Current News

by Cora Smith, Community News Service With mud season just beginning, experts warn that Vermonters should stay away from high-elevation trails for now to protect natural areas from erosion and further damage. “The intensity of the rain events that we get now — particularly in the summer season — has a much higher potential to do severe erosion of the trail tread,” said Keegan Tierny, director of field programs for the Green Mountain Club, a trail protection nonprofit. Climate change is increasing precipitation, and larger, more intense storms are detrimental for Vermont’s trails.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Institute of Natural Science will partner with the Vermont Council of Trout Unlimited to support the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program in schools across the state. Trout in the Classroom is an environmental education program in which students raise brook trout from eggs delivered in January by Trout Unlimited before releasing them in a local stream in late spring. VT Fish & Wildlife provides the trout eggs and offers hatchery tours. TU volunteers help teachers set up their tanks, troubleshoot water chemistry and fish health problems, and participate in fieldwork activities with students.

by King Whetstone, Regional Director, USDA-NASS, Northeastern Regional Field Office Currently the biannual Agricultural Labor Survey is underway. The survey collects information about hired labor from more than 2,000 farmers and ranchers. The survey results will be published on May 24 in the Farm Labor report available on the NASS website. In the survey, we ask producers to answer a variety of questions about hired farm labor on their operations, including total number of hired farm workers, the total hours worked, and total wages paid for the weeks of Jan. 8-14 and April 9-15. Survey participants can respond online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07) for a press conference marking the introduction of the Closing the Meal Gap Act, legislation that would boost support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the more than 40 million Americans and 70,000 Vermonters who rely on SNAP, known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT. The bill, led by Sen. Gillibrand and Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) would boost SNAP funding by 30%, expanding access to healthy nutritious foods for working families. The lawmakers were joined by representatives from Hunger Free America Blue Star Families and MAZON, among other advocacy groups.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Senate gave final approval to H.89, known as the “shield bill,” which revises Vermont’s court procedures to protect providers of abortion or gender-affirming care to patients who reside in states where such care is restricted or illegal. It also protects access to safe and effective abortion medication regardless of federal approval. The bill passed third reading on a voice vote after having passed second reading on a vote of 26-4. H.89 makes clear that interference with legally protected health care activity is against the public policy of Vermont and that access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care services are a legal right in Vermont. H.89 would protect those providing or seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care in Vermont from civil or criminal litigation arising from another state.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber celebrated its 112th Annual Dinner on Thursday, April 13 with more than 300 attendees at the DoubleTree by Hilton. Four awards were presented to businesses and business leaders to recognize their accomplishments and contributions to our community. The Chamber also welcomed its Chair of the Board of Directors, Ashley Wainer. Chamber President Cathy Davis said of the event, “It's important to take the time to celebrate the businesses, organizations and individuals that create economic opportunity and make really positive contributions to our community. All of the award winners this year are outstanding examples of ingenuity and exceptional impact. It's our collective focus as a business community on the role we play in change that sets Vermont apart as a place to live, work, and do business."

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ - UNB), parent company of Union Bank with branches in Northern Vermont and New Hampshire, today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend. Consolidated net income for the first quarter was $3.0 million, or $0.66 per share compared to $2.5 million, or $0.55 per share, for the same period in 2022, an increase of $495 thousand, or 20.0%. Interest income was $13.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared to $9.7 million for the comparable period in 2022, an increase of $3.3 million, or 34.1%, due to a combination of higher volumes of interest earning assets and higher average yields. Interest expense was $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared to $763 thousand for the same period in 2022, an increase of $2.3 million, or 302.5%.

Vermont Business Magazine State Treasurer Mike Pieciak announced Wednesday that the application for the “10% in Vermont” program is now available on the Treasurer’s website. Additionally, a link to a webinar from earlier this week discussing the expanded program is now available on the website. Prospective applicants are encouraged to review the program details to ensure a complete application. Last week at the Bardwell House in Rutland, Pieciak announced an expansion of the program that authorizes the Treasurer to invest up to 10% of the State’s average daily cash balance for economic development in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin is the first hospital in Vermont to offer an innovative treatment for tears of the anterior cruciate ligament – one of the most common knee injuries across the U.S. The BEAR Implant is the first medical advancement to enable the body to heal its own torn ACL. JP Begly, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at UVM Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center, performed the first surgery in Vermont using this novel approach last month. The BEAR implant is a major shift from the current standard of care – a reconstruction that replaces the ACL with a graft from another part of the body.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Vermont elected officials, local business leaders, and advocates gathered at the State House to call for swift action to advance legislation (S.25) that restricts PFAS and other toxic chemicals from cosmetic and menstrual products, and bans PFAS from textiles and artificial turf athletic fields. The bill passed the Senate unanimously, and has now been sent to the House Committee on Human Services for their consideration. The chemicals banned by this bill – including PFAS, phthalates and formaldehyde – are all linked to numerous negative human health impacts. Recently, the EPA issued their first-ever proposal to regulate 6 of the thousands of PFAS chemicals, affirming that virtually no level of these chemicals is safe for drinking water.

Vermont Business Magazine New data from the National Association of Realtors reveal middle-income homeowners in Burlington/South Burlington accumulated $84.070 in wealth as their homes appreciated over the last 10 years. The data, which was featured prominently in NAR’s new report, Wealth Gains by Income and Racial/Ethnic Group, speaks to the value agents and Realtors bring to consumers when helping buy and sell homes that build generational wealth. NAR data also showed substantial variation and inequality in wealth gains across different income and racial and ethnic groups. Low-income homeowners in these areas were able to build $123,840 in wealth in the last decade from home price appreciation only, while upper-income households saw an increase of $170,090.