Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont community members and organizations came together to raise more than $120,000 at the 2023 Empty Bowl Dinner, benefitting Spectrum Youth & Family Services. The event was held on October 10, 2023, and sponsored by Vermont Federal Credit Union. Funds raised from the dinner will go toward supporting Vermont youth facing homelessness and other hardships. Held each October, the evening brings together community members and supporters. Guests choose a ceramic bowl made by local potters to keep and fill with soup donated by local restaurants and served by local celebrity servers. 

Vermont Business Magazine On Monday October 30, a union representing over 600 graduate student-workers at the University of Vermont in Burlington will file for a union election with the VLRB with majority support. Student workers will rally on the UVM campus on the Davis Green at 12 to celebrate this accomplishment and make their union demands known to the administration. Their union is called Graduate Students United (GSU), and is affiliated through the United Auto Workers (UAW) and its Local 2322. Graduate student workers at UVM join thousands of other graduate student union members in the UAW.

Vermont State Police On the above date and time, State Police received a report of approximately $75 cash and a $2.00 drink was stolen from a farmstand on Dustan Rd in Craftsbury. Anyone with information who can identify this person please contact Trooper Jesse Nash at the Derby Barracks @ 802-334-8881.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) applauded the confirmation of Michael Whitaker, of Vermont, to become Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Tuesday. Whitaker received strong bipartisan support in a 98-0 Senate vote. Senator Welch recently called for his colleagues to support Whitaker’s nomination, following his bipartisan advancement through the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, of which Sen. Welch is a member.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University Interim President Mike Smith will release his administrative cost savings plan on Friday, after notifications to leadership, unions and the impacted staff members are complete. The plan – which was accepted by the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees yesterday – taken with Optimization 2.0 and the transformation work championed by faculty, staff, and leaders sets the unified university on path toward financial viability by Fiscal Year 2027.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced nearly $1.9 million to fund two projects across Vermont that advance environmental justice as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The organizations, which EPA has selected through its Environmental Justice Government-to-Government program, will use the funds to ensure disadvantaged communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment have access to clean air and water and climate resilience solutions in alignment with the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative.   

Vermont Business Magazine A delegation from Tottori, Japan, Vermont’s official sister-state, visited the University of Vermont Medical Center last Thursday to tour the facility where some Japanese medical students have completed their residency through a long-standing exchange program. Tottori is a rural prefecture with roughly the same population as Vermont. For more than 10 years, Vermont and Tottori have participated in high school and college exchange programs. Dr. Masatoshi Kida, a pathologist at UVM Medical Center, has been involved in a medical student/resident educational exchange program between the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine and several medical schools in Japan.

Vermont Business Magazine Nestled near a hillside in Hartland, Vermont, sits land that has seen agricultural uses since the 1770’s. Now home to Cedar Mountain Farm and Cobb Hill Cheese, this land continues to support Vermont’s agricultural traditions with an eye toward the future under the watchful leadership and experienced hands of Kerry Gawalt.  Emphasizing sustainability, stewardship, education, diversity, value, and heritage since 1999, Gawalt exemplifies all the qualities needed to receive the third annual ‘Fantastic Farmer’ title and a significant award of $5000 from the A. Pizzagalli Family Farm Fund. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) is now accepting applications for the 27th year of funding through the Better Roads Grant Program to support projects on municipal roads that improve water quality and result in maintenance cost savings. The grant funds are provided by AOT in partnership with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. The Vermont Better Roads Program promotes the use of erosion control and maintenance techniques that save money while protecting and enhancing water quality throughout the state. Applications for funding will be accepted until December 20, 2023.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank, a leading community bank with branches in southern Vermont and financial centers in New England and New York, has announced more than $426,000 in Foundation philanthropic investments during the third quarter of 2023. These investments contributed to helping the communities Berkshire Bank serves. Grants awarded cover a wide range of projects that include arts, education, environment, health, housing, seniors, and diversity, equity and inclusion while benefiting individuals throughout the region, particularly underrepresented populations. These investments also support the company’s BEST Community Comeback which includes a planned $15 million in community contributions by the end of 2024.

Vermont Business Magazine The Business of the Year for 2023 was voted by the CVEDC Board of Directors as Kingsbury Companies of Middlesex. Kingsbury Companies was recognized at the CVEDC Annual Meeting October 19 at Sugarbush for its growth and innovation. Director Gunner McCain delivered the award along with a heartfelt speech on his own decades of overlap with Kingsbury. The Directors also noted Kingsbury Companies’ pivots into renewable energy spaces, citing their role in developing the largest anaerobic compost digestor in the Northeast. CVEDC has awarded the Business of the Year over 30 times since 1976.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine State tax revenues finally saw some breathing room in September after several months of sluggish performance. Led by the Personal Income Tax, the General Fund for September 2023, the third month of the fiscal year, exceeded expectations by nearly $15.5 million. The three major funds together, which includes Education and Transportation, surpassed their total target by $8.7 million. The Personal Income Tax alone exceeded expectations by nearly $17 million. The PI is the most important General Fund revenue source. Several other important sources missed their marks, including Corporate Income, Sales and Rooms & Meals.