Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine On August 28, 2011, the covered bridge in Lower Bartonsville village washed down the Williams River during Tropical Storm Irene. A video showing the 1871 bridge disappearing into the river included gasps from onlookers. It was essentially intact as it appeared to be sucked into the river. You can find the video on YouTube. The bridge was rebuilt and reopened in January 2013 as a replica of the original. The engineering of the new span received design awards. What Irene taught Vermont was that the new world of climate change is requiring much more resilient infrastructure. What the floods in July taught was that downtowns must also become resilient.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announces $200,000 in grant funds to strengthen Vermont’s specialty crop industries and producer associations. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, horticulture crops (including honey, hops, maple syrup and mushrooms), and nursery crops (including Christmas trees and floriculture). Interested applicants should apply by January 14, 2024 at 11:59 PM. These grant funds will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops by leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops, assisting producers with research and development, expanding availability and access to specialty crops, or addressing local, regional, and national challenges for producers. 

Vermont Business Magazine Natalie Beaudoin from the Lewiston High School (Lewiston, ME) girls basketball team announced today she has signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) partnership with Aroma Joe's development office of Maine and New Hampshire, which supports the New England-based coffee shop. She will be a community ambassador for the company and will spread positivity by supporting and promoting community events across Maine and New Hampshire. Beaudoin recently received national attention for her idea to create "We Are Lew1ston" shirts to raise awareness and funds for families impacted by the mass shootings in Lewiston on Oct. 25. Her team will also wear warmups this season with the design to remember and raise funds for the families and victims of the mass shootings. Beaudoin recently signed her national letter of intent to play Division 1 basketball at the University of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont fell 4 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.47/g today. Prices are 17 cents/g lower than a month ago and 42 cents lower than a year ago. The lowest price in the state is $2.99/g in Brattleboro while the highest is $3.89/g in Island Pond. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.25/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine The ski and ride season is under way in the Northeast! Okemo Mountain Resort and Stowe Mountain Resort opened for the 2023/24 winter season on Friday, November 17, 2023, thanks to their state-of-the-art, energy-efficient snowmaking systems. Wildcat Mountain announced it will open Wednesday, November 22 and Mount Snow will follow with Opening Day on Thursday, November 23 – Thanksgiving Day. Last week, all Vail Resorts across Vermont, New Hampshire and New York fired up their snowmaking systems as the 2023/24 season approaches. Across the Northeast, much of the terrain is complemented by snowmaking, with Hunter and Crotched at 100% snowmaking coverage, meaning all of the trails are optimized with snowmaking capability. 

by Lauren Milideo, University of Vermont In his new book “Eat, Poop, Die,” UVM wildlife expert Joe Roman explores the fascinating lives of whales, seabirds, insects and other animals as they traverse their homes, from a few thousand kilometers of ocean to a few inches of soil. Roman’s book reveals that, in carrying out their most basic life functions, animals play a crucial role in moving nutrients around the planet—and they’re sustaining life as we know it along the way. Roman, a Fellow and Writer-In-Residence at the Gund Institute, will host a public book launch on November 29. He explains how standing aboard a boat deck and watching a whale poop inspired a new argument for protecting Earth’s species. 

by Maia Segura, Vermont Business Magazine Jonathan Cooper, Community & Economic Development Program Manager for Bennington County Regional Commission will tell you, “Economic development requires optimism by nature.” The recently revitalized Putnam Block, pulsing at the heart of downtown, represents just one reason for Cooper to be optimistic about post-pandemic Bennington. Built as Hotel Putnam in 1870, the property anchored the downtown business district for a century before falling on hard times. By the late 1970’s, upper floors were abandoned and struggling businesses revolved below. By the time Cooper moved to Bennington in 2016, he said, “The quietness of the Putnam Block was deafening.”

Vermont Business Magazine According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, one out of every five students (ages 12-18) in the United States has been bullied — and it doesn’t stop there. Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school, according to the Centers for Disease and Prevention. Fortunately, the National Bullying Prevention Center says more than half of bullying situations (57%) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied. These alarming statistics are just a glimpse into why the North Country Chevy Dealers, a group of 15 Chevrolet dealerships in Northern New York, Vermont, and Northern New Hampshire, have partnered with Sweethearts & Heroes, a bullying and suicide prevention program, since 2018.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) today issued the following statement: “The U.S. Postal Service’s failure to secure safe and stable postal service facilities in Vermont’s capital city following the catastrophic flooding that displaced their offices on State Street, along with an unwillingness to communicate with the local Montpelier community or their own employees, is a complete and total abdication of their responsibilities and emblematic of the nationwide crisis and total failure of leadership of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy."

US Small Business Administration, Vermont Small Business Saturday 2023 will be held on November 25th, marking the 14th annual celebration of the day. This day was created to help independent businesses capture a larger piece of the critical holiday season consumer spending, while also helping address small business owners’ most pressing need: getting more customers through their doors. Small businesses are the engine of our national economy. Today, there are over 33 million small businesses and startups in the United States. Small businesses create two-thirds of net new jobs, making them crucial pillars of communities across the country. And remember, Small Business Saturday 2023 will be held on November 25.

Vermont Business Magazine This week, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-M.D.), and others in urging President Biden to work with Israel and international partners to implement a plan that will protect innocent civilian life in Gaza, deliver sustained humanitarian aid, and work toward the long term goals of ending Hamas’s threat, bringing hostages home, and achieving sustainable peace in the region through a two-state solution. In the letter to President Biden, the Senators call for the protection of civilians and civilian sites, the opening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, and access to prompt medical attention for civilians injured to help address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increased last week, after they had remained steady since late summer. No fatalities were reported by the Vermont Department of Health last week, for a pandemic total of 1,055, as of November 11 (the most recent data available). Fatalities have been edging up during the fall. The Vermont Department of Health reported November 15, 2023, that COVID-19 hospitalizations nearly doubled last week to a statewide total of 43, up from 22 last week. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Reported cases last week were 233, up from 206. Cases were over 300 in late September.