Current News

by Annette Smith, Vermonters for a Clean Environment The recent proposal by Vermont Huts Association (VHA) and Moosalamoo Association (MA) to construct a ‘hut’ next to Silver Lake in the Moosalamoo National Recreation and Education Area in Leicester (Addison County) Vermont reveals numerous problems with the USDA/Forest Service’s management of the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF).

Vermont Business Magazine The winners of Vermont’s 2022 moose hunting permits were determined Wednesday, July 20, at a lottery drawing in Montpelier witnessed by Fish and Wildlife’s Director of Wildlife Mark Scott and Business Systems Analyst Cheri Waters. The drawing is done by a random sort of applications that were submitted by the June 22 deadline. As part of the regular lottery drawing, a “special priority drawing” was held for five permits to go to applicants who are Vermont resident veterans. The unsuccessful applicants from the veteran drawing were included in the larger regular drawing that followed. All applicants for both drawings who did not receive a permit were awarded a bonus point to improve their chances in future moose permit lotteries.

by Rob Roper As gasoline prices hover around record highs, putting tremendous pressure on family budgets, stressing businesses, and making life generally more expensive, the Vermont Climate Council is coming up with a plan to make the problem worse. Much worse. At the July 11 meeting of the council’s Transportation Task Force, which is formulating a plan for the legislature that will lower CO2 emissions from the transportation sector enough to meet the mandates of the Global Warming Solutions Act, new carbon taxes on gas and diesel were at the top of the list.

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ - UNB), based in Morrisville, today announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend. Consolidated net income for the three months ended June 30, 2022 was $2.9 million, or $0.65 per share, compared to $3.0 million, or $0.67 cents per share, for the same period in 2021, and $5.4 million, or $1.20 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $5.9 million, or $1.31 per share for the same period in 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD today announced the appointment of Julie Arel as deputy commissioner for the Vermont Department of Health. Arel served for the past eight years as director of the department’s Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. She begins her new job on August 1, serving alongside fellow Deputy Commissioner Kelly Dougherty.

Vermont Business Magazine Assistant Director Christine Brown has been promoted to Director of Captive Insurance at the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR). Christine will be filling the role that Sandy Bigglestone holds, who will be appointed to Deputy Commissioner of the Division when David Provost retires at the end of August. Christine started working for the Captive Insurance Division in 2003 as an Examiner. Prior to joining the Division, she worked for six years collectively at Johnson Lambert and Ernst & Young as an Auditor. Over the years she worked her way up to Examiner in Charge and Assistant Chief Examiner, to eventually become the Assistant Director of the Division in 2016.

by Aly Richards, CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, and Dimitri Garder, CEO of Global-Z International Earlier this month, a report commissioned by the Vermont Legislature declared our state’s child care system to be “fundamentally broken,” validating what so many of us have known and experienced. The study, which is titled Vermont Child Care and Early Childhood Education Systems Analysis, was based on interviews with more than 85 early childhood education stakeholders and dozens of previous state reports and data on the topic. Now that the report is here, we can firmly say that it details what we’ve known for years: our child care system isn't working for anyone – not for children, families, essential early childhood educators, and certainly not for our workforce and economy.

Vermont Business Magazine Forecasters are calling for a storm to bring heavy rain, lightning, and strong winds to most of Vermont starting early Thursday afternoon. GMP is urging safety for customers as some outages are possible and travel could be difficult during this regional storm. GMP’s field forces are prepared to respond along with external help to supplement GMP crews if needed.

Vermont State Police On July 19, 2022 at approximately 1717 hours, Vermont State Police were dispatched to a motor vehicle crash involving a passenger car and an ATV on VT Route 100 near North Road in the town of Eden. Preliminary investigation indicated that Anthony Acorace (56) of North Troy, VT was traveling north on VT Route 100 in a 2009 Hyundai Accent when Lewis Jones (75) of Eden, pulled out of a residence onto VT Route 100 operating a 2011 Honda Foreman. Acorace attempted to swerve into the opposite lane to avoid colliding with the ATV. However, the vehicle collided in the center of the north and southbound lanes. Jones succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

​Vermont State Police Police in Vermont and Massachusetts are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the suspicious death of 23-year-old Mary Anderson of Harvard, Massachusetts. A concurrent investigation also remains active into the fatal police shooting of Matthew Davis, who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and death. Davis, 34, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, died following an officer-involved shooting Tuesday night in West Brattleboro. The shooting occurred after a short foot pursuit when Davis pulled a knife and lunged at police who were seeking to speak with him regarding Anderson’s death.

Vermont Business Magazine With the pandemic straining access to mental health services and substance misuse at an all-time high, Vermont Blue Advantage announces a new partnership with the Brattleboro Retreat and Vermont Collaborative Care to build support for Medicare-eligible Vermonters that integrates the management of substance use disorder and mental health with physical health care. According to the Vermont Department of Health, between 15,000 and 20,000 Vermonters with opioid use disorder are in need of treatment. A recent presentation to the Green Mountain Care Board noted that 58% of emergency department patients have a mental health diagnosis, yet only half of those referred with mental health problems receive follow up care.

Statement From The Office Of Senator Patrick Leahy Senator Leahy has continued to make progress in his rehabilitation after surgery on June 30 to repair and replace a fractured hip that he suffered from a fall at his house in McLean, Virginia. On Tuesday, Senator Leahy’s surgical team found it necessary to perform an additional surgery to help advance his recovery. Senator Leahy was back in his rehabilitation room by Tuesday evening and is once again working diligently with the physical therapists to return home as soon as possible.