Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, on Tuesday held the panel’s second hearing of this Congress, titled, “Protecting Real Innovations by Improving Patent Quality.” The hearing features testimony from Bridget Asay, an attorney who represented the State of Vermont against a patent troll that threatened dozens of small Vermont businesses and nonprofits in 2013 with infringement claims on a patent that never should have been issued.

Vermont Business Magazine Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, noted Tuesday that even with low levels of COVID in Vermont, the virus still has the potential to change — and to threaten the health of those who are not yet vaccinated. Public health experts now believe the Delta variant will likely become predominant in the US within weeks, Dr Levine said. The variant is showing traits of being far more contagious and may potentially result in more serious illness. Meanwhile, the VDH is reporting three new cases of COVID-19 and no deaths, which are holding at 256. There has been only one death in the last five weeks in Vermont. The state has the highest vaccination rate (CDC: 81.3%), lowest case count and fewest fatalities in the nation.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and the Chittenden County State’s Attorney announced that pursuant to plea agreements filed in federal and state court, Eike Blohm, 39, of South Burlington, Vermont, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of Possession of Child Pornography in federal court, and one count of Lewd & Lascivious Conduct, one count of Voyeurism (Circumstances – First Offense), and 19 counts of Voyeurism (Place – First Offense) in state court.

Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce have announced that Lawson’s Finest Liquids as the winner of the prestigious and highly anticipated Deane C. Davis Outstanding Vermont Business Award, 2020. This annual award honors a Vermont business that shows an outstanding history of sustained growth while displaying an acute awareness of what makes Vermont unique. The award, named for the former governor of Vermont, was created 30 years ago by Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce to recognize and honor the state’s best companies.

​Vermont Business Magazine To offset the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vermont arts and humanities organizations can again apply for emergency relief funding through the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities. A total of $1.2 million in grants seeded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and funded through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) were made available starting June 21 through the new Covid-19 Cultural Recovery Grant Program co-administered by the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has appointed Delaney Courcelle of Rutland to serve on the Vermont Commission on Women, the state’s non-partisan commission working to advance rights and opportunities for women and girls. Courcelle is a senior majoring in Business Administration at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business. Excelling at coursework concentrations in entrepreneurship and finance, she is the recipient of this year's Major Junius Adair Award for Excellence in Finance.

Vermont Business Magazine UVM Health Network - Home Health & Hospice completed its 2021 Virtual Fun Run recently, raising $60,000 to benefit the McClure Miller Respite House. The weeklong event, held May 7-14, included support from members of the community, Home Health & Hospice staff and volunteers, and a broad range of community partners.

by Mike Smith, Secretary of the Agency of Human Services Vermont's response to serving the homeless during the pandemic has been recognized as a national model. The Agency of Human Services is now working hard to ensure the needs of Vermont's homeless households continue to be met as we emerge from the pandemic. Unfortunately, recent reporting regarding changes to the state's emergency housing program did not fully capture this work and barely touched on the historic investments to support the homeless as we move into the recovery phase from the public health emergency caused by COVID-19.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) and Umbrella have announced the recipients of the NEK Prevention Center of Excellence Grant (NEK-PCE) program’s sub-awards. The awards were granted to local partners whose missions support substance misuse prevention.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, June 2nd, IndieReader, one of the original review services for self, hybrid and independently published authors, announced the winners of the tenth annual IndieReader Discovery Awards for 2021. The Violin Family published by Rootstock Publishing of Montpelier, Vermont, and written by Melissa Perley of Berlin, Vermont, won in the children’s category.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Lung Association in Vermont announced that it will host its first-ever Virtual Fight For Air Climb Vermont, beginning on July 1, 2021, and lasting through September 1, 2021. The Climb will operate as a virtual-only event to support research, advocacy, and education for lung diseases, lung cancer, and COVID-19 with a fundraising goal of raising over $10,000.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr Trey Dobson, a weekly interactive, multiplatform medical-themed talk show, will feature Meghan Gunn, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), on its June 23 program. The show will air at noon, and Gunn will offer her insights about COVID-19 vaccines for children.