Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has requested that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issue a disaster designation for the State of Vermont in response to significant frost in May that impacted Vermont farms. On May 17-18, 2023, Vermont suffered a damaging freeze early in our growing season when temperatures dropped to below freezing in every region and plummeted to at least as low as 20 degrees. In his letter to USDA secretary Thomas Vilsack, Governor Scott wrote, “The hard frost destroyed fruit blossoms and damaged vines throughout the state. We anticipate severe crop losses.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Engineers, contractors, landowners, and scientists gathered in late May for the pre-construction meeting for the removal of Connolly Pond Dam in Shrewsbury Vermont. This week the excavator and dozer arrived and work is underway. The dam is being removed in the interest of public safety to reduce flood risk, and reconnect and restore a headwater tributary to the Mill River, which ultimately flows to the Otter Creek and then Lake Champlain. A Dam Safety Inspection stated that, “Failure could result in damage and economic losses due to shallow flooding of property and overtopping of multiple road crossings."  

Vermont Business Magazine Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools is expanding its farm to school professional learning program nationwide, hosting teams from Kansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Rhode Island as they adapt a Vermont-borne model—the Northeast Farm to School Institute—to strengthen food systems education and local purchasing in their states. From June 26–30, staff from the five states adapting the model will travel to Shelburne Farms for an intensive training to experience the Farm to School Institute in action. 

Vermont State Police On 06/21/23 at approximately 1904 hours Vermont State Police were made aware of a crash involving a dirt-bike off the Quarry Road area, Shaftsbury. State Police were advised other riders were on scene and performing CPR on the operator, who was reported to be unresponsive. Shaftsbury Fire and Bennington Rescue arrived on scene and began administering lifesaving care to the operator, who was now identified as Ty Kipp, of Bennington, VT. Kipp was declared deceased after life saving measures were unsuccessful.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that Agency of Digital Services (ADS) Secretary Shawn Nailor will be retiring after 35 years of state service at the end of the month. Nailor has served as ADS secretary since September of 2022. He had previously been deputy secretary. He started his career in engineering with the Agency of Transportation (AOT) and crossed over to information technology with the multi-state development of a construction management system.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) joined Senators Amy Klobuchar and Dick Durbin (D-IL) this week to send a letter to the CEOs of Meta, Alphabet, and Twitter, requesting information related to recent layoffs among staff dedicated to addressing disinformation during the 2024 elections. The letter, addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino, cited concerns that these layoffs will damage the companies’ ability to monitor and respond to election-related disinformation, including deceptive AI-generated content about elections and campaigns.  

Vermont Business Magazine Strata Clean Energy (Strata) has successfully closed on all installments of tax equity financing for two standalone battery energy storage systems. Strata partnered with United Community Bank (UCB) and Enhanced Capital on an $8.7 million investment for the Georgia and Springfield, Vermont, projects, each of which have 5MW/10MWh of storage capacity. The first installment of financing closed in March, making the sites among the first standalone storage projects to be funded using investment tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Both sites have now commenced commercial operations and the final installment of financing has closed.

Vermont Business Magazine As the recent debt ceiling deal increased military spending to $886 billion for fiscal year 2024, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), on Wednesday introduced legislation that would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to finally pass a full, independent audit in fiscal year 2024. If enacted, the Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 would require any DOD component that fails to complete a clean audit opinion to return 1 percent of its budget to the Treasury for deficit reduction.

by Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County Forester We will be doing two evening educational events at the Catamount Community Forest in Williston over the next two weeks, each focusing on different aspects of the upcoming forest management project at the CCF. The first -- this Thursday, June 22 -- will be with Audubon Vermont, and will focus on managing forests for vibrant bird habitat. The second will be an event with Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for Wildlife on Tuesday, June 27 which will focus on using forest management to restore old growth characteristics to our forests. For details, see below. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is seeking the public’s help with monitoring wild turkeys. Since 2007, the department has run an annual online survey in August for reporting turkey broods.  Beginning in 2021, the survey was expanded to include the month of July.  The use of “citizen scientists” in this way facilitates the department’s ability to collect important turkey population and productivity data from all corners of the state. If you see a flock of turkeys in Vermont during July and August, the department asks you to go to the turkey brood survey on its website

Vermont Business Magazine The Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU’s membership has voted to ratify a 2.5 year contract for University of Vermont Medical Center resident physicians. The contract includes base salary increases totaling 20 percent over the term of the two-year and seven-months contract. The news comes amid unprecedented growth in resident physician labor organizing. In addition to the salary increase, the new contract includes additional compensation for moonlighting and unplanned backup shifts, education and meal funds for each resident, increased vacation and caregiver leave and other important measures such as the provision of surgical loupes and protective lead. 

Vermont Business Magazine In what Let’s Grow Kids calls a show of unity this week, lawmakers passed Vermont’s most comprehensive child care bill into law. The landmark legislation will make Vermont’s child care system one of the most expansive in the nation. The bill will stabilize Vermont’s child care sector and makes the state’s most significant leap forward in providing access to affordable, quality child care for all Vermont families. On an annual basis, the bill invests $125 million into Vermont’s child care system, which will make child care more affordable for thousands of families, enhance the quality of child care programs, increase compensation for early childhood educators, and provide relief and increased support to child care programs.