Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger with local, state and federal partners, announced plans for the over $22 million in funding from the Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant program. The federal funds complete a nearly $50 million projected budget to rebuild St. Paul and Pine Streets through the site of the former mall, and to revitalize eight existing City blocks on Cherry Street and Bank Street between the Church Street Marketplace and the Waterfront.  

Vermont Business Magazine Treasurer Mike Pieciak attended Essex’s Rotary Club meeting on Wednesday, July 5 to provide an update from the 2023 legislative session and introduce his office’s new retirement initiative, VT Saves (S.135). VT Saves will also position tens of thousands of Vermonters to receive a federal retirement saver’s credit. Starting in 2027, lower income earners enrolled in qualified retirement accounts can receive up to $2,000 annually in federal assistance. VT Saves will take effect in July 2025, positioning tens of thousands of Vermonters to secure these funds.  

Vermont Business Magazine Today, KeyBank (NYSE: KEY), with branches across Vermont, announced the launch of its third Special Purpose Credit Program1 – KeyBank Neighbors First Credit – which can help make the dream of home ownership a reality by providing up to $5,000 to homebuyers for the purchase of eligible properties.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Organic Dairy farmers are encouraged to apply for relief funding. This grant funding is designed to mitigate the extreme market challenges in 2022, including high feed and input costs. $6.9 million dollars was made available in the Vermont state budget which began on July 1. Eligible dairy farmers who apply will receive a single payment of $5 per hundredweight of organic milk produced in 2022. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) is responsible for the application process and distribution of funds. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) marked its official launch today as the culmination of more than three years of transformation work. Bringing together the best of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College, the unification will enhance education offerings, including online degree and training programs, for students across Vermont. It will also stabilize the system’s finances into the future. State officials joined VSC and Vermont State University leaders to mark the occasion and reinforce Vermont State University’s critical role in our rural economy, serving as a catalyst for change for students seeking any one of its 105 affordable degrees, certificates and training programs in relevant and well-paying careers. VTSU is on track to welcome more than 1,330 new students this fall.

The Vermont State Police is identifying the victim in a fatal UTV crash in Newfane as Finley Conlon, 7, of Pepperell, Massachusetts. He was riding in a UTV operated by his father, Mathew Conlon, 40, also of Pepperell. The adult passenger is identified as Bradley Palmer, 24, of Natick, Massachusetts. The other passengers were two girls, ages 10 and 8, and two boys, ages 9 and 8.

Vermont Business Magazine EVLO Energy Storage Inc (EVLO), a fully integrated battery energy storage systems and solutions provider and a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, has announced its first utility-scale storage project in the United States. Located in Troy, Vermont, the 3 MW / 12 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project will help to further the integration of local renewable generation into the New England grid. The EVLO BESS will store energy during strong energy production times for later use during times of peak energy demand, helping to smooth out the intermittency of renewable power generation and delivering value to utility customers. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is encouraging members to conserve electricity this evening (Thursday) between 5 pm and 10 pm as demand for power across New England is expected to spike because of high temperatures. For instance, delaying the use of major appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and clothes dryers until the peak period has passed; reduce the use of air conditioning as much as safely possible (Consider pre-cooling your home).

Vermont Business Magazine Over the next two years, the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps will be restoring the second of their two "Monitor Barns"-- beautiful and historic structures located at their campus on Route 2 in Richmond. To do so, they have partnered with Building Heritage of Huntington, Vermont to turn the restoration into a community timber framing project. VYCC has worked with a private landowner and with Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester, to source the timbers needed for the project locally, including from a forest management project managed by Ethan at the Westford Town Lands.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) today announced the launch of the Vermont Community Electric Vehicle Chargers Incentive Program. This program aims to increase access to electric charging opportunities for Vermonters at locations such as workplaces, multiunit homes and public areas. Green Mountain Power GMP will administer this statewide grant program. The program is supporting the installation of 84 new Level 2 charging ports at 37 different locations across eight counties. Once this work is completed, the program will serve to eliminate the barriers to at-home charging for EV ownership in 6,230 affordable multifamily homes.

by Bill Schubart Dr. Donald Berwick’s Moral Determinants of Health, presents the fundamental tenets of sound healthcare policy. It looks beyond healthcare infrastructure, such as providers, clinics and hospitals, when considering the variables that determine “health” by including conditions such place of birth and early childhood, education, employment, social circumstances of elders, community resilience (i.e. adequate transportation, housing, food systems, public safety, and a sense of community agency), and redistribution of extreme wealth and income to ensure social and economic security. These forces are what largely shape one’s physical and mental health. Other analysts have added gun violence, loneliness, environmental toxins, and a dozen more variables.

Vermont Business Magazine Record high energy prices defined the region’s wholesale electricity markets in 2022, according to the latest annual report by ISO New England’s Internal Market Monitor (IMM) released Wednesday. The average price in the Day-Ahead Energy Market was $86 per megawatt-hour (MWh), a year-over-year increase of 90%. The average Real-Time Energy Market price also increased by 90% from 2021, to $85/MWh. High natural gas prices drove the price increases in the energy markets. Several factors contributed to this rise, including international events like the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the pipeline limitations New England experiences in winter.