Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Foodbank announces that it has received a $25,000 gift from the Blue Trident Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation led by Jaime and Pamela Ellertson of South Woodstock, Vermont. This gift will be leveraged as a challenge match in 2021, multiplying the impact of other donations to help alleviate the hunger crisis in Vermont — which has increased significantly since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) announced Monday that Vermont has received more than $11 million in additional funding for affordable housing construction, under the American Rescue Plan Act, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). This includes more than $9.5 million for the State of Vermont and $1.5 million for the City of Burlington. This new funding is in addition to the $3.4 million received by the state and city in February.

Vermont Business Magazine By meeting key standards of board oversight, finances, results reporting and fundraising appeals, Pure Water for the World, Inc (PWW) achieved accreditation by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. This accreditation signifies that PWW is deserving of donor trust as they are a well-run nonprofit organization.

Vermont Business Magazine April 9 marked the start of Step 1 of the Vermont Forward reopening plan, which Governor Scott announced last week. It includes: New Travel Policy, effective April 9; Shift to Universal Guidance, effective April 9, "Group A" sectors in the Vermont Forward plan will move to universal guidance measures for business operations, all remaining business sectors ("Group B") can plan to move to universal guidance on May 1; Event and Gathering Update, event organizers can now plan for indoor and outdoor event and gathering sizes to increase gradually starting May 1.

by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) The American Rescue Plan (ARP) is, to my mind, one of the most significant pieces of legislation for working families in the modern history of this country. From $1.3 billion in direct aid to state and local governments; checks for individuals; and, critical investments in housing, health care, and education; this new law addresses the very real needs of Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine Friday, April 9th, marked the start of the Vermont Forward reopening plan, which Governor Scott announced earlier this week. With this plan, our tourism industry has much to look forward to starting today. VDTM would like thank all – innkeepers, hospitality staff, food service professionals, front-line workers, owner-operators, Vermonters, visitors and everyone in between, alike – for your patience, tenacity, creativity, advocacy, and generosity of spirit in supporting each other as we worked toward this moment, and our bright future ahead.

Vermont Business Magazine Middlebury’s Center for the Blue Economy (CBE) in Monterey, California, invites all Middlebury College students, staff, alumni, and friends to join a virtual lobbying effort for ocean climate action on Wednesday, April 14, via Zoom. Participants, who will be organized by state coalitions, will join fellow citizens eager to see far-reaching policy progress on ocean climate issues.

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute Those were among the key reasons the Vermont Tax Structure Commission recommended recently that the state abolish the homestead property tax and move to an income-based school tax for all resident homeowners. We support the Commission’s recommendation. We also urge everyone, but especially policymakers, to read the final report. It addresses many persistent questions that have swirled around education funding for almost 25 years.

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Vermont University invites prospective students to attend virtual open houses for the Johnson and Lyndon campuses. The NVU Johnson campus event will be held on Friday, April 9, and the NVU Lyndon event will be held on Friday, April 16; hours for each are 5 pm to 7:30 pm.

by David Gringeri I am a senior at the University of Vermont about to close out my time here as an undergraduate. I am pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a Global Business theme. I was raised on a family farm in VT and participated in UVM Extension 4-H. The active role I had in the startup and management of my family’s farm exposed me to all aspects of business and encouraged me to enroll in the Grossman School of Business at UVM. During my time at UVM, I took classes outside of the business school and that was something I really valued. I am grateful for the academic and extracurricular experiences that I have had at UVM. UVM has provided me with skills, hands on experience and perspective that has helped me to reach goals that I would not have been able to achieve without the supportive UVM community.

Leonine Public Affairs This week Governor Phil Scott announced his plan to reopen the state and lift the most significant restrictions that have been in place since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Vermont. The Vermont Forward Plan aims to lift gathering, distancing and masking requirements by July 4, although social distancing and masking will continue to be encouraged. On Tuesday Governor Scott released his proposal for how the state should spend roughly $1 billion in one-time federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The state has until December 2024 to allocate these funds, unlike the Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars, which needed to be spent by the end of 2020. In the legislature the Senate approved two constitutional amendments that will now go to the House for consideration. Proposition 2 would remove references to slavery from the Vermont constitution and Proposition 5 would enshrine people’s personal reproductive rights in the Vermont Constitution.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Legislature are celebrating 30 years of VSAC’s Educational Opportunity Center with a proclamation and concurrent resolution, naming the week of April 12, Educational Opportunity Center Week in Vermont. Vermont Student Assistance Corp. is marking three decades of success in the Educational Opportunity Center, a federally funded outreach program that helps Vermont adults access college and career training services that will build the foundation for successful careers.