Current News

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Check out the dozens of ways you and your teams can host an MFG Day (Oct 6) event – webinars, toolkits and so much more are at your fingertips to plan your best manufacturing event ever. Since MFG Day’s main focus is careers in manufacturing, we highly encourage you to reach out to your local Career & Technical Education Center (CTE). Host An Event Registering your event contributes to the larger MFG Day phenomenon in a major way. The more events we know about, the more people we can say we’ve affected — which inspires more interest in manufacturing. MFG Day makes a big impact in shifting the misconception of modern manufacturing. Tell your story by opening your doors – physically or virtually – and hosting an event with students, parents, educators, media, community leaders and elected officials. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Historical Society is pleased to announce that the Vermont History Museum will reopen to the public on October 10th, 2023. Housed in the Pavilion Building at 109 State Street in Montpelier, the museum has been closed since July 11th, when floodwaters inundated the building. To celebrate the reopening, museum admission will be by donation on October 10th. Admission is waived for one day, and visitors are encouraged to donate an amount they are comfortable with.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas has announced that David Hall will be joining the office as the new Director of Corporations. After serving in the Office of Legislative Counsel for 15 years, providing non-partisan legal counsel to 180 members of the Vermont General Assembly, Hall will now play an important role in overseeing the critical mission of transparency and accountability in the Business Services Division of the agency.

Vermont Business Magazine VCBB has been named a finalist for the first ever US Broadband Awards in the category of Innovation in State Broadband Deployment. The awards honor and celebrate the best solutions, programs, use cases, technology, and individuals working to connect everyone across the United States through broadband. VCBB’s entry is based on Vermont’s Communications Union Districts (CUD) model that’s made up of hundreds of volunteers from across the state who formed CUDs and have been working ever since toward one goal, universal broadband service for everyone in Vermont. Each CUD is committed to universal service, affordability, and public accountability, while being locally tailored and reflecting the will of its region and member towns.

Vermont Business Magazine A diverse coalition of Vermont organizations, including the Vermont Human Rights Commission, Outright Vermont, Neighbors for a Safer St. Albans, The Root Social Justice Center, ACLU of Vermont, Rutland NAACP, The Education Justice Coalition, the Vermont Center for Independent Living, All Brains Belong, Youth 4 Change, the Network against Domestic Violence, and the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network is announcing the launch of a new storytelling project to illuminate, document, and address the pervasive issue of harassment and bullying in Vermont's Pre K-12 education system.

Northeastern Vermont Development Association Vermont Communities are making progress in their flood recovery and the amount of new information is decreasing, but NVDA will continue to provide updates when available for resources and funding. Also, the $20 million dollar Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program through the Department of Economic Development is for businesses, nonprofits, and landlords that suffered physical flood damage. The grant funds are to help businesses reopen their doors, bring employees back to work, and help displaced Vermonters return to their rental housing. It's not too late to apply. Learn more: Business Emergency Gap Assistance.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Global Exchange (VGE), a collaborative of 20 Vermont organizations engaged in international development work, is affiliated with the University of Vermont's Office of Engagement through a memorandum of understanding signed last year. The next Vermont Global Exchange meeting on Thursday, October 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Waterman Memorial Lounge at the University of Vermont (85 S. Prospect St., Burlington) will bring the two communities together. The meeting, which discusses the theme “Peace and Global Security,” is also free and open to the public with advance registration. 

by John McClaughry Once again, Vermont’s future is the topic of an initiative by a high-powered collection of partners, this time under the auspices of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. A good case can be made that today is an apt time for another Futures report, hopefully free from interest group agendas. That’s because demographic trends, the COVID pandemic, a crippling flood, billions of federal dollars, a soaring homelessness problem, and the belief in a global climate emergency have put a lot of forces into motion to seek the driver’s seat for the state’s future.

Vermont Business Magazine Congresswoman Becca Balint (D-Vermont) this afternoon voted to remove the Speaker of the House of Representatives in a historic action. Kevin McCarthy thus becomes the first Speaker in history to be so removed, as a handful of far-right members of his own Republican caucus forced the no-confidence vote. Only a handful of Republicans needed to abandon him because of the GOP's slim margin of majority. 

Vermont Business Magazine The report, titled "Vermont Weighs In," offers key takeaways from a project which surveyed 700 Vermonters and held a series of 11 focus groups across the state to discuss priorities around and preferred sources of electricity, as well as their awareness of current electricity sources and policies.  When considering future electricity supply, the report indicates that Vermonters largely prefer renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, over non-renewable sources like natural gas. On the statewide survey, participants expressed support for getting electricity from hydropower (90%, includes respondents who “strongly support” and “somewhat support”), solar power (84%), and wind power (77%). But they want it to be affordable and reliable too. 

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office announced that seven defendants have been sentenced in connection with drug and firearm charges related to the murder of Benzel Hampton on April 16, 2019, concluding today with the sentencing of James Felix. All seven defendants previously pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, cocaine, and heroin, and conspiracy to use a firearm during and in relation to a drug conspiracy. 

The Vermont State Police continues to monitor ongoing bomb threats to various critical infrastructure and key resource sectors in the State of Vermont. The threats are received via email and are similar to threats sent on Sunday October 1, 2023.  These emails are sent from a gmail.com address and refer to bombs being placed in the targeted location and various wordings similar to “Many people will die” but also uses “souls” and “lives.”  Affected groups are encouraged to report these incidents to local law enforcement in their area. No suspicious items or authentic threats have been discovered at any of the locations.