Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The 21st Century Business Forum will help viewers crack the code on virtues that real team players possess and what it takes to build a thriving culture in August.

The webcast features bestselling author and organizational health guru Patrick Lencioni and is hosted by bestselling author Jon Gordon. It will air at 12PM Wednesday, August 11. Registration is free.

Lencioni is founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and employee engagement.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Medical Society (VMS), which represents 2,400 physicians and physician assistants across Vermont, has signed onto a joint statement urging that employers mandate COVID-19 vaccination for all workers in health care and long-term care settings.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger announced Daniel Richardson as Burlington’s next City Attorney. Richardson brings nearly two decades of legal experience to the City, most recently as Partner at Tarrant Gillies, Richardson & Shems and as an Adjunct Professor at Vermont Law School where he created the school’s first municipal law course.

“Dan’s wealth of experience makes him the clear best candidate for the critical position of City Attorney,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “His knowledge of municipal law, skills in litigation and mediation, professional integrity and superior work ethic will make him an outstanding leader in the City Attorney’s office. I am pleased to welcome him to the City team and know that Burlingtonians will benefit from his work.”

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday issued the following statement after President Joe Biden announced his administration would put in place a new 60-day eviction moratorium in areas with high levels of COVID-19 infections:

“As we’re combatting a deadly pandemic that caused a level of economic suffering we’ve not seen in this country since the Great Depression, we cannot allow families to be thrown out on the street. Today’s extension of the eviction moratorium is life-changing news for millions of people.

“I want to thank the Biden administration for finding a way to keep people in their homes while states distribute the $47 billion in assistance that Democrats in Congress provided in the American Rescue Plan. I’m also very proud of Reps. Cori Bush, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Progressive Caucus for leading the effort to push the federal government to respond directly to the needs of the working class.”

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General T.J. Donovan today announced that his office has reached settlements with three different online sellers of electronic cigarettes for violations of Vermont’s Delivery Sales Ban and Consumer Protection Act. Under the settlements, the companies resolved claims that they sold electronic cigarettes, e-liquids, or other tobacco paraphernalia to individual consumers. As of July 1, 2019, it is illegal to sell electronic cigarettes and related vaping products over the internet to individual Vermont consumers. In total, the companies will pay $165,000 in civil penalties to the State of Vermont. The three settlements come on the heels of announcements in December 2020 and May 2021 that the Attorney General’s Office reached settlements with 10 other online sellers of electronic cigarettes, totaling $307,500 in civil penalties.

Vermont Business Magazine The federal government has authorized the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) to provide temporary food benefits to households who:

• Received 3SquaresVT benefits, and
• Had children under 6 years old in the household.

The first round of benefits, called Pandemic-EBT Childcare, are now being issued for the period October 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021. Children did not have to be enrolled in child care to get the benefit. However, children who received a Pandemic-EBT school benefit in a given month will not get the Pandemic-EBT childcare benefit for that month.

Benefit amounts are as follows:

Vermont Business Magazine Wildgood, a plant-based ice cream and the first non-dairy frozen dessert made with extra virgin olive oil, can now be delivered directly to consumers' doors. Starting today, the brand is offering nationwide shipping (with the exception of AK and HI) for orders placed on Wildgood.com. This expansion comes on the heels of a successful grocery store roll-out in select stores across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region earlier this spring.

Made for ice cream lovers, Wildgood is creamy and decadent yet surprisingly lower in calories and saturated fat. The brand launches with eight flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Coffee, Mango, Pistachio, Chocolate Hazelnut, Sea Salt Caramel and Mint Chocolate Chip. Each flavor is made from pronounceable vegan ingredients and contains less than 2g of saturated fat per serving.

The pandemic shifted Vermonters’ relationship with the outdoors. Everywhere these days, people are socializing through walking, running, paddling, and biking, finding new ways to enjoy movement in nature. From July 12 through August 2, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont encouraged Vermonters to join the fun by posting photos of themselves taking full advantage of summer by exercising outdoors.

Vermont Business Magazine Greensea Systems, creator of OPENSEA®, the universal open architecture software platform for the marine industry recently expanded their Vermont operations by leasing 4,200 ft2 of additional commercial space at The Creamery located at 20 Jolina Court, Richmond, VT. The new commercial space will provide additional office space as well as a much needed engineering laboratory space for research and development.

“I am committed to growing the company in Vermont and right here in Richmond. The new Creamery building presents a great opportunity to expand within walking distance of our current headquarters”, says Ben Kinnaman, Greensea CEO. “Greensea is growing and we are rapidly expanding within the maritime robotics industry. This new facility gives us additional space for vehicle testing, software integration, and control system development.”

The State of Vermont and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services mark a quarter century of cooperative efforts to stop the spread of the rabies, with the 25^th annual Rabies Bait Drop, scheduled to start August 5, 2021. The week-long bait drop is part of a nationally coordinated effort to halt the fatal disease.

Rabies vaccine — in the form of a sweet-smelling oral bait that is attractive to raccoons and skunks — will be dropped in rural areas of Vermont from low-flying aircraft and placed by hand in residential centers. Approximately 450,000 quarter-sized blister packs containing rabies vaccine will be distributed in nearly 100 Vermont communities across nine counties. A switch allows pilots to control where the baits fall – in order to avoid roadways, homes and other places where people are most likely to be.

Vermont Buisness Magazine As part of World Breastfeeding Week, August 1-7, the Brattleboro, Springfield and White River Junction communities will come together to honor breastfeeding, chestfeeding and lactation. The annual global celebration will highlight the international theme of “Protect Breastfeeding, a Shared Responsibility”— emphasizing the idea that all of us play a role in protecting and nurturing young families.

The Vermont Department of Health supports and encourages breastfeeding because of its important health benefits for both the person who is lactating and the baby. Data has shown that for adults, breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers and postpartum depression. In addition to the important nutrition and growth benefits, babies who breastfeed have improved cognitive development and a reduced risk for chronic diseases. Breastfeeding also offers important bonding opportunities for both.

Vermonters should be cautious, but not worry about the more contagious Delta Variant. That’s the message from Gifford Health Care Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Josh White. Delta is causing a rise in cases throughout the world, but according to Dr. White, these COVID-19 variants were expected.

“Viruses mutate, so they can spread better,” Dr. White said. “Delta seems to reproduce much faster, which means when a person coughs or sneezes, there’s a lot more virus in it so it’s much easier to transmit.”

While the Vermont Department of Health is reporting a slight increase in new daily cases (1.8% positive 7-day average), the state’s high vaccination rate is keeping patients out of the hospital.