Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), will hold a hearing this morning, March 22 at 10 am ET entitled, “Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of the COVID Vaccine?” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel – who became a billionaire during the pandemic after US taxpayers gave his company billions of dollars to research, develop, and distribute its COVID-19 vaccine – has agreed to appear, and a panel of experts will also give testimony.

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Washington, DC boasts many “Hill Days” and this year, for the first time in many years, VMEC headed south to our nation’s capital to attend the March 7 and 8 Hill Day. This annual event, with a focus on public policy, is an opportunity for various groups and institutions to get more involved in the political outreach program as well as educating lawmakers on current issues faced by manufacturers. The Hill Day agenda is designed to provide attendees with a peek into the future of the sector as well as the most recent and comprehensive update on the latest federal events and sector research.​

by The Executive Committee of the VSCS Board of Trustees 10 years from now, we believe Vermont will have a state-wide hybrid university that supports access and aspirations of students from across the state’s rural communities, strengthens Vermont’s workforce, and demonstrates sustainable quality. We are confident of this because of what we have seen faculty, staff, and leaders of the future Vermont State University already accomplish in just a few short years. We pivoted in the emergency of the pandemic. Classes and meetings on Zoom. New and new uses of digital resources and technologies for student advising and collaboration. In the challenges of that time, people came together, sharing resources and expertise across campuses. In a time when interaction was of necessity primarily virtual, human relationships across distance were maintained, and new connections formed.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University announced today that it will host its inaugural Medal of Honor Day on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The day will consist of a series of curated events that pay homage to the Norwich alumni who have gone on to receive the coveted US Medal of Honor award. The Medal of Honor is awarded by the sitting President of the United States to members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty while: engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Tuesday issued the following statement after the administration rejected a march-in rights petition to lower the price of a vital cancer drug: "I am extremely disappointed that the Biden Administration denied a petition by prostate cancer patients to substantially reduce the price of Xtandi. This is a drug that was invented with taxpayer dollars by scientists at UCLA and can be purchased in Canada for one-fifth the U.S. price. The Japanese drugmaker Astellas, which made $1 billion in profits in 2021, has raised the price of this drug by more than 75 percent to over $166,000 per year."

Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released a new report today highlighting potential risks to Vermont’s unique strategy to achieve universal broadband access. The Vermont Community Broadband Board is overseeing the distribution of approximately $350 million to extend high speed internet to every unserved address in the state. At the local level, ten communications union districts (CUDs), which have been formed by groups of Vermont towns, are receiving the funds and partnering with private telecommunications companies to extend fiber to residential and business addresses and to provide service. The report identifies 10 risks the VCBB needs to mitigate to increase the likelihood that every Vermonter will have access to 100/100 Mbps service. The risks range from supply chain issues, to federal spending restrictions, to contract and governance oversight concerns.

Vermont State Police On 03/17/2023 at approximately 1955 hrs., the Vermont State Police along with the Waterbury Fire Department and Waterbury Ambulance Service were called to a report of a person who had been struck by a northbound Amtrak passenger train on the railroad tracks adjacent to the Waterbury - Stowe Amtrak Station. The victim was found to be deceased. The victim in this incident is identified as Ariel Cunningham, 26, of Waterbury, Connecticut. An autopsy was performed at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. The cause of death was identified as blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and the manner of death was determined to be suicide. No further details are available about this case.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Peter Welch, and Representative Becca Balint today announced that President Joseph Biden has declared a Major Disaster for Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, and Washington counties, which suffered substantial damage during the December 22-24, 2022 winter storm. A Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identified nearly $3 million in program eligible costs incurred by public and non-profit utilities and communities in recovering from the storm, far exceeding the $1.14 million minimum Vermont must demonstrate for a disaster declaration. The eight counties included in the declaration each exceeded the $4.44 per capita county indicator needed to qualify communities and public utilities for assistance.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Environmental Conservation Wastewater Program today announced $2.8 million in ARPA awards to help municipalities and companies improve their wastewater quality through pretreatment and capacity management. Industries like metal finishers or landfills produce wastewater that is toxic, or high strength. Pretreatment systems can remove or reduce harmful pollutants in wastewater before it enters municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Proper wastewater management allows municipalities to reserve a facility’s capacity for future development and growth. The program selected seven potential awardees: Town of Brattleboro – Commonwealth Dairy – Windham County – $250,000; Village of Morrisville – Rock Art Brewery – Lamoille County – $45,000; City of Montpelier – New England Waste Services of Vermont, Inc. – Washington County – $1,000,000; Town of Randolph – New England Precision – Orange County – $298,800; City of Vergennes – Collins Aerospace – Addison County – $829,408.93; City of Burlington – Chittenden County – $183,188; City of South Burlington – Chittenden County – $199,000.

Public Assets Institute Refundable tax credits are an important tool for reducing child poverty and advancing racial, social, and economic justice. They get cash to families efficiently, helping them meet basic needs like food, clothing, and housing. During the pandemic, when many people were out of work, the federal government used refundable income and child tax credits as quick ways of easing families’ financial struggles. Some states, Vermont included, followed their lead by passing state-level child tax credits. Vermont’s Child Tax Credit (CTC) provides $1,000 annually per child under 6 to families with adjusted gross incomes up to $125,000. It is fully refundable—families with low or no earnings can receive its full value. Families earning between $125,000 and $175,000 receive a partial credit. In 2023, over 95 percent of Vermont kids under 6—34,000 children—will benefit from the credit, making it the most robust in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Longtime leader at Vermont Law and Graduate School, Beth McCormack, has been named dean of the institution’s law school. With “overwhelming support” from the hiring committee, McCormack was chosen because of her strong showing of student-centered leadership at VLGS over the last two years, her dedication to strengthening the JD program and her love of the school. McCormack first joined the school in 2011 as an assistant professor of law. She has since served as a professor of law, assistant director of academic success, assistant director of the legal writing program, deputy vice dean for academic affairs and vice dean for students.

Vermont Business Magazine Wink, Inc., an industry analyzer, named National Life Group #1 in indexed life sales for the past eight quarters, totaling all of 2021 and 2022. Announced in a March 7 news release, Wink states: “Items of interest in the indexed life market included National Life Group retaining their #1 ranking in indexed life sales, with a 14.7% market share.” An industry trade group, LIMRA, placed National Life as #10 for individual life insurance sales out of all reporting US life insurance companies in 2022.