Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine UVM, the Vermont Department of Corrections, and the Urban Institute today released initial findings from the first phase of the Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) in Vermont, one of five states participating in the five-year effort to build evidence and spur innovation to make prisons more humane, safe, and rehabilitative. Survey results from staff, incarcerated people at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield highlighted issues around correctional staffing, programming for incarcerated people, and high rates of mental health concerns. Serious suicidal thoughts were high for both inmates (36%) and staff (10%).

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 1,490 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday. This was an increase of nearly a thousand from Tuesday. However, cases the last week were down 27 percent and for the last two weeks were down 37 percent. There were two additional deaths reported for 529. The deaths are attributed to the Delta variant, even as nearly all the new COVID cases are the result of exposure to the Omicron variant.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Women’s Fund has announced a year-end goal to sign-up 10,000 women-owned businesses through its new initiative, This Way UP: there’s power in our numbers. This Way UP was launched in late 2021 to build a statewide database of women business owners and entrepreneurs—information that does not currently exist in Vermont. This Way UP: there’s power in our numbers was developed to fill this gap by mobilizing women business owners to take a short survey on its website, thiswayupvt.com, and be counted.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Vermont Department of Health, the Vermont Community Foundation, and Patronicity announced today the launch of Better Places, a statewide program that empowers Vermonters to create and build vibrant and inclusive public places in the hearts of Vermont communities. This innovative partnership provides residents the opportunity to use crowdfunding to develop strategic, locally led projects in their communities and be supported with a 2:1 matching grant from the state.

​Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Mutual Insurance Group recently presented a check for $15,000 to the Vermont Foodbank as part of their partnership with UVM Athletics and the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. The check was presented by Dan Bridge, President and CEO of Vermont Mutual and Mark McDonnell, Executive Vice President and COO. The Catamounts secured 95 wins in 2021, bringing the donation amount to $9,500. However, to further help the Vermont Foodbank efforts, Vermont Mutual “rounded up” and increased the total amount to $15,000.

Vermont Business Magazine While many took a break for the holiday season, NEK Broadband and its partners were hard at work completing the first section of its fiber-optic network and customer installations. Construction crews battled inclement weather to finish hanging fiber-optic cable on utility poles, installing “drops” to customers’ homes, and turning on the very first service on its new network. When this initial project is complete, almost 350 addresses in parts of Concord and Lunenburg, plus a few addresses in Waterford, can subscribe for access to 100 Mbps symmetrical service or higher.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Green Building Network’s (VGBN) tenth annual Vermont’s Greenest Building Awards Competition is now open for submissions. This statewide competition recognizes exemplary residential and commercial buildings that excel in green building strategies – including water, health, transportation, and affordability – and meet the highest standard of demonstrated energy performance.

by Christine McGowan, Vermont Forest Industry Network Tucker Riggs, owner of Laughing Stock Farm (LSF) Forest Products in Fletcher, is busier than he’s ever been. As the pandemic and resulting supply chain issues more than doubled the price of lumber, Vermonters used to buying their lumber from Lowe’s or Home Depot sought out alternatives—and found much more than competitive pricing at LSF.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed an update to the agency's plan to clean up the Commerce Street Plume Superfund Site in Williston, Vermont. The proposed update, formally called an "Explanation of Significant Differences," (ESD) will not fundamentally change the terms, scope, performance or cost of EPA's plan to clean up the Commerce Street Plume site that was established in 2015.

In 2015, EPA selected a comprehensive remedy to address risks to human health by excavation and removal of contaminated soils, management of groundwater migration through treatment, and mitigation of vapor intrusion from contaminated groundwater into a residential house.

Vermont Business Magazine Oregon is considered the ‘greenest state’ in America, new research has revealed. Vermont is in fifth and has scored a total Green Score of 30.08. Despite its prominent position in the ranking, the state scores particularly poorly in the ‘Water Quality’ factor, ranking 45th out of 50 for its water. The study by sleep experts Eachnight examined five factors in each of the 50 states, air quality, water quality, soil quality, motor gasoline consumption in barrel, and renewable energy consumption to establish which one has the best environmental credentials, giving each one a Green Score out of 60.  

Vermont Business Magazine Lund is the recipient of a $15,000 grant from NorthCountry Federal Credit Union to support Lund’s Early Childhood Education Program (LECP). NorthCountry’s grant program offers funding to non-profit organizations in northern Vermont that align with their community giving mission: providing individuals with the tools and opportunities to thrive and experience safe, enriched lives. LECP is a 5-STAR rated, trauma-informed childcare center that provides high-quality care and education for 40 children aged two weeks to five years.