Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Cheese Council (VCC) announced today that Vermont cheeses took home 44 individual ribbons at the American Cheese Society’s (ACS’s) National Judging and Competition event this year.  Winners were announced last week at the American Cheese Society’s annual conference, held in Des Moines, Iowa. Vermont claimed 9 first, 13 second and 22 third place positions. Awards went to Barn First, Cabot Creamery Cooperative/Agri-Mark, The Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm, Grafton Village Cheese Co., Maplebrook Farm, Mt. Mansfield Creamery, Springbrook Farm Cheese, Vermont Creamery, and Vermont Shepherd.  

Vermont Business Magazine Renters in Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties whose homes and property were damaged by the July severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides can apply for FEMA disaster assistance. FEMA Individual Assistance is available to renters, including students, as well as homeowners. Federal grants can help pay for temporary housing. The initial rental grant is for a one-month or two-month period and can be reviewed for further assistance. Renters may also qualify for a grant under FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance program for uninsured essential personal property losses and other disaster-related expenses. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) warns consumers to be on alert for potential insurance-related and investment frauds and scams following the recent flood event in Vermont. Natural disasters like floods can give rise to financial scams because bad actors take advantage of times of vulnerability. Vermonters should be on the lookout for opportunistic financial scams and report any suspected or known fraud to DFR as soon as possible. If you get a phone call about an insurance claim or policy, don't give out any personal information or agree to any payment until you can independently verify that the call is legitimate.  

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Main Street Flood Recovery Fund announced today that checks, up to $2,500, will be going out this week to over 100 small business owners across Vermont. These funds are meant provide immediate support to those affected by the July 9th flood, offering some much-needed breathing room as they work towards long-term recovery plans. The Fund will continue to process applications as they receive contributions to this effort. The outpouring of generosity and solidarity from individuals and businesses alike has been truly incredible, and the Vermont Main Street Flood Recovery Fund would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to all who contributed. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union was named in the Forbes list of Best-In-State Credit Unions 2023. This prestigious award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc, the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list was announced on June 20th, 2023, and can currently be viewed on the Forbes website. Approximately 26,000 US consumers were asked to rate credit unions at which they have or previously have had checking/savings accounts. Also, for each credit union, in each state, a sentiment analysis approach of publicly available online text reviews and ratings was applied.

Vermont Business Magazine ACLU clients Cassandra Keating and Joel Fowler filed a lawsuit against the Town of Bennington on Friday for unlawfully retaliating against the couple after they submitted verbal and written complaints to the Bennington Police Department (BPD) about their numerous experiences of racially motivated police harassment. The lawsuit follows several years of litigation at the Vermont Human Rights Commission. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Human Rights Commission has appointed Big Hartman its new executive director. Hartman follows the current Executive Director, Bor Yang, who has served in the position since November of 2018. Hartman has worked at the Human Rights Commission since September of 2021 as a Staff Attorney Investigator. In that role, they completed a large number of investigations concerning complaints of discrimination, many of which resulted in a finding of reasonable grounds by the Commission. Hartman has also assisted many parties in resolving their disputes by facilitating settlements.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.60 per gallon, up 0.9 cents per gallon from last week's $3.59/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.37/g while the highest was $3.79/g, a difference of 42.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 2.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.55/g today. The national average is down 0.4 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 78.0 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets has created next steps for farmers in the wake of devastating flooding. We hope you are now safe from the disaster as we turn to recovery. If you have specific questions about crops, damage, or other flood-related topics, please see our resources page at agriculture.vermont.gov/flood, call 802-828-5667, or email [email protected].

Vermont Business Magazine If you lost access to water because a private well or septic system was damaged, or if your HVAC System or furnace was damaged by the recent flooding in Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties, you may be eligible for FEMA assistance. For private wells, HVAC Systems, furnaces and septic systems, FEMA may reimburse you for the cost of a professional, licensed technician to visit your home and prepare an estimate for necessary repairs or replacement of your disaster-damaged systems. FEMA may also pay for the actual repair or replacement cost of your septic system or private well, which are not insurable items.

Vermont Agency of Transportation This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will have traffic impacts on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of July 24, 2023. Some projects are not included in the report this week as they have been temporarily suspended due to flood damage, inaccessibility to the work site, or contractors repositioned to assist AOT with emergency response and repairs. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it. 

Vermont Business Magazine The US Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today the opening of a business recovery center and the addition of three more Vermont counties to the disaster declaration for severe storms and flooding that began on July 7. Vermont businesses and residents in Caledonia, Essex and Orange counties  are now eligible to apply for SBA’s low-interest disaster loan program.  The Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Lamoille County will open at 8 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, at the Lamoille County Agriculture Building in Morrisville.