Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that 11 new plug-in electric vehicle (EV) fast-charge stations are scheduled to be installed across Vermont over the next two years. The charge stations will be located in Newport, Enosburgh, St Johnsbury, Johnson, South Hero, Springfield, Fair Haven, Wilmington, Ludlow, Randolph and Rutland. The chargers will be a part of the Blink Network and available to all EV drivers. When these new stations are completed, nearly every Vermonter will be within 30 miles of a fast-charge station. They will cost $1.7 million and will be paid for from the Volkswagen settlement. Vermont has the greatest number of EV stations in the nation per capita, with 114 public EV chargers per 100,000 people, and the number of registered EVs in Vermont has risen by 321 percent since 2015.

Vermont Business Magazine Registration is now open for the Fourth Annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit at www.sovermontzone.com/summit. This three-day virtual event will be held May 12th, 13th, and 14th. The 2021 summit theme is “Reconnect”. It’s a chance to reconnect with one another, and with new ideas. The summit features workshops, networking, panel sessions, and special speakers focused on small business development, reimagining wealth-building for our communities, small scale changes to strengthen communities, and a 3-part New-to-Vermont lunch series.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Regular weekly unemployment claims last week fell by 157, and were under 1,000 for the first time this year and the first time since last fall. Numbers increased nationally, which was not expected. Economists suggest 2021 is off to a sluggish start.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Sunday is reporting 129 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 14,493 and one more death for a statewide total of 197. On Saturday they reported 109 new cases and three deaths. VDH is also reminding Vermonters that they can create an account to get vaccinated even if they are not eligible yet to receive one. VDH expects to open up the next vaccination for those 65 or older about March 1.

by Jill Mazza Olson, Executive Director, VNAs of Vermont Home health and hospice agencies have played a critical role in pandemic response since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, providing health care and personal care at home—including COVID-19 care—keeping patients safer and reducing the pressures on hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Now home health agencies and hospice agencies have a new role—making sure homebound Vermonters eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations can get them. They began by screening the Vermonters they serve to identify anyone who cannot safely get to a vaccination clinic.

On February 5, teams of home health and hospice agency nurses and emergency medical services (EMS) providers began vaccinating homebound Vermonters—and eligible family members—at home.

by Suresh V Garimella I’ve heard this criticism of higher education inside Vermont and out: University leaders are using the pandemic as an excuse to implement large budget cuts they were planning to make anyway. I don’t agree, at least in the case of the University of Vermont, but perhaps not for the reasons you might think.

Vermont Business Magazine The University System of New Hampshire (USNH) Board of Trustees, which includes the University of New Hampshire, said in a statement last week that it strongly supports Governor Chris Sununu’s visionary and timely plan to create one system of higher education in New Hampshire. The Board believes that joining USNH with the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) is the best possible approach to securing, for the long term, the state’s capacity to offer all its residents affordable, accessible, and diverse pathways to a high quality education, from technical certificates to advanced graduate degrees to programs for lifelong learning and professional growth.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s John and Mary Frances Patton Peace & War Center will host the second Peace and War Summit, which will address the escalating US-China rivalry in 11 virtual sessions held over seven weeks from March 3 to April 21. The summit will highlight military/security, economic, cyber and technological challenges and follows Norwich’s tradition of hosting leading scholars and policy experts to examine significant international issues.

Leonine Public Affairs Policy committees in the House spent the week finalizing their budget recommendations for FY2022. Each policy committee submits their recommendations to the House Appropriations Committee for the area of the budget over which they have jurisdiction. The House Appropriations Committee will spend the next three weeks considering the recommendations and crafting the FY2022 budget. The policy committees and House Appropriations Committee heard testimony this week from various state agencies and departments as well as other stakeholders from the private sector and the public. The budget memos all focus heavily on COVID-19 recovery and response and make recommendations on how to appropriate funds.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Friday announced a welcomed update to the state’s travel quarantine policy. This change represents an important turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective Tuesday, February 23rd, people who are fully vaccinated and at least 14 days out from their final vaccine dose can travel to and from Vermont without quarantine restrictions. In addition, a fully-vaccinated person who comes in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 will not be required to quarantine.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Foundation and its Samara Fund are delighted to recognize Alison Hannan for her generosity in naming both organizations as primary beneficiaries of her estate. Alison and her husband Tom were residents of Guilford since 1969. The Foundation received $350,000 in total, half of which will be credited to the Samara Fund’s Our Work is Not Done campaign to grow the endowment and annual grantmaking.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Jump$tart Coalition is pleased to partner with the Vermont Access Network, the State Treasurer’s office, and Front Porch Forum to announce an original video contest for youth, with the goal to help them better understand the importance of managing money responsibly. This year’s theme: “Save for a Rainy Day” is a follow-up to last year’s contest theme “Making Money Means Making Decisions.”