Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Family-owned company Lake Champlain Chocolates (LCC), known for their award-winning chocolate confections and commitment to Fair Trade ingredients, is excited to release their new Plant-Based Truffle Bars, free of palm oil, artificial ingredients, and GMOs. These vegan truffle bars offer all the creaminess of milk chocolate without the dairy. The Plant-Based Truffle Bars are available in five flavors including Cinnamon, Cold Brew Coffee, Sea Salt Caramel, Raspberry, and Peppermint. Born from a dare to do better, Jim Lampman founded Lake Champlain Chocolates, beginning the journey of making hand-rolled, creamy truffles crafted with local Vermont ingredients. Fast forward almost 40 years later, and Lake Champlain Chocolates' truffle-making is still going strong and has evolved to include plant-based truffle bars that everyone can enjoy.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported March 15, 2023, that COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations were down from last week. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations decreased by 9 cases to 34 last week (they were as low as 30 last fall). Total cases fell to 311 (from 346). There were 3 COVID-related deaths in the last week for a pandemic total of 932 as of March 11. Of the total deaths to date, 739 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30 since the beginning of the pandemic. There were 28 deaths in February; there were 24 in January, as data was adjusted based on more information. Only 2 deaths have been reported so far in March. Deaths are not spiking this winter as they have the previous two.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) announced they have entered into a purchase and sale agreement of the former Southern Vermont College (SVC) campus to Alfred Weissman Real Estate, LLC (AWRE) in a press conference this morning at the historic Everett Mansion. The real estate agreement between Harrison, NY-based AWRE and SVHC is for the acquisition of the former college campus, including the Everett Mansion, dormitories, gymnasium, soccer field, and 366 acres. SVHC will retain the lower baseball field consisting of five acres. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Senate gave final approval to S37, known as the “shield bill,” which would provide protections to patients and providers who administer or receive reproductive and gender-affirming care in Vermont. The bill will now move to the House for further consideration. This bill would safeguard providers who provide abortion care and gender-affirming care, prevent insurance companies from raising rates for providers who provide abortion care and require pregnancy centers to adhere to Vermont’s consumer protection laws meant to protect patients from deceptive advertising.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, young Vermonters from Youth Lobby, the Sierra Club, and Sunrise Chittenden left their schools for the Vermont Youth Lobby Day at the State House. The event was organized to demand climate action and a brighter future for Vermont. During the day, the youth activists had the opportunity to meet with their representatives, Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, and the Climate Solutions Caucus to express their concerns and advocate for solutions to the climate crisis. In particular, young Vermonters are calling on their legislators to pass S.5, the Affordable Heat Act. The event also featured a press conference, where the young activists shared their stories and urged policymakers to make bold, equitable action to protect the planet in line with Vermont’s 2021 Climate Action Plan.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that he has appointed Melanie Carpenter, of Hyde Park, to the vacant Lamoille-2 seat in the House of Representatives. Carpenter replaces former Democratic Representative Kate Donnally, who resigned last month. By tradition the governor appoints a person of the same party to fill a vacated seat. Carpenter currently owns and operates Zack Woods Herb Farm in Hyde Park, where she employs many local Vermonters. She previously served as principal of Stowe Middle School from 2008 to 2013. She was also a 7th and 8th grade teacher and literacy specialist at Peoples Academy Middle School in Morrisville from 2000 to 2008.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that Secretary Dan French will be leaving his job leading the Vermont Agency of Education next month to take a senior leadership role at the Council of Chief State School Officers. Secretary French has served Vermont and its students for years, first as a high school social studies teacher, then a K-12 principal. He served over a decade as a superintendent first in Canaan, Vt. and then for the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union from 2007-2016, where he was recognized as Superintendent of the Year in 2009. He also served as president of the Vermont Superintendents Association.

Vermont Business Magazine Since the start of the pandemic, higher-than-forecasted revenue and historic levels of federal COVID-19 aid helped spur widespread growth in states’ rainy day funds and end-of-year balances. A new report by PEW has found that after an early pandemic decline in rainy day fund balances, states reported that their combined savings reached a record $134.5 billion by the start of fiscal 2023 - and amid widespread, multiyear budget surpluses, states also reported the largest-ever annual increase in leftover general fund budget dollars. Rainy day funds, also known as budget stabilization funds, hit all-time highs in 37 states by the end of fiscal 2022—the most in at least 23 years. A smaller number of states (17) reached the highest number of days they could run government operations using rainy day funds alone, due largely to a historic spike in annual spending levels during the same time. Vermont finished in the middle of the pack with 41.5 days in reserve; the US median is 42.3 days.

Vermont Business Magazine In a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee Hearing held today, US Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) urged United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to support Vermont farmers, producers, and small businesses. Welch, who chairs the Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, outlined several of his Farm Bill priorities, including supporting Vermont’s organic dairy farmers, expanding rural broadband access, protecting forests from invasive species, and broadening the reach of rural energy assistance programs.

Vermont Business Magazine This week, PC Construction accepted a national Build America Award from the Associated General Contractors of America for One Spruce Peak, a residential mountain retreat at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort built in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The $46.5 million, six-story, 125,000-square-foot facility includes 27 ski-in/ski-out residences, townhomes, and penthouses. Units feature in-residence elevators, spacious balconies with mountain views, sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows, and best-in-class materials and finishes.

Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released a new audit Wednesday examining whether VTrans completes its paving projects on time and within budget, and whether they utilize performance measurement tools to accomplish those objectives. The Governor’s State Strategic Plan includes the goal of improving “transportation project planning” by continuously improving “project development efficiency by reducing the time and cost for planning, engineering, permitting, right-of-way acquisition and construction management.” The importance of that goal is evidenced by the Legislature’s approval of $590 million for paving projects from fiscal years 2019 through 2023. The audit assessed the cost and schedule performance for 14 paving projects against VTrans’ initial estimates to the Legislature and found significant deviations, primarily in the preliminary engineering phase. For instance, VTrans experienced preliminary engineering completion delays for some projects by as much as 3 to 6 years yet could not fully explain what caused the delays.