Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Currently, nearly 1 in 5 teens are vaping and close to 1 in 4 teens are using at least one tobacco product – becoming the next generation addicted to tobacco. In Vermont , our high school tobacco use rates are an alarming 28.2%. We are proud to share that today, Thursday, August 5, 2021, the American Lung Association announced the Vape-Free Schools Scholarship Fund, a new effort to fund schools’ implementation of the Vape-Free Schools Initiative so that more kids can access cessation, support and education.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) issued decisions Thursday requiring Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) and MVP Health Plan, Inc. (MVP) to lower the premiums they sought to charge individuals and families for health insurance in 2022. BCBSVT requested a 7.9% average annual rate increase for its plans, which it lowered to 5.0% based on the recommendations of the GMCB’s actuaries and then increased to 5.2% following the submission of Vermont hospitals’ 2022 budgets.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Department of Corrections (Vermont DOC) is reporting three staff members tested positive for COVID-19 during surveillance testing conducted August 3: two at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF) in South Burlington and one at Northeast Correctional Complex (NECC) in St. Johnsbury.

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Vermont Business Magazine Shelburne Farms and NOFA-VT are offering a year-long professional learning program through their Vermont FEEDpartnership: the Northeast Farm to School Institute. This important initiative supports selected schools in designing and implementing effective, school-wide Farm to School (FTS) programs— that have proven more important than ever through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Lt. Governor Gray joined state leaders in applauding President Joe Biden’s nomination of VT Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Gray released the following statement:

“The nomination of Justice Beth Robinson is a historic step by President Biden to build a judicial system that represents all of us.

For me, and so many Vermont women in the legal profession, Justice Robinson has been a trailblazer and role model. She has been a champion for civil rights and marriage equality and will serve our country, and justice system, well.

I cannot imagine a better replacement for my dear friend and mentor the late Judge Peter W. Hall who carried on Vermont’s tradition and legacy of fairness, judicial independence, and integrity on the Court. I look forward to Justice Robinson’s confirmation and urge the United States Senate to act with haste.”

Vermont Business Magazine celebrated the 2021 winners of the Best of Business Awards (BOB) on Tuesday evening, August 3rd at Hula on the Burlington waterfront. With over 47,000 votes casted for the BOB's and over 100 winners, VBM had over 150 people come to celebrate and accept their awards. Click here to view the photos from the event. VBM would like to thank our sponsors, Community Bank NA, C2, Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer PC and our plaque sponsor Vermont Awards & Engraving. Photos taken by Baldwin Photography.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Thursday announced more than $15 million in funding for specific Vermont projects in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2022 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill that will support the Lake Champlain Basin and renewable energy throughout the state. This is the annual Appropriations bill that funds several federal agencies.

Leahy secured more than $5 million in Congressionally Directed Spending to support the construction phase of the Burlington Electric Department’s district energy project, which will deliver renewable thermal energy to Vermonters from Burlington’s McNeil Biomass Generating Station. In the bill approved Wednesday by the Appropriations Committee, Leahy also secured $5 million to support Vermont Energy Investment Corp’s (VEIC) collaboration with 17 distribution utilities to deploy thermal energy storage technology around the state. The project will better manage energy use by homes, government buildings, schools, and hospitals with a focus on economically distressed rural areas and areas where grid constraints make deploying renewable energy more difficult, like the Northeast Kingdom.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® has again been recognized as one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the United States by Ward Group. This is the thirteenth consecutive year Vermont Mutual has been recognized as a “Ward’s 50” insurer. Every year, Ward Group conducts a comprehensive financial analysis of approximately 3,000 U.S. property and casualty insurers. The “Ward’s 50” designation identifies the top 50 P&C carriers in the U.S. for their consistency, safety and superior financial performance.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement in reaction to President Joe Biden’s nomination of Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit:

“Justice Robinson has been a steadfast public servant for the people of Vermont and has served admirably on the Vermont Supreme Court. She will make a great addition to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, bringing the Vermont values of commitment to justice and equality, fairness, and Freedom & Unity to the bench.

“I applaud the President for making this historic nomination, and I urge the United States Senate to move expeditiously towards her confirmation.”

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate and Former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, strongly praised President Biden’s historic nomination of longtime Vermonter and Vermont Supreme Court Justice Beth Robinson to serve on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Beth Robinson – a pioneer in the national movement for LBGTQ rights and the first openly gay Vermont Supreme Court Justice – would be the first ever openly LGBTQ woman to serve on a federal circuit court of appeals. Justice Robinson’s nomination comes on the heels of the passing of Judge Peter Hall, a legal giant and friend of Senator Leahy who left an indelible imprint on the Second Circuit with his intellect and compassion.