Current News

by Aly Richards, CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, and Dimitri Garder, CEO of Global-Z International Earlier this month, a report commissioned by the Vermont Legislature declared our state’s child care system to be “fundamentally broken,” validating what so many of us have known and experienced. The study, which is titled Vermont Child Care and Early Childhood Education Systems Analysis, was based on interviews with more than 85 early childhood education stakeholders and dozens of previous state reports and data on the topic. Now that the report is here, we can firmly say that it details what we’ve known for years: our child care system isn't working for anyone – not for children, families, essential early childhood educators, and certainly not for our workforce and economy.

Vermont Business Magazine Forecasters are calling for a storm to bring heavy rain, lightning, and strong winds to most of Vermont starting early Thursday afternoon. GMP is urging safety for customers as some outages are possible and travel could be difficult during this regional storm. GMP’s field forces are prepared to respond along with external help to supplement GMP crews if needed.

Vermont State Police On July 19, 2022 at approximately 1717 hours, Vermont State Police were dispatched to a motor vehicle crash involving a passenger car and an ATV on VT Route 100 near North Road in the town of Eden. Preliminary investigation indicated that Anthony Acorace (56) of North Troy, VT was traveling north on VT Route 100 in a 2009 Hyundai Accent when Lewis Jones (75) of Eden, pulled out of a residence onto VT Route 100 operating a 2011 Honda Foreman. Acorace attempted to swerve into the opposite lane to avoid colliding with the ATV. However, the vehicle collided in the center of the north and southbound lanes. Jones succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

​Vermont State Police Police in Vermont and Massachusetts are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the suspicious death of 23-year-old Mary Anderson of Harvard, Massachusetts. A concurrent investigation also remains active into the fatal police shooting of Matthew Davis, who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and death. Davis, 34, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, died following an officer-involved shooting Tuesday night in West Brattleboro. The shooting occurred after a short foot pursuit when Davis pulled a knife and lunged at police who were seeking to speak with him regarding Anderson’s death.

Vermont Business Magazine With the pandemic straining access to mental health services and substance misuse at an all-time high, Vermont Blue Advantage announces a new partnership with the Brattleboro Retreat and Vermont Collaborative Care to build support for Medicare-eligible Vermonters that integrates the management of substance use disorder and mental health with physical health care. According to the Vermont Department of Health, between 15,000 and 20,000 Vermonters with opioid use disorder are in need of treatment. A recent presentation to the Green Mountain Care Board noted that 58% of emergency department patients have a mental health diagnosis, yet only half of those referred with mental health problems receive follow up care.

Statement From The Office Of Senator Patrick Leahy Senator Leahy has continued to make progress in his rehabilitation after surgery on June 30 to repair and replace a fractured hip that he suffered from a fall at his house in McLean, Virginia. On Tuesday, Senator Leahy’s surgical team found it necessary to perform an additional surgery to help advance his recovery. Senator Leahy was back in his rehabilitation room by Tuesday evening and is once again working diligently with the physical therapists to return home as soon as possible.

Vermont Business Magazine With a stroke of the pen, the Vermont National Guard and Republic of Austria’s Letter of Intent under the State Partnership is official. On July 19, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight, Vermont’s Adjutant General, U.S. Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, Chief of National Guard Bureau, Klaudia Tanner, Federal Minister of Defense of the Republic of Austria, and Lt. Gen. Erich Csitkovits, Training Director and Commandant, National Defence Academy, performed a signing ceremony in Vienna to recognize and formalize the relationship between the Republic of Austria and Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank, a leading socially responsible community-dedicated bank with branch locations in southern Vermont, New England and New York, has announced over $1.1 million in philanthropic investments from its Foundation during the second quarter of 2022. The grants awarded cover a wide range of projects that help foster upward economic mobility, support overall well-being, and enhance opportunities for individual success in the communities the Bank serves. The Vermont recipients include The Dorset Equine Rescue; Vermont Women's Fund; and VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Safety and the State Police Advisory Commission today are releasing the fourth semiannual detailed summary of internal investigations involving members of the Vermont State Police. The release of these detailed synopses began in January 2021 and is designed to provide greater transparency, public awareness, and oversight to the activities of the Vermont State Police, while balancing rules regarding internal investigations and the need to have internal investigations completed before public dissemination.

Vermont Business Magazine Music to Life, a national nonprofit founded by Noel Paul Stookey of the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary, has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to fund its signature Accelerator programs for social justice musicians. This grant enables Music to Life, based in Wilder, to create up to four national Accelerator Academies over the next three years, tapping musicians across all geographies, genres and generations to engage in an eight-month intensive incubator program. Participants will receive business skills training in strategic planning, organizing, management and fundraising to develop and execute their music and social-justice driven concepts.

Vermont Business Magazine As of July 1, 2022, Allison Hooper will serve as chair of the Sterling College Board of Trustees, following Peter Chehayl who has held the position since 2017. Allison was first elected to the board in 2014 and has served as both an at-large member and vice chair. Allison made her mark as one of the first artisan cheesemakers in the country, co-founding Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. (now Vermont Creamery) in 1984, and, over the years, winning more than 100 awards and bringing French-style cheeses, butter, and other everyday delicacies to the American table. As president of the American Cheese Society from 2005 to 2008 and the founding president of the Vermont Cheese Council, Allison has been a voice for and mentor to U.S. cheesemakers. In 2015, she was named by Food & Wine, Forbes, and Fortune magazines as one of the “most innovative women in food and drink.” In 2018 she was named to the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Nicholas Deml issued a statement following the arrest of Northeast Correctional Complex (NECC) Correctional Officer I Michael Baker Monday on charges of First Degree Aggravated Domestic Assault; Aggravated Sexual Assault; Interference with Access to Emergency Services; and Offense Committed within the Presence of a Child.