Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The SBA announced key details Saturday about application requirements, eligibility and a program guide for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The restaurant industry has been among the hardest-hit sectors during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan established the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The SBA will administer the funds to the hardest-hit small restaurants. RRF will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding if funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is investigating the deaths of two individuals whose bodies were found in Lewis Creek in Charlotte on Monday afternoon, April 19, 2021. The bodies were discovered around 12:30 p.m. in the creek near Spear Street and Lewis Creek Road. A child was found alive nearby.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Tax revenue collections for the month of March 2021 once again have exceeded projections for all major funds. The State’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts were a combined $60.81 million, or 39 percent above monthly consensus expectations. State officials attribute the robust results to both some tax filing changes, which have pushed out refunds, and, mostly, to economic gains led by federal stimulus and consumer confidence. While led by the personal income tax and its whopping 129.2 percent increase ($31.8 million), all categories, but for a few minor ones, were above projections for the month.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) announced Monday that Vermont recently received more than $150 million through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Program. The funding will reimburse the State of Vermont for the cost of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and for hotel and motel rooms for vulnerable unhoused Vermonters and others who needed a place to temporarily quarantine.

Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: “This funding helps the State to get shots in arms and slow the spread of COVID among our most vulnerable citizens. By offering safe, temporary housing to those who need it most, we can protect our neighbors and continue to quickly vaccinate Vermonters so we can beat this terrible virus.”

Vermont Business Magazine The joint venture partnership of PC Construction, based in South Burlington, and HJ Russell & Company of Atlanta, announced today that their work on the Atlanta Water Supply Program project received a national Build America Award from the Associated General Contractors of America. The joint venture earned recognition in the New Utility Infrastructure category for the extensive project, which was completed in October 2020. This is the fifth Build America award that PC Construction has earned over the past 15 years.

by Governor Phil Scott and Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray It’s well known that Vermont faces a demographic crisis. We have an aging population, with a shrinking workforce and reduced school enrollment. As a result, Vermonters continue to shoulder an increasing tax burden. Both of us discussed this trend during the last election and we know that for Vermont to recover from this pandemic, as we emerge as one of the safest and healthiest states in the nation, we must take steps to expand our tax base and bring new and diverse skills to our workforce. This includes investments in workforce recruitment and retention initiatives for Vermonters, establishing Vermont as a welcoming state for refugees, promoting Vermont as a home for remote workers and eliminating the tax on military retirement pay.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard National Bank has been selected to participate in two programs offered by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. The first, known as the Equity Builder Program, assists local home buyers with down-payment and closing costs. Equity Builder provides grants to financial institutions to assist households who are purchasing their first home and who are at or below 80 percent of the area median income. Borrowers are eligible to receive up to $15,000 in assistance on a first come first serve basis. Ledyard National Bank is eligible to receive up to $150,000 in 2021 through the program depending on availability of funds.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets is seeking food, beverage or retail business interested in a new fall marketing event! Join us, along with almost 30 other Vermont businesses, in the Vermont Building at the Big E! In 2019, 1.6 million people attended the Big E, making this a great event to showcase your Vermont products to the southern New England audience.

The Vermont Building, located on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield; MA showcases the authenticity, quality, and spirit of Vermont. Each year, companies from across Vermont head down to the Big E to share their products with fair-goers who appreciate the high-quality made-in-Vermont products. The application for a booth space is open now through June 15th.

Vermont Business Magazine A new grant program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, or RRF, is launching soon from SBA for restaurants, brew pubs, food trucks, coffee shops, bars and many more. The new website www.sba.gov/restaurants shares substantial information on how the program will roll out, the application questions and the documents to prepare. The SBA is strongly encouraging all potential applicants to look through this website and get their documents ready as it will be a very popular program. This is not a loan, it is a grant.

Agency of Commerce & Community Development Governor Scott announced Friday that people aged 16, 17 or 18 will be eligible for vaccine sign up on Saturday, April 17th at 10 am. The full 16+ age band will then be eligible to make their vaccination appointments on Monday, April 19th at 6 am. On April 30th, Vermont expects to open vaccine registration to college students who are residents of another state and do not intend to stay in Vermont for the summer, as well as to those who live part of the year in Vermont. This will be based on the vaccine supply received from the federal government.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine People say it's hard to make a living in Vermont, but it's even harder to make a living in the Northeast Kingdom. The north country has always been the state's economic stepchild, rich in natural resources but poor in population and almost everything else. You have to be stubborn and determined to make your business thrive there. And general contractor Grant Spates, the owner of Spates Construction, Inc, is making it work, and on his own terms, too.

Vermont Business Magazine New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) will hold its Spring Shred Fest of 2021 on Saturday, May 8th from 9 am to 1 pm at the Credit Union’s 141 Harvest Lane branch in Williston. All NEFCU Shred Fests are free and open to the public, with ample free parking. To help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, those coming to the event should stay in their cars, wear masks, and maintain social distance from staff and others attending.