Current News
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Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch’s legislative committees, House Energy and Commerce and Oversight and Reform, marked up and passed over the past week core elements of the $3.5 trillion Budget Reconciliation package. The legislation, the Build Back Better Act, included transformational provisions championed by Welch (D-Vermont) that will address the climate crisis, lower health care costs, expand access to affordable health care, and increase broadband connectivity.
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Vermont Business Magazine At a time when Vermonters are surveying the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 crisis, UVM’s Office of Engagement and Center for Rural Studies have released the Vermont Economic Development Roundtables Report Amplifying Vermont’s Economic Resilience. The report identifies current and future challenges to the Vermont economy, and makes recommendations to ensure a strong and sustained recovery. Workforce pay and availability is a constant theme. And in every roundtable, the issue of race, equity, inclusion, and belonging arose as a key element of community economic development in Vermont.
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State and Project Leaders Detail Forward Progress and Impact of this Historic Funding
Vermont Business Magazine At a press conference Thursday in Springfield, Governor Phil Scott joined state, local and federal officials to detail $25 million in new state funding to clean up brownfield sites. This investment represents a significant milestone, marking the first-time state dollars have been allocated to brownfield sites. Historically, this work has been funded exclusively by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
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Business and Producer Association Grants Request For Applications
Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) is releasing 3 request for applications that allow Vermont working lands businesses and producer associations to invest in projects focused on infrastructure, marketing and sales development, meat slaughter and processing, and building workforce development skills.
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by Vermont Chamber Vice President of Tourism Amy Spear Have you ever picked crisp apples fresh from an orchard, been surrounded by bright red and orange mountains, or hiked through a towering corn maze? In Vermont, you can do all that and more on an ordinary fall day. This year, visitors can enjoy the season in a distinctly Vermont way – with activities and attractions that draw in people from around the globe.
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Vermont Business Magazine Vaccine campaigns based on moral messaging or myth-busting aren’t more effective at improving parents’ attitudes toward vaccines and their kids than standard public health messages, according to a recent study using Vermont data. Throughout the pandemic, the state of Vermont has been one of the safest places. Still, not everyone opts to wear a mask. And Vermont is among the top-five best states to have a child in.
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Vermont Business Magazine Under the leadership of Director Tyeastia Green, we reviewed the draft report over the last few days, and met yesterday with the CNA consultants to ask clarifying questions... We caution that this document is still a draft, and that there may be important clarifications to the final document. We note that the draft report’s recommendation for 76 to 83 “require(d)” officers does not equate to an “authorized cap.”
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by Ethan Tapper Forests are complex, intricate and nuanced, and also massive, expansive and interconnected. To be responsible forest stewards we need to both zoom-out to understand our role in a giant landscape, and zoom-in to recognize the tiny pieces and parts that make forests work. We must (somehow) hold both of these realities in focus as we take care of our forests.
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by Peter Sterling A recent piece by anti-renewable energy crusader Annette Smith asks, “Is Electrifying Everything a Climate Solution?” For those of us concerned about the changing climate’s increasing number of floods, wildfires, hurricanes and record-breaking temperatures the answer is YES! I can agree with Ms. Smith that “solutions cannot be all about technology and buying more stuff.” Reductions in overall energy use are key to solving the climate crisis. But continued energy use for transportation and heating and cooling our homes is inevitable.
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Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders Wednesday issued the following statement after the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives failed to include a critical provision allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices during a markup of reconciliation legislation.
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Vermont Business Magazine UVM Medical Center today announced that Marissa Coleman, PsyD, has accepted the position as the organization’s first Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). A psychologist at UVM Medical Center since 2018 and a daughter of a Jamaican immigrant, Coleman has served as Senior DEI Advisor for the past year, and will begin in her new role on September 20. In addition to serving in this leadership role, she will continue to see a limited number of patients and supervise pre-doctoral psychology residents.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Wednesday reported 136 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death, which now stand at 292 statewide. There are 39 people hospitalized (down 4 from yesterday) and 10 in the ICU. State officials are urging local school districts to their guidance in order to keep kids in school, with mask wearing and an increased level of surveillance testing and contact tracing.