Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board are accepting public comment and will hold three public hearings on new proposed regulations for trapping and for hunting coyotes with the aid of dogs. The new proposed regulations come in response to the Vermont Legislature’s Act 159 and Act 165, both passed last year. Act 159 directed the department to improve trapping safety and the welfare of animals trapped during the state’s regulated trapping seasons. The department’s proposal includes establishing a safety buffer between public roads, state-owned trails, and places where traps can be set, and restricting the use of body-gripping traps to reduce the risk to pets.

by Logan Solomon, Community News Service Connecticut’s second biggest natural gas energy generator looms over Ian McDonald’s town, Killingly, where his two children belong to a school district with facilities just two miles from a plant that pumps nitrogen dioxide into the air. For every 200 people in Killingly, almost 30 live below the poverty line. It’s in a county that, in a 2012 report, had the state’s highest prevalence of asthma, an ailment aggravated by breathing in high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, federal officials say. Killingly is a poster child for the type of situation Vermont leaders say they can alleviate by amping up the state’s solar energy output. Tens of thousands of solar panels over the last six years have been dispensed across Vermont's roofs and yards.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) is conducting road maintenance and improvements to the Pinnacle Meadow Road in Stowe. The construction started on May 1, and is expected to run into the second week of June. Public access to Pinnacle Meadow Road and the associated trailhead parking area is closed during construction. Work will take place on the Pinnacle Meadow Road between Upper Pinnacle Road and the trailhead, and on the forestry road between the trailhead and Pinnacle Meadow Vista. The project will install and replace culverts and improve erosion control features to improve water management and road bed integrity.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is accepting public comments on a new Accessibility Transition Plan that addresses the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for recreational boating facilities on its more than 200 Fishing Access Area properties. The department’s fishing access areas allow the public to enjoy boating, fishing, hunting, and trapping on over 130 Vermont waterbodies free of charge. Over the past two decades, the department has upgraded features like parking areas, docks and fishing platforms to meet the standards outlined in the ADA as part of other infrastructure projects. The new Accessibility Transition Plan—drafted by department staff and reviewed by diverse stakeholders -- aims for a more deliberate approach to future upgrades.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Board of Education today voted to exempt private schools that receive public vouchers from the latest education quality standards. In response, the Vermont-NEA, the union which represents most teachers, said today that the state board provided yet another example of why the Legislature must end the practice of sending the public’s money to unaccountable private schools. The board – a majority of whom are private school advocates – made it clear that it doesn’t see the need to hold private schools to the same high standards required of public schools, according to the Vermont-NEA.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today reacted to the end of the legislative session at his weekly press conference. Much of the discussion involved possible vetoes of the budget and the child care bills, which he has yet to receive. The Legislature already has set aside a "veto session" for late June, as needed and expected. The governor reiterated his stance on what he views as over-spending on several measures passed by lawmakers. He also maintained that the hotel/motel program, which has housed homeless Vermonters since the beginning of the pandemic, will end for most of those now receiving vouchers next month. Scott has said that the cost (about $8 million a month) is unsustainable without the now-ended federal emergency funds. At this moment, the administration does not know exactly how many households and individuals will be affected. They are undertaking a survey of those on the program to understand where they will go.

Vermont Business Magazine OneCare Vermont has announced that Abe Berman has been selected as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the organization. Berman replaces Vicki Loner, who will step down from the role at the end of May. Berman currently serves as Vice President of Revenue Strategy for the University of Vermont Health Network where he is focused on the transition toward value based and fixed revenue streams. Prior to his current role, he was instrumental in the early development and launch of OneCare and served as Director of ACO Finance for several years before moving on to progressive executive leadership roles in network management for a large commercial insurer.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont), announced that NEK Community Broadband (NEKCB) will receive Vermont’s first ever United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties in Vermont. NEK Broadband will receive more than $17 million in grant funds through USDA ReConnect, helping to connect some of the most rural communities in Vermont with affordable, high-speed internet. Additional information on the grant will be made available during a press event in June.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that Jay Ramsey has been appointed to serve as the Director of Workforce Development. Ramsey has worked in state government for more than ten years and served as the State Director for Technical Education and Assistant Director of Student Pathways with the Agency of Education. He joined the Department of Labor as Director of Apprenticeship and has since served as interim director of the Workforce Development Division following the departure of the previous director.

Vermont Business Magazine 98.9 WOKO’s annual Big Change Roundup for Kids to support The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital raised a total of $279,715.58 thanks to hundreds of donations from community members, businesses, patients and families. This year’s success would not have been possible without bandits (individual fundraisers), posses (fundraising teams), schools, community groups and volunteers from throughout the region. Also essential were major sponsors Maplefields, New England Federal Credit Union, Med Associates Inc., and SD Ireland. The funds raised help pay for several things, including medical equipment, Child Life activities that educate, entertain and improve the health care experience for pediatric patients, and the social services and mental health support for children and families that are served by the children’s hospital. All of the funds support the high-quality, child-friendly, family-centered care provided by the UVM Children’s Hospital.

Vermont Business Magazine At a time when lung health is more important than ever, today, the American Lung Association in Vermont and The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine announced they are now accepting participants for a first-of-its-kind large-scale study of millennial lung health. The University of Vermont is one of 35 sites across the country conducting this study. The American Lung Association Lung Health Cohort Research Study will track 4,000 young adults (aged 25-35) at the age of peak lung health. Scientists across the country will follow these millennials for five years after their initial interviews to evaluate how their environment, lifestyle and physical activity habits affect respiratory health. Millennials interested in participating can locate a site near them at Lung.org/Lung-Study.

Vermont Business Magazine After nearly 17 years as host of Vermont This Week, Stewart Ledbetter has decided to step away from the moderator’s chair. His final show will be Friday, May 26. For more than 40 years, Vermont This Week has invited Vermont’s best journalists for an unscripted conversation around the political, business and government news of the week on Friday evenings. The show debuted in 1982 with Jack Barry as host. Ledbetter is the third and longest-serving moderator. The program was modeled after PBS’ Washington Week, which airs immediately following Vermont This Week.