Current News

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. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average Vermont gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.50 per gallon, down 4 cents per gallon from last week, down 19 cents from last month and down 46 cents from the same time last year. The lowest price in the state is $2.99/g in Brattleboro while the highest is $3.69/g in Bondville and Westminster. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.30/g today. 

Vermont Business Magazine Fall and winter are the seasons when respiratory viruses spread more easily, and that means now is the best time to protect yourself and loved ones from serious illness and hospitalization. The Health Department is urging everyone 6 months and older to get this year’s COVID-19 and flu vaccines. People can also talk to their doctor about new RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) immunization options for babies, people who are pregnant, and adults ages 60 and older. With the end of the pandemic emergency, people will get their COVID-19 vaccinations in the same locations where they receive their other routine vaccinations, such as for the flu. It’s also OK for people to get flu and COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time. These vaccines take up to two weeks to be fully effective.

Vermont State Police On November 15, 2023, the Vermont Drug Task Force, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Vermont State Police Field Force Division, and the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department, arrested Bryan J. Kenyon, Jill M. Lebert, and Richard L. Bump in Bennington. The arrests stemmed from a two-month drug investigation into Bryan Kenyon’s distribution of cocaine and fentanyl in the town of Bennington. The investigation into Kenyon’s drug distribution involved the use of a confidential informant who purchased cocaine base and fentanyl from Kenyon. At the time of the investigation, Kenyon was on probation for previous charges of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer and Fentanyl Trafficking. Kenyon was wearing an electronic monitoring device as part of his probation sentence.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and part of POWDR, is pleased to receive a positive snow control announcement from FIS (International Ski and Snowboard Federation), the governing body of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup. With this announcement, Killington Resort can assure international race teams and ski racing fans traveling to central Vermont for Thanksgiving weekend that both the giant slalom and slalom races will take place as scheduled on November 25 and 26. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark and Department of Financial Regulation Commissioner Kevin Gaffney announced today that Vermont, along with five other states, has reached a multistate settlement totaling $6.5 million with Morgan Stanley over two incidents that compromised the personal information of millions of Morgan Stanley customers. Both incidents occurred due to Morgan Stanley’s failure to erase unencrypted data in certain computer devices that were decommissioned, exposing millions of consumers’ personal information left in those devices. Vermont will receive over $595,000 from the settlement, with approximately $89,000 going to the Vermont Financial Services Education and Victim Restitution Special Fund to help compensate victims of securities violations. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII), announced a donation of more than $100,000 to off-road vehicles (ORV), all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and snowmobile organizations across the United States and Canada as a part of its TRAILS GRANTS program, including Sno-Bees Snowmobile Club Inc in Barre. The TRAILS GRANTS program focuses on promoting safe and responsible riding, supporting trail preservation, and helping protect the environment and natural resources that are a part of the off-road trail systems. Combined with the 14 2023 Spring TRAILS GRANTS recipients announced in April, Polaris has awarded 25 organizations in 19 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces a total of nearly $250,000 through this year's TRAILS GRANTS program.   

Vermont Business Magazine Kenley Dean Squier, owner of the WDEV (Radio Vermont Group) in Waterbury, the founder of Barre’s Thunder Road, the Motor Racing Network, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, a sports broadcaster (including the Daytona 500, world golf and regional sports) and auto racing impresario, died Wednesday at 88. Governor Phil Scott, who has often raced at Thunder Road, today issued the following statement: “Today, we mourn the loss of a true Vermont legend and dear friend to me and so many others."

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF), in collaboration with Efficiency Vermont and its Energy Excellence Network, is launching an advanced business assistance program for Vermont energy professionals. Starting in January 2024, a cohort of competitively selected energy services business owners and entrepreneurs will work directly with experienced business coaches to receive advanced business assistance in a new program called, “Tools of the Trade – Business Fundamentals for Energy Pros.”