and 60+ member organizations to meet the needs of vulnerable Vermonters and advocate for effective policies to ensure that all people living in Vermont have safe, stable, affordable homes and if homelessness occurs, it is brief, rare, and non-recurring. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Racial Justice Program Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts – and a Saint Michael’s College Professor Emerita – will deliver the keynote address during the College’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration and Convocation this month.  Lawyer, journalist, academic and advocate Traci Griffith, J.D. will speak at Saint Michael’s on Jan. 15, 2024, looking at the promises made in the U.S. Constitution and highlighting the ways in which society has fallen short in meeting those obligations. Griffith will bring both her legal expertise and personal experience to bear during her talk, titled “Promised on Paper, Pathetic in Practice: Race and the U.S. Constitution Through the Eyes of Dr. King.”  

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that James Craft, 26, of Fair Haven, Vermont, was arraigned today on five felony counts and one misdemeanor count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The charges brought against the defendant are the result of a criminal investigation, including the execution of a residential search warrant, conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), including personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Manchester Police Department, and Fair Haven Police Department.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on January 3, 2024, Carl Butterfield, 54, of Whitingham, Vermont, was sentenced in United States District Court in Rutland, Vermont, to serve 135 months in prison after his guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography (also known as child sexual abuse material, or CSAM). Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also ordered Butterfield to serve a 15-year term of supervised release.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.23/g, down 4.2 cents per gallon from last week's $3.27/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.89/g while the highest was $3.99/g, a difference of $1.10/g. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 3.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.03/g today. The national average is down 12.2 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 22.0 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.

Vermont Business Magazine Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer and the “State of Lung Cancer” report reveals that it is detected at high levels in about 21.7% of homes in Vermont. During January for National Radon Action Month, the American Lung Association in Vermont is urging everyone to help save lives by testing their home for radon and mitigating if high levels are detected. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas emitted from the ground. Radon is odorless, tasteless and colorless, and can enter a home through cracks in floors, basement walls, foundations and other openings. Radon can be present at high levels inside homes, schools and other buildings. It is responsible for an estimated 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year and is the leading cause of lung cancer in people who have never smoked.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets Are you looking for funding to purchase specialized equipment like milk storage tanks, milk pipelines, glycol chillers, milk loading systems, reclaim systems for water, cooling equipment, plate coolers/heat exchangers, and more? If so, apply to the On-Farm Milk Storage & Handling Grant! Applications close on January 18th at 2pm. Awards will range from $15,000-$50,000 with a 25% cash or in-kind match requirement. Review the Request for Applications for the full program details. 

Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies Verde Technologies Inc. is developing an innovative alternative to traditional silicon solar panels. Headquartered in Burlington, this renewable energy company manufactures thin-film solar panels using the mineral perovskite. The product adheres to virtually any surface, making solar energy a viable option for all sunlit households.

Vermont Business Magazine On January 5, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined EMS providers at White River Valley Ambulance to tour the facility and discuss the Emergency Medical Services Reimbursement for On-scene Care and Support (EMS ROCS) Act, a bicameral bill that requires the government to pay for vital EMS services, regardless of whether a person needs an ambulance ride to the hospital. The bill was recently introduced in the Senate by Sen. Welch and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and in the House by Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL). 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) on Monday, January 8 at 12:30 pm will hold a rally with members of the Montpelier community and the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience on the effort to restore the state capital’s post office. “The residents of Montpelier need and deserve a restored post office in their community – just as Vermonters in every corner of our state deserve reliable service and postal workers deserve the safe and fair working conditions,” said the Vermont Congressional Delegation. Since the catastrophic flood damage this summer, more than five months ago, the Montpelier Post Office has operated out of a series of temporary locations, including two trucks that failed to provide safe working conditions for employees or reliable service to the community. 

Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies From cow to consumer, Boyden Farm does it all. Farmer/CEO, Mark Boyden, takes us through his entrepreneurial approach running the fifth-generation farm. Boyden Farm does everything from feeding their cattle with Boyden crops to selling their grass-fed beef at local stores and restaurants. Whether you want to grill at home or enjoy a night out at the Burger Barn, Boyden beef will not disappoint. By the end of this, you'll crave a burger just like we did.