Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont National Guard Biathlon Program will host the U.S. Biathlon Summer Rollerski National Championships Aug. 7-8 at the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho.

These races also serve as the first of eight Olympic qualifiers for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Athletes must place in six qualifying races to compete for the U.S. Olympic team.

"We host this event every year; it's always exciting especially in an Olympic Year," said Maj. Kevin Elmer, National Guard Biathlon coordinator. "The great thing about hosting the first race is our athletes know the course and will hopefully benefit from some home-field advantage to kick off the qualifying season."

Vermont Business Magazine The sixth annual Southern Vermont Summer Homebrew Festival returned to Bennington this past weekend to the delight of many brewers and patrons alike! The festival was held on the former Tuttle lot location, but closed down parts of Depot Street and extended into the Anytime Fitness lot for maximum space and enjoyment. From noon to 4pm ticket holders enjoyed unlimited samples of home-brewed beer, wine, mead, cider and more.

Included in the festival was musical entertainment provided by Luminous Crush, as well as food truck specials from The Rollin’ Rooster, Los Lobos Tacos and Hound Dogs.

Vermont Business Magazine The single-owner lifetime collection of Robert “Bob” Bearor – an incredible assemblage of Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles, parts and memorabilia dating as far back as 1908, to include rare and important barn find motorcycles that are finally seeing the light of day, plus vintage cars, midget race cars, antique tractors, chainsaws, vintage fishing lures and more – will all come up for bid on Saturday, August 14th at the Vermont State Fairgrounds in Rutland, from 10 am-6 pm Eastern time, by VanDerBrink Auctions

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Air National Guard members will return from Red Flag exercise at Nellis Air Force Base beginning Friday, 6 August.

“The Airmen of the 158th Fighter Wing stood out as top performers during this most advanced Red Flag exercise,” said Command Chief Master Sergeant Jeffrey Stebbins, 158th Fighter Wing Command Chief. “Our Airmen trained in a 24 hour shift model, during some of the most extreme weather conditions they’ve faced to date, up to 115 degrees.”

Vermont Business Magazine The construction industry added 11,000 jobs between June and July but nonresidential construction employment remains far below pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials said nonresidential construction has been affected by declining demand for projects, particularly for public infrastructure work, and urged Congress to quickly pass the new bipartisan infrastructure measure.

“Contractors are plagued by soaring materials costs, long or uncertain delivery times, and hesitancy by project owners to commit to construction,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Recovery has been especially slow in infrastructure construction.”

Vermont Business Magazine “As an academic health system, we rely on data, research and science to keep our patients healthy and save lives. The recent rise of COVID-19 cases in our region and across the country due to the highly contagious delta variant has made one thing crystal clear: vaccination is how we control the spread and hopefully end this pandemic. As a health care provider, our consistent message through the pandemic has been to get vaccinated to protect yourself and others, and it is imperative that we do the right thing to protect our patients, our communities and our employees.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement:

“I join Vermonters across the state in congratulating Franklin County’s Elle Purrier St. Pierre on her remarkable achievements in Tokyo, becoming an Olympic finalist.

“Elle showed the world what this Brave Little State is capable of, and she should be incredibly proud of what she’s accomplished. Vermonters are eagerly awaiting her return home so we can celebrate her success on the world stage and thank her for inspiring us.”

Source: Governor 8.6.2021. Montpelier www.vermont.gov

Vaccination

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor is reminding claimants the federal expansion of unemployment insurance benefits created under the CARES Act will end September 6, 2021. This includes Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). The Department will be increasing outreach and assistance to help claimants transition into the workforce or find training or educational opportunities.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced a series of new walk-in vaccination clinics that will be open at schools across Vermont next week. You can either walk-in, or you can also visit healthvermont.gov/MyVaccine to guarantee your spot by making an appointment online or by phone.

“As the school year approaches, we want as many eligible Vermont students as possible to get vaccinated,” said Governor Scott. “That’s why we’re setting up more school-based vaccine clinics for students and their families. These clinics are open, not only to our students, but to anyone who needs to get their shot.”

Vermont Business Magazine The investigation is continuing Thursday night by the Vermont State Police into the fatal officer-involved shooting by a member of the Hartford Police Department that occurred earlier in the day.

The deceased subject is a white man believed to be in his 30s. The names of those involved will be released as the investigation progresses.