Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Senate passed S.56, an act relating to child care and early childhood education. The bill passed by voice vote, after passing second reading yesterday on a vote of 24-6. This bill would transform Vermont’s child care system, making child care more accessible and affordable for thousands of Vermonters and improving compensation for early childhood educators. S.56 would increase access to quality child care services throughout Vermont, provide financial stability to child care programs, support and stabilize Vermont’s child care workforce, address the workforce needs of Vermont employers. It would also create a Prekindergarten Education Study Committee to provide policy recommendations for how to improve and expand accessible, affordable and high-quality prekindergarten education. JFO estimates the bill would: Increase new expenditures by $39.2 million in FY 2024 and $114.6 million in FY 2025; Repeal the Vermont Child Tax Credit which was estimated to reduce State revenues by $31.8 million in FY 2024 and in future years; Raise approximately $83 million annually in new revenues by instituting a 0.42% tax on wages and self-employment income up to the Social Security taxable maximum.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced he’s appointed 85 individuals to State boards and commissions this month. Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities. The governor’s office is currently soliciting applications to fill vacancies and upcoming term expirations. All those interested in serving on a board or commission should visit the Governor’s website.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) invites municipalities to participate in the Municipal Roads Grants-in-Aid Program, which provides funding for municipalities to implement best management practices (BMPs) in accordance with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Municipal Roads General Permit (MRGP). Grants-in-Aid awards will be made available through AOT and will total approximately $3.6 million dollars in this grant cycle. Municipalities will submit reimbursement requests directly to AOT for work completed, and AOT will reimburse up to 80% of the municipality’s documented construction expenses, including in-kind support, for BMPs on hydrologically connected roads.

Vermont State Police Rebecca Ball, 17, of Middlebury was last seen at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, 2023, near the southern end of Wright Park and the TAM trailhead in the vicinity of Seymour Street Extension, Pinewood Road and Jackson Lane in Middlebury. She is reported to have walked away following an appointment in the area. Her disappearance is not considered suspicious, but there are concerns for her welfare. Rebecca is white, 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 104 pounds, and has blue eyes and short, light-brown hair. She was last seen wearing a red plaid shirt, a green plaid necktie, skinny dark pants, and brown boots.

Vermont State Police The investigation is continuing Friday into a suspicious death in Brattleboro. The Vermont State Police Crime Scene Search Team arrived this morning at the residence on Birge Street, and the team’s work is ongoing. Capt. Scott Dunlap, commander of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, will be available to speak with members of the media about this investigation at 1 p.m. at the Brattleboro Police Department, 62 Black Mountain Road. VSP will provide further updates as the investigation proceeds.

Vermont Business Magazine Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance have awarded Barrett Insurance Agency a 2023 Make More Happen Award for its volunteerism with Northeast Kingdom Cancer Action Network, Inc. (NEKCAN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing grants to those fighting cancer while raising awareness and supporting cancer research in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The award includes an initial donation of $5,000 for Northeast Kingdom Cancer Action Network, which can be doubled to $10,000 just by having community supporters vote online. Starting Saturday, April 1, the Barrett Insurance Agency and NEKCAN Agent Giving story will be highlighted on the official Make More Happen microsite at www.agentgiving.com/barrett-insurance-agency where supporters can vote to help the team reach their donation goal. If the featured story receives a mix of at least 500 votes and comments, the $5,000 donation will be raised to $10,000.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun reported fourth quarter 2022 revenue of $25.9 million, compared to $27.0 million in the same period in 2021. Full year 2022 revenue was $76.5 million, representing a $31.2 million or 69% increase over the same period in 2021. This year’s revenue growth was driven primarily by the fulfillment of increased residential consumer demand and expanded services across all markets, as well as execution of the commercial and industrial backlog; total backlog was $164.2 million as of December 31, 2022. iSun also generated new future demand by adding $11.0 million in new business during the fourth quarter. Williston-based iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50 years of experience accelerating the adoption of innovative electrical technologies, has announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2022.

Vermont Business Magazine On March 29, 2023, the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) voted unanimously to approve hospital budget guidance for the 2024 Fiscal Year (FY). The approved hospital budget guidance maintains an ambitious two-year revenue growth cap of 8.6% for Vermont hospitals and adds objective, national benchmarks for evaluating hospital budget requests. The GMCB also reviewed FY22 year-end actuals for Vermont’s 14 community hospitals. Last year, the GMCB adopted a two-year revenue trend, which was carried forward in the FY24 guidance. In accordance with the approved guidance, the GMCB will consider factors driving hospital expense growth, hospitals’ ability to manage those expenses, and how Vermont hospitals perform relative to peers based on national benchmarks.

by Lauryn Katz, Community News Service For Maple Flower owners Cory and Liz Krieg, last week was the first time they’d opened their sliding sugarhouse doors to participate in the weekend since starting their syrup operation four years ago. But the couple have been making syrup and selling goods for much longer than that. In 2020 Cory started Maple Farmers, a collective of six small farms in central Vermont that make sugar independently but sell under the same label. Their goal: to give traditional techniques a fighting chance to compete with big businesses and provide customers with the best tasting maple syrup around. They are all farmers in different industries — dairy, sawmilling, stonework, beef raising — who rely on maple syrup revenue to support their small businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine 802 Credit Union made a significant contribution to Project Feed the Thousands' 2022 fundraising campaign, presenting a $6,000 donation towards the organization's goal of $100,000. On March 8, 2023, Project Feed the Thousands announced that it had exceeded its target, raising a total of $138,748 plus 369,839 meals. The donation and support from 802 Credit Union played a key role in helping the organization achieve this extraordinary success. In addition to financial support, 802 Credit Union also provided administrative services to Project Feed. This included processing donations, maintaining detailed documentation, hosting committee meetings, and acting as the primary location for the non-profit. This support helped to organize operations and enhance the overall effectiveness of the 2022 campaign.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Transportation (AOT), the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) today announced that $258,000 in funding has been awarded to Brattleboro, East Hardwick, and West Windsor through the Better Connections Grant Program, which seeks to towns build stronger communities that are more livable and walkable.

Vermont State Police on Thursday, March 30, 2023, cited a suspect on a manslaughter charge arising from an assault in November 2022 at a road construction site in Bolton that resulted in the death of the victim, David Cheney, 72, of East Montpelier. Thursday afternoon, Whitney Grady, 42, of Middlebury turned himself in at the Williston Barracks, where he was processed and released on a citation. On Nov. 10, 2022, Cheney and Grady were working on a road construction project on U.S. Route 2 near Notch Road in Bolton, Cheney as a dump truck driver and Grady as a traffic flagger. According to the findings of the investigation, an ongoing dispute between the men that day escalated into a physical confrontation at about 1:15 p.m. in which Grady repeatedly punched and kicked Cheney. After the assault, Cheney was able to return home, but he subsequently suffered medical complications related to his injuries and died later that day at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.