Current News
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Reports of scams to the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) totaled 5,154 in 2021, up just slightly from the previous year’s 5,021 reports. Two variations of the Computer Tech Support scam and the Online Listing scam claimed the number one, three, and seven spots respectively on CAP’s list of top ten scams in 2021, covering nearly a quarter of the total reports filed by Vermonters. Businesses were also targeted by internet-based scams in 2021. The Business Imposter Email Scam, where scammers represent themselves as business personnel to extort funds, had 62 reports filed—a figure that did not make the top ten but notably jumped nearly 50% from the previous year.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Retired NFL quarterback Drew Brees says he always has been a positive person, so much so that his New Orleans Saints teammates used to call him "annoyingly optimistic." Perhaps that's why the 2010 Super Bowl champion turned broadcaster and businessman sees adversity as a way for leaders to build their inner strength and mental toughness rather than as something to fear.
"You are going to have all types of adversity, you're going to have all types of moments and circumstances where all of a sudden it feels like you're off course (and) going in a direction that you and your team did not expect," Brees said. "And yet you have to be the calm hand that steers the ship."
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray today unveiled portraits of the three former Vermont women lieutenant governors: Consuelo N Bailey (1955-1957), Madeleine M Kunin (1979-1983), and Barbara W Snelling (1993-1997) in the Senate Chamber of the Vermont State House.
by tim
Stonyfield Co-Founder Gary Hirshberg Announces New Northeast Organic Family Farm
Vermont Business Magazine Last fall, 89 organic family farms across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and eastern New York received the sudden news that Horizon, a brand owned by Danone North America, was terminating their purchase contracts, effective in early 2023. Subsequently Maple Hill Creamery announced the cancellation of contracts for an additional 46 farms. This news put these farms, many of whom have been in business for generations, at serious risk of closure unless they find alternate outlets. Today, Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Co-Founder and former long-time CEO, is announcing the launch of the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership, a first-of-its kind partnership, created to solve the crisis of disappearing family farms.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) Tuesday issued the following statement after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule that would cover Aduhelm, the outrageously expensive Alzheimer’s treatment, and similar drugs in development only for people enrolled in qualifying clinical trials: “Biogen’s outrageous original price for Aduhelm, $56,000 per year, is the poster child for how dysfunctional our drug pricing system has become and it is the perfect example of why Medicare should be negotiating drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. If the administration takes no action, Medicare recipients will continue to see their biggest premium increase in history, all because of Biogen’s greed. That cannot be allowed to happen."
by tim
350,000 TESTS AVAILABLE IN FIRST PHASE OF PILOT PROJECT
Vermont Business Magazine Beginning at 10 am today, Vermonter’s can help ‘test’ a new system for ordering and delivering rapid COVID-19 tests by visiting SayYesCovidHomeTest.org. The program was developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is expected to deliver up to 500,000 recently purchased rapid COVID-19 tests to households across the state in two phases, beginning with 350,000 tests (175,000 kits with two tests each). Details of when the 150,000 additional tests may be made available are still to be determined. The date will be set following review of lessons learned in the first round, the production timeline of the test manufacturer and other considerations.
by tim
$500,000 IN GRANTS TO MODERNIZE ZONING
Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced $500,000 in Bylaw Modernization Grants to align regulations that support more homes in great neighborhoods. The funding supports 23 projects in 41 municipalities to explore modernizing regulations and addressing the need for increased housing in downtowns, village centers, and surrounding neighborhoods.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine DealerPolicy, the leading insurance marketplace for automotive retail, today announced a strategic partnership with APCO Holdings, LLC, a leading provider and administrator of F&I products and home to the EasyCare and GWC Warranty brands. With this alliance, DealerPolicy's innovative and cost-saving personal insurance platform will now be offered through APCO's vast network of franchise and independent dealers.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Big Heavy World has been approved for a $10,000 Grant for Arts Projects award to support its work as a music development office. Big Heavy World coordinates volunteers who archive and promote music from Vermont, building community and celebrating the state’s ubiquitous creativity. Five Vermont organizations received a total of $78,000 in grants: New England Center for Circus Arts (aka NECCA); Marble House Project, Inc; Tupelo Press, Inc; and Weston Playhouse Theatre.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Keith Partridge, 37, of Springfield, Vermont, was arraigned today on two felony and three misdemeanor counts of Possession of Child Sex Abuse Materials. The charges brought against Partridge are the result of a criminal investigation – including the execution of residential and online data search warrants – conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), including personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Vermont State Police, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and Springfield Police Department.
by tim
by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The COVID-19 case data is still backed up after a technical glitch inside the State of Vermont's system in the reporting of test results. However, data is expected to be updated Wednesday. In the meantime, the VDH and DFR are estimating that case counts will increase about 4,000 since the system was disrupted beginning last Saturday. Going forward with the more virulent Omicron variant, cases will be going up from the current about 2,000 a day to upwards of 5,000 a day through the end of the month, before they begin to subside in February. As for testing, the state will be relying more heavily on self reporting as rapid antigen tests become more prominent. The rapid tests will become the standard in schools as daily testing of close contacts will replace the PCR surveillance testing and contact tracing now used in the Test to Stay program.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The Department for Children and Families announced today that many 3SquaresVT households will continue to receive a higher benefit in January and February. This extra help is part of the federal Coronavirus Relief Bill. It will not permanently change a household’s monthly benefit. It is a temporary increase from the federal government to help those affected by the pandemic. Households at a zero benefit will not receive a benefit. Everyone else will receive the maximum benefit for their household size.