Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) on Wednesday announced the recipients of the Vermont Community Leadership Award. It is presented each year to celebrate Vermonters who exemplify “dedication, integrity and honorable service to community and to rural Vermont,” and who have had a “transformational” effect on their communities. VCRD presents the award to highlight the work of community heroes who epitomize the best spirit of local community service, who volunteer their time, and who have made their community better. This year, the Vermont Community Leadership Award is being presented to the four members of the Vermont Declaration of Inclusion initiative. The driving force behind the Vermont Declaration of Inclusion include Norm Cohen, Bob Harnish, Barbara Noyes Pulling, and Al Wakefield

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Preci Manufacturing Inc. (Preci) has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by selling parts to the United States military that Preci failed to test, despite clear contract testing requirements meant to ensure the strength and durability of the parts. Preci, located in Winooski, Vermont, manufactures nuts, bolts, and other fasteners, which it supplies to the federal government. The fasteners provided by Preci are used in military equipment, including aircraft, and thus require precise manufacturing protocols and careful post-production testing. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) offered additional details today about the upcoming Business Emergency Grant Assistance Program.  The $20 million program will assist businesses and not-for-profit entities that sustained physical damage in the flood reopen and bring their employees back to work. Additional details about the grant program and how it will work are expected to be released on Monday, July 31, and the application portal is expected to open later that week.

Vermont Business Magazine Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (FHLBank Boston) today announced it will donate $250,000 to the Vermont Community Foundation in support of its efforts to help people and communities recover from the flooding experienced in July. The foundation established the VT Flood Response & Recovery Fund 2023 in the aftermath of catastrophic flooding and rainstorms. Contributions to the fund will support emergency needs, families, farms, businesses, and communities across Vermont. The foundation is working with local nonprofits, state government, relief organizations and other partners to rebuild.

Vermont Business Magazine Earlier this month, Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Environmental Advocacy Clinic settled its federal lawsuit on behalf of Wild Horse Fire Brigade (WHFB), achieving an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that will halt the agency’s unlawful roundup of wild horses from private lands in and around the Pokegama Wild Horse Management Area. Filed last October, the lawsuit called for an immediate halt to the roundup of wild horses from private property within and adjacent to the Pokegama Herd Management Area in southern Oregon along the California border. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) has been awarded $50,000 from the State Refugee Office of the Vermont Agency of Human Services to serve people from Afghanistan who immigrate to Vermont. The funding, which will run through VSAC’s Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), will enable VSAC to counsel Afghans on education and careers, as well as travel, materials, translation, and interpretation. Hundreds of Afghans moved to Vermont in 2022 and 2023. 

Vermont Business Magazine State Treasurer Mike Pieciak will participate in a community discussion with Rep. Mike Rice tomorrow, Thursday, July 27 2023, at the Long Trail School in Dorset, VT. Treasurer Pieciak will be discussing his office’s new public retirement program, VT Saves, which passed unanimously through the legislature this past session. He will also provide an update on his office’s efforts to assist the recovery response to this summer’s flooding. The event is open to the public, and constituents will have the opportunity to ask questions. 

Vermont Business Magazine Citizens is releasing its quarterly business conditions index today. The latest data shows that Vermont businesses are faring well, and the data also shows that the Fed’s moves are working against inflation. The Fed raised rates another quarter point (25 basis points) on Wednesday. Citizens Bank has branches across Vermont. Rapid interest rate increases to curb inflation continue to weigh on economic conditions. A rise in unemployment insurance claims and a slowdown in small business formation caused the Index to dip to 48.5 in the second quarter. While the labor market has started to show some softening in the face of aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes and the manufacturing sector slowed given high inventory levels and a shift in consumption towards services.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University announced today that six of its professors were awarded research awards from the Vermont Biomedical Research Network (VBRN). The funding supports biomedical research at Norwich University from June of 2023 through May of 2024. The combined value of the VBRN funding for 2023-2024 at Norwich is $300,000. Included in this year’s list of VBRN awardees are three professors who each received the $25,000 Pilot Award and three professors who received the prestigious $75,000 Project Award to fund their research.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.66 per gallon, up 8 cents per gallon from last week's $3.58/g. Prices are up 7 cents/g from last month and down 84 cents from last year. The national average price of gasoline has risen 8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.67/g today. The US average gas prices has surpassed the Vermont average. The lowest price in the state is $3.40/g in Middlebury while the highest was $3.97/g in Stowe.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department reminds hunters that muzzleloader season antlerless deer permit applications are available on its website until Wednesday, August 2. The muzzleloader seasons on October 26-29 and December 2-10 will have antlerless permits available for 19 of Vermont’s 21 Wildlife Management Units. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) joined the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Wednesday to address Big Pharma’s abuse of the patent system.  The hearing included testimony from the Honorable Katherine Vidal, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office  The hearing addressed patent thickets, which are dense webs of overlapping patents granted to pharmaceutical companies that expand a drug’s patent protection, allowing pharmaceutical companies to keep generics out of the market—extending a market monopoly and driving up drug costs for everyday Americans.