Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting 65 new cases of COVID-19 statewide today, which is noticeable lower than nearly any day in the last month. However, the VDH is reporting two more deaths for a statewide total of 81. Hospitalizations (26) and ICU patients (6) also remain high as the coronavirus has infected vulnerable residents in long-term care facilities.

Senator Patrick Leahy As of today, there are more than 14.8 million reported cases of COVID-19 in the United States – one million more than just a week ago. More than 282,000 Americans have died. And it has been 256 days since the Senate passed the CARES Act. Two hundred and fifty-six days since the Senate acted in a comprehensive, meaningful way to address the real – and mounting – concerns and needs of our constituents. Healthcare workers and caregivers, business owners and employees, teachers and students – all in need of support in these difficult and uncertain times. Families wrestling with heightened food insecurity, and the threat of eviction hanging over them. States strapped by budget shortfalls, forced to lay off thousands of employees.

Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission As COVID-19 cases surge across Vermont and the rest of the country, it has left many communities uncertain of winter maintenance in a time of social distancing and quarantining. To quell these uncertainties, there are a couple of strategies to undertake through mutual aid agreements and Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) has launched a new online holiday shopping guide, Buy Vermont Made. The new directory connects shoppers with Vermont retailers and Vermont-made gifts in six categories – wearables, craft beverages, specialty food, home goods, personal care and toys and books.

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast announced today that it will extend its commitments to help people connect to the Internet during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions continue to stay home while many workplaces and schools operate virtually. Comcast will continue to provide free Internet service for the first 60 days for new Internet Essentials customers, and free access to more than 1.5 million public Xfinity WiFi hotspots, the largest network of its kind in the country, through June 30, 2021. Today’s announcement marks the third time Comcast has extended these commitments. Hotspots are scattered across Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank plans to consolidate 16 full-service branches. Following the targeted completion of these initiatives in the first half of 2021, the bank will operate a total of 106 branches across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and New York - reducing the overall branch footprint by 18 percent. Of the first six targeted for closure, none are in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger secured the endorsement of the Burlington Democratic Party during its virtual nominating caucus Sunday evening. South End resident and Campaign Treasurer CD Mattison nominated Mayor Weinberger for the mayoral seat. Mayor Weinberger delivered a speech where he laid out a plan to continue strong focus on containing COVID-19, drive a robust and racially just economic recovery from the pandemic, and shared a vision for Burlington that bases policy on science, data, and expertise.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is identifying the individuals involved in the nearly 12-hour standoff that began Sunday afternoon, December 6, 2020, and concluded safely at 1:21 am Monday. The suspect is Reginald Book, 70, of West Haven. He is facing charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and simple assault. The first two charges arise from Book’s use of his vehicle in an attempt to run over a state trooper at the scene of the standoff on Main Road in West Haven. The third charge stems from an incident earlier Sunday in which he and an adult male relative became involved in a physical altercation, which started this investigation.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement: Today we remember the 79th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor - a day that’s meaningful to Americans both for the loss we experienced and for marking the start of our involvement in World War II. In the days that followed, our nation mobilized an effort larger and more unified than any other. From the frontlines to the factories, Americans stood shoulder to shoulder in the fight against those who threatened our lives, our democracy and our future.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) today announced that it has awarded $500,000 in grants under the Mobility and Transportation Innovation (MTI) program. The purpose of the MTI program is to incentivize innovative strategies that improve both mobility and access for transit-dependent Vermonters, reduce the use of single occupancy vehicles for work trips, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Vermont Business Magazine Seven Days, Vermont’s free, independent newsweekly, is a New England Newspaper of the Year. The paper bested dozens of other regional large-circulation newsweeklies in a competition organized by the New England Newspaper & Press Association. The results were announced in a virtual award ceremony last month. The judges were impressed by the ”tremendous amount of content” in Seven Days — both in print and online — and praised everything from the presentation of obituaries to the web design and navigation.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s congressional delegation — Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I), and Representative Peter Welch (D) — are encouraging Vermont dairy farmers to consider enrolling in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, a voluntary safety net program created in the 2018 Farm Bill to help producers manage volatile milk prices and feed costs. The enrollment period for 2021 closes on Friday, December 11.