Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce’s annual Vermont Economic Conference made its in-person return with over 200 business and policy leaders gathering at the University of Vermont Dudley H. Davis Center for an in-depth look at national, global, and state perspectives on the economy as well as the latest economic indicators for business growth. Two keynote speakers headlined the conference, Gus Faucher, Senior Vice President, and Chief Economist for PNC Financial Services Group, and Eva McKend, National Political Reporter for CNN. Faucher is a returning favorite at the Vermont Economic Conference, he provided his signature address, entitled, “National Economic Trends: Balancing Inflation, Consumer Spending, and Employment.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) announces two grants for dairy processors, totaling a $13 million investment in the region. This much-needed investment comes at a time when the conventional and organic dairy sectors are facing extreme pressures, from skyrocketing feed and transportation costs to continuing supply-chain disruptions, to limited processing infrastructure in the Northeast. Dairy processors play a vital role in the health of our regional economy, and increasing our regional processing capacity paves the way toward stabilizing the dairy sector.

Vermont Business Magazine A decade ago, there were close to 300 active distilleries in the United States; that number has since increased exponentially. Today, according to the American Craft Spirits Association, there are almost 2,700 distilleries across the US, most of them producing whiskies or planning to in the future. That's a lot of whiskey. With so many distilleries, how do you know who's producing great whiskey, who's doing something interesting, and how you can actually get hold of that whiskey from smaller or regionally focused producers? Several years back, industry insiders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski realized that this was a challenge they wanted to tackle. In October 2020, they launched Lost Lantern in Weybridge, Vermont, modeled on Scotland's long tradition of Independent Bottlers.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger on Tuesday provided an update on the ongoing work to ensure that the practice of voluntary extra duty overtime for police officers and other personnel of the Burlington Police Department best supports the City’s broad public safety goals and priorities. “Generally, our practice of allowing voluntary extra-duty police service agreements for special events provides broad public safety benefits, and at no cost to taxpayers. However, I agree with many who have shared their concerns that the recent contract with a private condo association is problematic. This specific off-duty detail was unique, not consistent with City policy we negotiated in 2018, and will not continue. Of much greater concern is that any neighborhood in the City feels that they need to pay out of pocket for basic public safety services."

The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of a man following a fight that occurred at a school basketball game Tuesday night, January 31, 2023, in the town of Alburgh. State police were called at 6:56 pm to the Alburgh Community Education Center, 45 Champlain St, for a report of a large fight involving multiple spectators during a 7th-8th grade boys basketball game between Alburgh and St Albans. The melee ended before troopers arrived on scene, and some participants had departed the school. One of those individuals, Russell Giroux, 60, of Alburgh, subsequently sought medical attention, was transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor is reminding employers and those working outside, to make sure they’re prepared for frigid temperatures headed towards the region. Winter weather can expose outdoor workers to frostbite, hypothermia, and cold stress, all of which can be fatal. It is important to monitor the wind chill temperature to better prepare and perform the work safely.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) Downtown Development Board has announced two new state designations for communities in Addison and Caledonia counties. State designations incentivize housing, business, and public infrastructure development in Vermont’s civic centers and development-ready areas. Vermont’s state designation programs work together to provide incentives, align policies, and give communities the technical assistance needed to encourage new development and redevelopment in Vermont’s compact, designated areas.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lakes and Ponds Program of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) continues to draft a rule that would, if enacted, regulate wake boats on certain public waters. The draft rule is in response to a petition seeking to limit use of wake boats on Vermont lakes out of concern for safety hazards and environmental damage caused by these boats on lakes and ponds below a certain size. DEC’s draft rule would allow wake boats to engage in wake sports on public waters under the following three conditions: On lakes, ponds, and reservoirs with a minimum of 50 contiguous acres that are 500 feet from shore on all sides and 20 feet deep (eligibility rule); Wake boats must be 500 feet from shore at all times while engaging in wake sports (operating rule); A wake boat must stay in one lake per calendar year unless boat is decontaminated by a DEC-approved entity (home lake rule).

Vermont Business Magazine Saint Michael’s College’s brand-new Media Creation Studio is up and running, providing the campus community – and potentially, organizations beyond – with new opportunities for learning and communicating using professional-level, cutting-edge equipment, including remote-controlled cameras and a 4K digital laser projector. Saint Michael’s College is celebrating the grand opening of the Media Creation Studio by inviting several distinguished alumni back to campus to talk about the importance of having this type of resource on campus and how it will equip students with the future skills that will be in high demand. The three alumni are: longtime NESN Red Sox broadcaster Tom Caron ‘86, New York Times Deputy Director of Opinion Video Jonah Kessel ‘06, and former event producer for MTV Networks Clare Wool ‘88.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank, a leading socially responsible community bank with branches in southern Vermont, today announced that it joins 483 other companies across the globe as a member of the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), a modified market capitalization-weighted index developed to gauge the performance of public companies dedicated to reporting gender-related data. This reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: leadership & talent pipeline, equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand.  

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont has been awarded a $23 million federal grant to strengthen the state’s early childhood system, support the early childhood workforce and improve the quality and availability of services for children from birth to age 8. The Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Renewal Grant will provide the state with approximately $7.7 million per year for three years (2023–2025), with $2 million of subgrants going to local communities annually to support mental health care for children and families, high-quality child care and family engagement along with support for the early childhood workforce. The award will support Vermont in improving service delivery to families with young children across settings and services, including child care, Universal Prekindergarten Education, Head Start, health care, mental health care and other services and programs that support the health and well-being of Vermont children and their families.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) announced renewed savings opportunities for customers in 2023, to continue to switch away from fossil fuel for driving, heating, and more. These rebates are available to all customers to make the switch and help cut carbon and costs for customers. GMP’s rebate for all-electric vehicles (AEVs) is increasing for 2023, to $2,200 for qualifying new vehicles, up from $1,500 last year. Income eligible customers can still get an extra $1,000 rebate for up to $3,200 in savings. If you purchase or lease from a participating dealership, they can apply the rebate as a discount during the transaction for immediate savings. This bigger AEV rebate is valid through June of 2023, and it can be combined with up to $4,000 in state EV rebates and $7,500 in federal tax incentives for qualifying vehicles, adding up to big savings. GMP’s base rebate for used AEVs is also increasing - to $1,500, up from $750 last year.