Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Long Trail Brewing is in the lift line with someone new this year – Ski The East! The two iconic East Coast brands paired up to create the Ski The East Hazy Mountain IPA. The brew is a knee-deep dose of citrus, pine and tropical fruit hops that delivers a beverage for those who want to keep the shred alive. Hazy Mountain IPA is a limited-edition beer coming in at 6.7% ABV. It will be available starting now, while supplies last, coming in 4-packs of 16oz cans, as well as in the Long Trail IPA Pack: Ski The East Edition in 12oz cans.

Vermont Business Magazine AARP Vermont has announced that 13 local advocates, who have completed 6-month fellowships with the 2023 Vermont State Walking College, have announced their Walk Action Plans for their communities. The fellows were recognized in a graduation ceremony last week. The Vermont State Walking College program is presented in partnership with America Walks, a national education and advocacy organization which works to advance safe, equitable, accessible, and enjoyable places to walk and move by giving people and communities the resources to effectively advocate for change.

Vermont Business Magazine The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis announced today the EXIM Board of Directors’ approval of an historic $169 million dollar loan to BETA Technologies, a Burlington, Vermont-based company, which manufactures electric aircraft and charging infrastructure, to finance a net-zero Final Assembly Production Facility. The transaction is the second deal authorized under EXIM’s Make More in America initiative and is estimated to support 400 clean energy jobs in Vermont. Chair Lewis was joined by Kyle Clark, founder and CEO of BETA Technologies, as she announced the transaction’s approval during an “Invest in America” session at the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum. 

Public Assets Institute Vermont’s private employers are making up for lost time. In the wake of the Covid pandemic, they’ve added jobs at a pace not seen since the 1990s. According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Vermont employers created more than 29,000 jobs from March 2022 to March 2023. That came on the heels of over 32,000 jobs added from March 2021 to March 2022. Jobs increased by about that number each year in the 1990s. But the pace lagged in the 21st century: From 2001 through 2020, the private sector added an average of about 23,000 jobs annually.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Friday, November 17, Lyndon State College—now Vermont State University (VTSU) Lyndon—alum Shelly Holt Allen, will enjoy her final day behind the camera as assistant chief news photographer at WCAX. Shelly will retire from a trail-blazing career that includes induction into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2021. A pioneer in this male-dominated profession, Shelly was the first female videographer and only the second female photographer at the Burlington-based station. Joe Carroll, Chief News Photographer at WCAX, a colleague of Shelly’s for 38 years, and himself a Lyndon alum, believes she’s enjoyed the longest career of a female news photographer in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a direct award of $8.8 million through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and a nationwide network of partner air agencies, including in Alaska, Washington, and Idaho. Data collected will help create a ranked listing of appliance performance for certified wood heater models available at retail stores in the United States. This ranking will help consumers and air agencies make decisions about changing out old dirty woodstoves for cleaner models or switching to other heating options. “Studies estimate that residential wood smoke emissions account for 10,000 – 40,000 premature deaths annually in the United States.”

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor reported that the statewide unemployment rate for October was 2.0 percent, up one-tenth. The jobless rate had been at or near the historic low of 1.8 percent for several months, before rising the last two months. While the Labor Force increased by 1,061 and the number of Employed was up 525, the number of Unemployed increased by 536. Vermont has the third lowest jobless rate in the nation. Maryland is lowest at 1.7 percent and Nevada is highest at 5.4 percent. The comparable United States rate in October was 3.9 percent, an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised September estimate. The Vermont civilian labor force participation rate was 64.2 percent in October, an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate. Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont remain low.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced his appointment of five Vermont Superior Court Judges: Benjamin Battles of Waterbury, Susan McManus of Manchester Center, Rachel Malone of South Burlington, Alexander Burke of Arlington, and Navah Spero of Richmond. “As I have often said, selecting judges is one of the most important responsibilities for any governor,” said Governor Scott. “When appointing a judge, you’re literally putting justice, and people’s lives and livelihoods, into someone’s hands. It’s critical to identify appointees who are fair, impartial, and committed to the calling of public service and safety. I’m confident that these new judges will meet the responsibilities and high level of trust Vermonters put in them.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Thursday released the following statement on Israel, Palestine, and the growing humanitarian disaster in Gaza: Since October 7th, there has not been a day that goes by that I am not deeply saddened and distressed by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. To see innocent young people slaughtered at a music festival, children and elderly people kidnapped, and then, thousands of civilians killed, including entire families being wiped out and thousands of children dead, torments me and millions of others who are watching this conflict unfold. But we cannot look away.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) has announced $7,500,000 available through the Agricultural Clean Water Initiative Program (Ag-CWIP) grant funding opportunity for local and regional partners to provide services for Vermont farms to support the improvement of water quality and climate change mitigation across the state. Local and regional partners play a vital role in the education, outreach, and implementation of conservation practices that will achieve reductions in nutrient runoff from agricultural operations. 

Manchester Merriment kicks off in just over a week. Local businesses and organizations will host seasonal events from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, bringing the community and visitors together spreading holiday cheer. There is something for everyone and for every age, including train rides, concerts, craft markets, inn tours, lighted tractor parades, and tree and menorah lighting ceremonies. Festivities begin with the lighting of the Manchester Community Tree at Factory Point Green. Along with a special visit from Santa, students from Red Fox Community School and Maple Street School will sing carols during the tree lighting ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 25. Additionally, Santa can be seen in the vicinity on Dec. 2 at the Holiday Lighted Tractor Parade, Dec. 3, at the Equinox Golf Resort & Spa, and Dec. 16 and 17 at the Santa Express train ride (formerly known as the Elf Express).

Vermont Business Magazine GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF) announced today that it is launching a new student loan repayment program to help current employees and new recruits pay down student loan debt. The new benefit program is part of the company’s multi-million-dollar investment to strengthen the semiconductor talent workforce by helping to ease the financial burden of higher education and training of our present and future employees. GF has a major Vermont plant in Essex Junction. Under GF’s new benefit program, set to begin in early 2024, U.S.-based employees and new hires that meet eligibility guidelines will be able to receive a tax-free, lifetime total of $28,500 toward their student debt, enabling employees to pay off their loans faster and at lower out of pocket expenses.