Vermont
A summer of festivals aim to attract more tourists
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – As we get into the later half of the summer, city officials in Burlington say tourism numbers have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Church street has always got something going on, and the marketplace says they believe tourism numbers look more like they did in 2019. While they won’t have the numbers to prove it until tax receipts come in, the festival rejuvenation of downtown Burlington has done wonders for local businesses.
“From Jazz Fest to Juneteenth to Festival of Fools, we have a summer market in City Hall park every Saturday, we have the sidewalk sale happening this weekend and that’s well underway, and all of these activations again tend to draw larger crowds which is of course beneficial to our locally owned businesses,” Church Street Marketplace Director, Kara Alanasrawi said.
With silent discos and the Green Mountain Book Festival just around the corner, organizers say they’re excited to bring in more people from all over to enjoy what the city has to offer.
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Vermont
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Vermont
Vermonters gather Eco-Fair in search of ways to make the grass greener this spring
WEYBRIDGE, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermonters gathered at an Eco-Fair in Weybridge in search of ways to make the grass greener this spring.
Weybridge Energy Committee hosted the event at Weybridge Elementary School. Visitors browsed booths featuring composting, home energy and heating solutions and lawncare.
Those looking for more energy-efficient ways to trim their lawns tested out lawn mowers through Mow Electric.
“It seems to work just as well as a regular lawnmower if not better, so then why not go electric if you can?” Sylvie Doutriaux of Weybridge said, testing out an electric mower.
And in honor of “No Mow May,” conservation organization Pollinator Pathway handed out native plant seeds, advocating for natural lawns safe for pollinators.
Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
Vermont
Rice Lumber makes history with Vermont's first outdoor electric forklifts
SHELBURNE, Vt. (WCAX) – Rice Lumber makes history with Vermont’s first outdoor electric forklifts.
Chirping birds filled the air at the Shelburne construction company. In the distance, the faint purr of an electric forklift. “It’s peaceful out here in the morning when they’re running them,” Rice Lumber’s Taylor Carroll explained. “You don’t have a bunch of smoke and loud noises.”
This spring, Rice Lumber bought two Toyota 80-volt Electric Pneumatic forklifts. They’re the first outdoor electric forklifts in Vermont. Northern Toyota Lift’s James Jimmo hooked them up. “These guys have stepped up to the plate,” Jimmo said. “I think it’s gonna be really good.”
It took some persuading to get there. Rice Lumber owner Wes Carroll wasn’t too keen on ditching the company’s die-hard diesel forklifts at first. “He took the brochure and threw it in the garbage,” Jimmo laughed. “Then we started talking numbers.”
The price tag: $80,000 a lift, around $10,000 more than their diesel lifts. “At first we’re nervous of, you know, they’re obviously expensive and we have chargers and all that stuff, and it’s new to us,” Carroll shrugged.
Crunching the numbers, Jimmo found each lift would save the company an annual $8,000 on gas and service. With those savings, they’d make up the price difference in less than two years. Rice Lumber was sold and got a $6,000 rebate from Green Mountain Power. “It’s exciting. I never thought I’d be the guy cutting the carbon footprint in the state of Vermont like this,” Jimmo smiled. “Being the pioneer.”
The forklifts run around eight to 10 hours a charge and plug in on-site, cutting out a weekly 20 gallons of diesel. Plus, they can handle thousands more pounds than the old diesel lifts and offer more safety features. Carroll says even their oldest employees prefer the EV lifts over the four remaining diesel lifts. “It’s looking like they’re working out pretty well,” Carroll said.
Jimmo says he hopes Rice Lumber’s success story encourages other construction companies to make the switch. “I think when other people see what a good thing it is, they’ll jump on board,” Jimmo said.
Rice Lumber is waiting to see how the forklifts perform through the winter before replacing their entire diesel fleet.
Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
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