Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In an amicus brief filed yesterday, the ACLU of Vermont urges the dismissal of criminal charges against Montpelier resident Stephen Whitaker, who was arrested after exceeding the allotted two minutes for making public comments at a Montpelier City Council meeting in June 2022. The ACLU’s brief asserts that Whitaker cannot be held criminally liable for this constitutionally protected First Amendment activity.

Vermont Business Magazine For more than 35 years, it has been my great honor to serve the People of Vermont as a public servant as: Secretary of State (12-years), State Senator (8 years), and South Burlington City Councilor (18 years). During this time, I have always worked hard to serve Vermont’s citizens in a professional and respectful manner -- striving to make our government more efficient, accessible, and transparent. In addition to my elected positions, my decades of business experience allowed me to understand and evaluate policies and proposed legislation with a wide lens, examining how they would translate in reality and how it may affect Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Pico Mountain, part of the POWDR adventure lifestyle company, announces major snowmaking upgrades on A Slope ski trail. This project is part of continued improvements to the snowmaking system at Pico Mountain and was made possible in large part by community contributions facilitated by the Pico Ski Education Foundation, a nonprofit with a goal to help maintain an affordable organized ski racing program for community families and athletes.  The project includes 2,800 feet of air and water pipe, and 45 hydrants on A Slope trail. It was completed in October 2022, in time for the 2022/23 season. The project represents a $440,000 capital investment in the facility, including a $125,000 donation from POWDR and Killington Resort.

Vermont Business Magazine The 2023 Vermont Watershed Grants Program is now accepting applications for projects that protect, restore and enhance the state's lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds, including Vermonters’ ability to understand and enjoy these treasures. Applications are due no later than Wednesday February 8, 2023. Program grants are available to municipalities, local and regional government agencies, sporting clubs, non-profit organizations, and water-related citizen groups. Projects that seek to directly protect or restore fish and aquatic wildlife habitat are strongly encouraged. Examples of past funded projects include streamside vegetation restoration the removal of old dams and replacement of culverts to improve fish passage. For 2023, $70,000 is available to fund three categories of projects.

Vermont Business Magazine A keystone parcel along the Windmill Ridge in Putney and Brookline has been protected for wildlife, climate, recreation and clean water, the Putney Mountain Association (PMA) and the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) announced Monday. The two organizations worked together to conserve one of the few remaining gaps in protected land along the Windmill Hill–Putney Mountain ridgeline. The 140 acres connect trails and other public lands, including the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (Conte Refuge) to the south and the Putney Town Forest to the north. In addition, the newly protected land expands a contiguous block of protected or public woods and wetlands, now totaling over 1,000 acres.

by John McClaughry Disreputable politicians all too often assign deceptive labels to legislation to mislead voters who don’t pay close attention. A deplorable example of such mislabeling is the forthcoming Affordable Heating Act. “Affordable Heating” is the new label applied by the climateers to replace the “Clean Heat Standard” bill that Governor Scott vetoed last May. Now, with a veto-proof and disciplined 104-38 majority in the House, the Democrats are eager to pass a renamed “Clean Heat Standard” whether Governor Phil Scott likes it or not.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lakes and Ponds Program of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is pleased to announce that a third lake has achieved the “Gold Lake Wise Award”. Lake Iroquois, located in Williston, Hinesburg, Richmond, and St. George, joined Echo Lake in Charleston and Seymour Lake in Morgan in reaching this accomplishment.

Vermont Business Magazine The final number of deer taken in Vermont’s 2022 hunting seasons will not be available for a few more weeks, but the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says the final tally will be a little over 17,400 deer. Those deer will provide approximately 3.5 million servings of local, nutritious venison. The buck harvest will be close to 9,600, which will be up from 2021 (9,133) and near the previous 3-year average of 9,482. The final antlerless deer harvest will be around 7,800, also similar to the previous 3-year average (7,651). The archery season harvest, which accounts for much of the total antlerless deer harvest, will be the second highest on record, behind only the 2020 season.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Nano Hearing Aids for misleading consumers about the effectiveness and quality of its products. The lawsuit alleges that Nano engaged in multiple layers of deception by making misleading statements on its website and in advertisements, implying its products are FDA-approved, and falsely representing its products as American-made. It is further alleged that Nano put consumers’ health at risk by promoting a deceptive online “hearing test” that leads consumers to believe their test results are reviewed by hearing experts, when they are not, and invariably recommending the purchase of Nano’s most expensive product regardless of the results.

Aly Richards, CEO of Let’s Grow Kids “This is such an exciting time when the State Legislature convenes for the first of our two-year biennium. This week we welcome dozens of new lawmakers, inaugurate our governor and state-wide officials, and continue the critically important work of solving our child care crisis. This work has been decades in the making and the child care crisis in our state has never been more dire."

Northeastern Vermont Development Association Communities along the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail were awarded federal grant funds, secured by Senator Bernie Sanders, to improve trail amenities and visitor experience. Improvements to trailheads, picnic areas, kiosks, signage, connections to downtowns, and art & history installations are all community assets that support local recreation, transportation, and economic development. St. Johnsbury, Danville, Walden, Greensboro and Hardwick had winning projects. Greensboro also received a $191,466 LVRT Community Grant for trailhead construction in Greensboro Bend.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), now former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, put an exclamation point on his longstanding support for the University of Vermont with the inclusion of $30 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) to support academic excellence at UVM and an additional $50 million in Vermont-focused programmatic funding in the annual Appropriations Bills that fund the US government. The bills were signed into law on December 29. UVM stands to receive $30 million in CDS funding in the form of an endowment dedicated to enhancing the experience of its promising and ambitious students, especially through the university’s Honors College.