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Woman charged with $700,000 embezzlement at Addison County business

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 2:30pm -- tim

by Mike Donoghue, News Correspondent, Vermont Business Magazine A Bristol woman is facing 19 federal felony fraud and tax charges in connection with a more than $700,000 embezzlement from an Addison County wood-logging and wood-chipping company, court records show. Jodi R Lathrop, 53, of Rounds Road is charged with seven counts of wire fraud and four counts each of mail fraud, tax evasion and aiding in the preparation of false corporate income tax returns for Claire Lathrop Band Mill Inc, doing business as Lathrop Forest Products, the federal indictment said. Bristol Police began the initial investigation, which showed Lathrop unlawfully took $712,244 between April 1, 2015 and May 31, 2020 from the family-owned business, according to a court affidavit by Police Chief Bruce Nason.

Vermont gasoline prices edge closer to US average

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 2:30pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are up 8 cents in the last week to $3.54 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy. They're up 16 cents over the last month and are 15 cents higher than they were one year ago. The cheapest price is $3.19/g in Brattleboro and the highest is $3.89/g in Island Pond. The national average price of gasoline has risen 9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.47/g today.

VSP seeks fifth suspect in connection with St Johnsbury homicide

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 2:29pm -- tim

Vermont State Police The Vermont State Police is seeking a fifth suspect in connection with the December killing of a man in St. Johnsbury. An arrest warrant has been issued for Danny Daniels, 30, of Philadelphia on charges of aiding in the commission of first-degree murder, aiding in the commission of assault and robbery with a weapon, and aiding in the commission of burglary. The charges arise from the fatal shooting of Israel Jimenez Lugo, 49, at the St. Johnsbury apartment house where he was living. The court ordered that Daniels be held without bail upon his arrest. According to court papers prepared by state police detectives investigating the homicide, Daniels was involved in drug trafficking and organized a plan for four people who owed him money to rob Jimenez Lugo. During the robbery, one of the individuals fatally shot Jimenez Lugo.

Over $300,000 in grants awarded to rehabilitate Vermont landmarks and historic buildings

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 11:30am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation (VDHP) and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation announced today the awarding of grants totaling $321,363 to 20 municipalities and non-profit organizations in six counties to facilitate the restoration and rehabilitation of Vermont landmarks and important historic buildings and structures. These grants will leverage more than $1 million in restoration and rehabilitation efforts, supporting about 40 preservation construction jobs.

Case involving Vermont Law School mural gets federal appeals court hearing

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 11:24am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will hear arguments on Friday about whether Vermont Law and Graduate School (formerly Vermont Law School) can be compelled to display murals it commissioned in the 1990s and has since deemed unsuitable for view. The murals by artist Sam Kerson depict enslaved people escaping via the Underground Railroad to Vermont, and many in the law school’s community have objected to their portrayal of Black Americans. The ACLU of Vermont argued in an amicus brief filed last year that, while Kerson had a First Amendment right to create his art, the court should not compel VLGS to continue to display expressive content inconsistent with its mission and values.

VEC Community Fund donation boosts effort to warm more Vermonters

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 5:30am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Eric Axelrod of Jericho says it will be a “game changer.” He’s talking about a new commercial grade log splitter that his non-profit, Wood4Good, is raising money to buy. The machine will be able to split bucked wood into 12 pieces per pass, not the more common two or four. This new machine, supported in part by a recent $1,000 grant from the Vermont Electric Co-op’s Community Fund, will greatly increase production capacity, allowing Wood4Good to provide far more free firewood to Vermonters in need than it has to date. Specifically, the new machine will be able to produce three times more wood than any of the organization’s existing machines, Axelrod said.

PSD hosts webinar series on renewable and clean electricity policies and programs

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 5:07am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Service is hosting a webinar series to share information and answer questions about Vermont’s current electric system. The webinar series is the first of the public engagement opportunities planned by the Department as part of the process to comprehensively review the state’s renewable and clean electricity policies and programs. Through the webinars, the Department will explain where Vermont’s electricity comes from, what policies and programs currently support the use of renewable electricity and provide information about the process to develop future programs and policies that will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Vermont Farm Show manager request for proposals now open for responses

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 3:56am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Farm Show, Inc, invites interested parties to respond to its request for proposals for a Farm Show Manager. After a hiatus triggered by COVID-19, the Board of Trustees is eager to hold a show that welcomes all commodity and specialty crop industries and producer associations. The Farm Show Manager is responsible for the overall planning, production, and closeout of The Farm Show. A successful Show presents vendors, exhibits, and meetings relevant to dairy, maple, berry, vegetable, honey, hops, hemp, Christmas tree, and other meat, fiber, forestry, and crop producers.

iSun wins $5.9 million in new solar projects

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 3:45am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), based in Williston and a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50-years of experience accelerating the adoption of innovative electrical technologies, has been awarded contracts with a combined value of $5.9 million to implement solar energy solutions for commercial properties with existing customers in Vermont. The new projects add 6.5 MW to iSun’s growing portfolio of commercial projects.

Lesser: Vermont’s windmill-tilting Climate Action Plan

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 3:12am -- tim

by Jonathan Lesser The Perfect Little Climate Conscious State now has its own Perfect Little Climate Action Plan.  Although the Climate Action Plan won’t have any impact on climate, it will have an only too real impact on Vermonters’ wallets. According to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) most recent report, Vermont’s carbon-equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions totaled around 8.6 million metric tons in 2017 and was forecasted to decrease to around 8 million metric tons this year. By comparison, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, in 2021 total world energy-related carbon emissions were about 34 billion metric tons. That’s over 93 million tons per day.

iSun wins new $16.12 million solar portfolio in Maine

Thu, 01/26/2023 - 3:04am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine 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, today announced that it has been awarded a portfolio of solar projects totaling 16 MW and valued at $16.12 million in Maine, to expand community solar projects across that state. The portfolio award adds to iSun’s already active and completed 48.5 MW of projects in the Maine market.

UVMMC support staff voting whether to join union

Wed, 01/25/2023 - 4:17pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Beginning this morning through Friday over 2000 support staff and technical employees will be deciding by secret ballot election whether they want to officially form a union and begin collectively bargaining with the UVM Medical Center administration to make improvements for staff and patients. Votes will be counted this Friday and will take much of the day. 

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