Current News

​Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Jennifer Morrison as the deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Morrison will lead key components of DPS, which oversees statewide fire safety and building code compliance, the detection and prevention of crime, participates in searches for lost and missing persons, and assists in responding to statewide and local disasters and emergencies, among other missions.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting today that COVID-19 cases fell today after a steep increase Thursday, but remain over 200. COVID cases fell from 265 on Sunday to 140 on Monday to 91 Tuesday to 164 Wednesday to 316 Thursday to 262 today. The five worst days for cases have all come since mid-September, as the Delta variant has taken over since early July. Thursday was the fifth highest on record. The VDH also reported today four more deaths for 364 statewide. There have been 13 COVID fatalities just this week.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announces grants totaling $324,467 for eight projects to benefit Vermont fruit, vegetable, and value-added producers and increase consumer access to locally produced food. These grants, funded through the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), were awarded to seven agricultural organizations to undertake a range of research, development, education, and marketing projects. The grants will leverage an additional $162,629 in matching funds.

Vermont Business Magazine GlobalFoundries® (GF®), a global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 55,000,000 ordinary shares, 30,250,000 of which are being offered by GF and 24,750,000 of which are being offered by GF’s existing shareholder, Mubadala Investment Company PJSC, at an initial public offering price of $47.00 per share. In connection with the offering, Mubadala has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 8,250,000 ordinary shares at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on October 28, 2021 under the ticker symbol “GFS.” The offering is expected to close on November 1, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance (VRJA) announced plans to launch the Richard Kemp Center in Burlington, Vermont. The Burlington Community Center will honor the legacy of a Black community social justice hero; create a new era of intentional Black-led community engagement and support in Burlington and across Vermont; and, pay a promise forward into the hope in the lives of the Black and Brown youth in Vermont. Located central to those it serves, the Richard Kemp Center will serve as a bastion of hope, purpose and vision for the Black community into the future.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University will provide up to 40 paid internships to continue archaeologic exploration at Granger House after receiving a nearly $500,000 grant to support education in archeology, geography, history, and related fields from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The grant will fund the creation of a museum and learning laboratory at the Castleton campus's historic Granger House. The project will include 40 paid internships, a summer field school, and numerous public outreach efforts. In embarking on the Granger House Project, Castleton University will develop an innovative approach to education in the humanities by emphasizing community engagement and fostering the development of job-ready skills.

Vermont Business Magazine Starting today, Retreat Farm in Brattleboro is making an intentional choice to prioritize physical connection and authentic relationships by discontinuing their use of Facebook and Instagram. Serving as a free public resource and common, Retreat Farm’s visitorship is expected to exceed 80,000 this year — up 44% from last year. But the Farm isn’t letting its dependence on donations from tourists and the community drive its decision-making process.

Vermont Business Magazine Lt. Governor Gray released the following statement on the historic nature of the Build Back Better framework today.

“I join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden, Senator Leahy as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Sanders as Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, Congressman Welch, and Democrats in Congress for their leadership in reaching an historic agreement on the Build Back Better framework.

The framework represents an historic investment in working families and will deliver assistance on numerous pressing issues Vermonters are facing. Millions will be invested in clean energy and position America to lead the fight against climate change. An extension of tax credits for millions of low-wage workers will help stabilize the needs of the country’s workforce. These achievements are a huge step forward for Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine As Vermont students headed back to school, some of them enjoyed a quieter, cleaner ride on the first electric school buses to be used in Vermont. State officials, clean energy proponents, elected officials, and educators gathered at Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax today to commemorate this milestone toward decarbonizing transportation in Vermont.

Champlain Valley School District and Franklin West Supervisory Union each welcomed two new electric school buses in time for the start of the school year. Student Transportation of America in partnership with the Barre Unified Union School District anticipate their buses will arrive in November and look forward to the educational opportunities the buses will provide for students.

Vermont Business Magazine VPR and Vermont PBS are accepting applications for its Community Forum, a volunteer group that will help Vermont’s new, unified public media organization assess its service and ensure it is representative of the whole community.

“Our new organization is founded on a commitment to represent and celebrate our entire community,” said Scott Finn, VPR & Vermont PBS president & CEO. “To accomplish this, we must broaden and diversify our audience, and engage community members we have failed to reach—while continuing to serve our existing supporters. The Community Forum is an essential link in this process and key to our future success.”

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has joined the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets (VAAFM) in announcing the latest round of grants available to dairy farmers, value-added dairy producers and agricultural service providers through the Northeastern Dairy Business Innovation Center (DBIC).

A wide range of grants and contracts, from implementing on-farm grazing practices, to food safety, to business technical assistance, are available at levels of up to $150,000 each.

Leahy worked to establish the DBIC, as the most senior member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee and has seen to its annual funding in his role of Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and supported the location of this regional program at VAAFM in Vermont.

Farmers and producers from across New England, as well as in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are eligible to apply.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Professionals of Color Network (VT PoC) announced the launch of their redesigned website with the goal of increasing visibility of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) statewide, and increasing access to statewide resources to the BIPOC community.

“Our primary goal during the redesign process was to create a more valuable, user-centric and responsive resource across all platforms and devices,” says Tinotenda Charles Rutanhira, Co-Founder and Chair of VT PoC. “Specifically, we wanted to focus on making it easier for our users to learn and locate valuable information about our organization, our resources, and our members.”

Features and benefits of the new website include:

· Directory of BIPOC-Owned Businesses, a way for Vermonters to support BIPOC-owned businesses across the state.