Current News

Vermont Business Magazine As was expected, Vermont Electric Co-op members have experienced a significant number of outage events over the course of the day. Over 17,200 VEC members were without power at some point during the day which is about equates to approximately 40% of all VEC members. As of mid-afternoon Friday, 6,685 members were restored so far with more restorations planned before nightfall. High winds throughout the day challenged restoration efforts and this continues to be a multi-day event.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College will receive $10 million in congressionally directed spending as part of the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill thanks to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) The funds are intended to support a new STEAM building and capital improvements as the College expands its STEAM programs, including continued growth of Champlain’s renowned cybersecurity and digital forensics programs, focused efforts in health and the bio-life sciences, and preparation for high-tech careers that foster being more human in a digital world.

Vermont Business Magazine Winter Storm Elliot, a Bomb Cyclone, hit Vermont today with fiery winds leading to tens of thousands of outages in every corner of the state. Gusts in some areas to 70 miles-per-hour ripped whole trees from the ground, snapping electrical poles and causing power lines to break. Crews are out in force repairing outages, even as new outages occur. Winds have begun to die down, but several inches of rain have fallen, and temperatures are expected to plummet this afternoon causing widespread flash freezing making travel and restoration extremely dangerous and slow. GMP expects this to be a multi-day restoration effort.

The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) announced Thursday night that an incarcerated individual housed at Northwest State Correctional Facility (NWSCF) in Saint Albans was in critical condition following an assault by another incarcerated individual. The victim of the assault was transferred to the University of Vermont Medical Center and was undergoing treatment.

ReArch Company is proud to announce the 2022 Employee Driven Philanthropy Recipients. This year’s donations totaled $32,000. With a mission to Improve Lives Through the Built Environment, ReArch Company believes in supporting the communities they serve by being involved, engaged and philanthropic. ReArch is committed to donating a substantial percentage of its profit every year to local charities and non-profit organizations.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Orange County State’s Attorney’s Office today announced the conclusions of their independent reviews of the fatal officer-involved shooting incident that occurred on August 15, 2022, in Ludlow, Vermont. Attorney General Susanne Young and Orange County State’s Attorney Dickson Corbett have declined to prosecute Ludlow Police Officer Zachary Paul for charges related to the fatal shooting of Michael Mills. State’s Attorney Corbett agreed to conduct an independent review of the investigation, as the Windsor County State’s Attorney’s Office recused itself. Based on the facts and circumstances and consistent with Vermont law, Attorney General Young and State’s Attorney Corbett have independently concluded that the use of force by Officer Paul was objectively reasonable and justified.

Vermont Business Magazine The PUMP Act has just passed. The new law, Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (H.R. 3110/ S. 1658), amends—and expands—the current federal law providing workplace lactation accommodation protections. Passed by the House with bipartisan support in October 2021, the bill stalled in the Senate until December 2022 when it was passed as part of the federal spending bill. The PUMP Act amends section 7R of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), “Break Time for Nursing Mothers,” to improve existing workplace lactation protections. Passed in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act, the current law requires employers to provide non-exempt (hourly) employees with break time and a private, non-bathroom space to pump.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Thursday cast his final vote in the Senate, and it was on a bill he led in writing: the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that funds the federal government. Leahy has now cast 17,374 votes, the second-highest vote total in Senate history. The Senate’s action sends it to the House. The final step will be as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leahy, as President Pro Tem of the Senate, sign (engross) the bill, so it can be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The bill contains more than $212 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) included by Leahy, for 38 projects across Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) Thursday announced more than $42 million, which he secured on behalf of 51 Vermont projects, has been included in the $1.7 trillion omnibus legislation that passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday ahead of the Friday deadline. Sanders’ Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) projects for the Fiscal Year 2023 address critical needs across Vermont, including in health care, child care, infrastructure, clean energy and water, farming and agriculture, education, and housing. The year-end spending package, to fund the government through 2023, now heads to the House of Representatives before being signed into law by President Biden.

Vermont Business Magazine The average price of gasoline today in Vermont is $3.40 per gallon, down 8 cents from last week, down 49 cents from last month, but still 4 cents higher than a year ago. The lowest price in Vermont is $2.99/g in West Dover. The highest price is $4.29 in West Bridgewater. The national average price of gasoline is $3.06/g.

Vermont Business Magazine UVM Medical Center’s ongoing work to create partnerships and programs focused on sustainability and environmental excellence in health care has again been recognized by a leading international advocate for sustainable practices. Health Care Without Harm, an international organization focused on environmental reform, sustainability and equity in health care, recently named UVM Medical Center as the recipient of its 2022 Health Care Climate Challenge Silver Awards for Renewable Energy and Climate Resilience.