Current News

Vermont State Police The investigation is continuing into the suspicious death reported Wednesday in the Orange County town of Washington. The Vermont State Police has established a preliminary identification of the victim, who is believed to be a woman in her 20s. Confirmation is pending autopsy, which is scheduled to take place Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. No suspects are currently in custody. Investigators believe this is an isolated incident, and there is no threat to the community.

Vermont Business Magazine With winter around the corner and heating costs projected to increase this season, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) today announced that Vermont will receive more than $20.7 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds. 

Vermont Business Magazine For a decade, the Vermont Chamber has brought together industry peers to facilitate sourcing and procurement opportunities at the Manufacturing Summit on Wednesday and Thursday. OEM buyers, suppliers, and partners from across the United States and Canada convened at the event to strengthen supply chains and advance the Vermont economy. The event featured two days of virtual matchmaking, a robust seminar agenda, and an in-person networking reception. Paradigm shifts brought on by the pandemic impacted global supply chains, causing businesses to modify their sourcing strategies. This year, 335 meetings between 90 suppliers and 24 OEMs, prime contractors, and government agencies took place. Many of the participants were leaders in the aerospace, aviation, defense, naval, marine, semiconductor, and space industries.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.64, up 1 cent per gallon from last week, down 14 cents/g from a month ago and down 17 cents/g from the same time last year, according to GasBuddy's survey. The national average price of gasoline is $3.49, down 5 cents/g from last week, down 32 cents/g from last month and down 27 cents/g from last year.

Vermont Business Magazine Over the decades, the Vermont NWTF State Chapter and its local chapters have forged a highly productive partnership with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, allowing for heightened conservation and education and outreach efforts across the state. Through their collaborative efforts, the NWTF and the VFWD are introducing new and diverse audiences to hunting. 2023 was a successful year for getting folks connected with the outdoors in Vermont. 

Vermont Business Magazine The American Lung Association Research Institute announced today it awarded $13.6 million in research grants to fund 129 innovative projects to advance today’s science to end lung disease tomorrow.  Among the awardees is Katherine Menson, DO, with the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, studying accelerated pulmonary rehabilitation in the preoperative period for lung cancer patients. The grant is for $47,500 for FY24 with the opportunity to renew in FY25.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) reported a 13 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in its electrical and plumbing apprenticeship programs this year—up from 726 last year to 822. Efforts to grow the program come in response to acute workforce shortages in both sectors. Students in the programs work for local employers during the day and study a few nights a week, earning wages as they increase their skills. People of all ages take advantage of the VTSU program; the oldest apprentice in this year’s cohort is 58.

by Alicia Wolfram, Community News Service Forest preservation activists are waiting to see whether their lawsuit to stop logging on about 3,760 acres on public lands around Camel’s Hump still has life. Activist group Standing Trees and Duxbury residents Jamison Ervin and Alan Pierce asked Vermont Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi on Sept. 26 to reconsider his Sept. 1 dismissal of their November 2022 lawsuit against the state. The lawsuit claims that officials violated public process laws regarding plans to start logging in the Camel’s Hump Management Unit, a stretch of about 26,000 acres in north-central Vermont that includes the popular mountain and state park. 

Vermont Business Magazine Hunters are gearing up for the start of Vermont’s traditionally popular 16-day regular deer season that begins Saturday, November 11 and ends Sunday, November 26. A hunter may take one legal buck during this season if they did not already take one during the archery deer season.  The definition of a legal buck depends on the Wildlife Management Unit (WMU).  A map of the WMUs is on pages 22 and 23 of the 2023 VERMONT HUNTING & TRAPPING GUIDE available from license agents statewide. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE) is seeking applicants to serve as a member of the Vermont Electric Power Company, Inc. (VELCO) Board of Directors for a term beginning in April, 2024. VELCO serves as the operator and manager of Vermont’s high voltage electric transmission system. More information about VELCO, its mission, and its current board can be found at www.velco.com. Board members receive compensation for meetings and subcommittee participation. There are, on average, six meetings of the full board per year and additional committee meetings.

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is encouraging agricultural producers and forest landowners in Vermont to participate in voluntary conservation programs and adopt climate-smart practices in fiscal year 2024 as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which help a wide variety of producers, including urban and organic producers. For fiscal year 2024, NRCS has $3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds to invest in climate-smart mitigation activities. This year, NRCS expanded the list of those activities as well as expanded priority areas for ACEP for grasslands, wetlands and farmlands at risk of conversion.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Entrepreneurial Legal Lab and Legal Services Vermont are working in collaboration to assist Vermonters affected by the summer 2023 floods. Together, they will host a clinic in Barre where volunteers will be available to assist with information and questions regarding FEMA and/or SBA applications, unemployment insurance or Disaster Unemployment Assistance. The extended Oct. 31 deadline to submit FEMA and SBA applications for businesses and individuals is quickly approaching. The clinic will provide legal information, answer legal questions, and assist with other paperwork, including communications with landlords or insurance claims for homeowners, renters, and businesses.