Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development has announced that the first economic recovery grant payments are being sent to Vermont businesses as of today. Between ACCD and the Vermont Department of Taxes, $45 million is now on the way to Vermont businesses in need. Applications are continuing to be processed, but there is still money available.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Appropriations and Foreign Relations Committees, and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Tuesday introduced the No WHO Withdrawal Act to block President Trump’s attempt to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and prohibit congressionally appropriated funds from being used to execute a withdrawal.

Vermont Business Magazine Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote to Attorney General William Barr and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Tuesday, demanding information on whether and how the Trump administration has halted mass surveillance programs authorized by now-expired Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provisions under the USA FREEDOM Act. The senators also demanded information on whether the administration is conducting surveillance that bypasses their statutory authorities, under any illegal claim of inherent surveillance powers.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Business Magazine According to a national financial firm, Vermont continues to have some of the most restrictive guidelines regarding economic recovery from COVID-19, but also has the best outcome, as measured by death rate. WalletHub released its data and report on Monday. Overall, Vermont ranked 43rd for restrictions. Vermont’s COVID-19 fatality rate has been 9 deaths per 100,000 as compared with other parts of the Northeast, which range from 29 to 165 deaths per 100,000. Governor Phil Scott indicated Tuesday that he may institute some level of a mask mandate as early as Friday as other states and the nation as a whole has seen a surge of new COVID-19 cases.

Vermont Business Magazine An economic relief grant program now available will provide grants of $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000 to qualifying sole proprietors through a lottery draw. The program is funded through $1.5 million from the US Housing and Urban Development’s CDBG Program, and passed through ACCD. The application window opened Monday, July 20, 2020 and grants will be awarded through a lottery system on August 14, 2020.

https://www.vermont-cdbg-cv.com/

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University in Northfield has received $17,000 from the High Meadows Fund to support the Center for Global Resilience and Security (CGRS) in its work promoting resilient communities via the Resilient Vermont (RVT) Network. This $17,000 award will support the administration of some of the network programming including developing monthly resilience calls, moving the Academic Resilience Collaborative forward through research-based problem solving in Vermont communities and planning future workshops, conferences and networking platforms. The grant will greatly strengthen the commitment that CGRS and Norwich University’s Office of Academic Research have made to Resilient Vermont with internal funding, personnel, resources and facilities.

Vermont Business Magazine Four times each year, New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) selects four recipient organizations at random to receive $625 each, for a total of $10,000 annually. NEFCU’s community giving donations for the second quarter of 2020 were:

The Howard Center—Children, Youth, and Family Programs. Founded in 1865 to serve widows and orphans of the Civil War, Howard Center today is a national leader in delivering integrated, community-based support for individuals, families, and communities.

Age Well—Meals on Wheels Program. Age Well uses Vermont experience to be a nationally recognized leader in promoting healthy aging, independence, dignity, and personalized choice for older adults.

Burlington Dismas House – Dismas House is a supportive community providing housing for former prisoners transitioning from incarceration.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott said Vermont officials are watching the “forest fire” of cases spreading in the nation’s South and West. Alongside these national trends, and with K-12 schools and colleges reopening in the fall, he is considering a mask mandate, which could come as early as Friday. The state has now gone more than 30 days since we've had a death associated with COVID-19. Vermont also has the lowest total case count in the nation, with seven new cases for a statewide total of 1,366. There also was a recent situation at a Williston childcare facility in which an unmasked adult gave more than one child the virus.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Community Foundation announced $3.6 million in place-based mission investments focused on expanding access to affordable housing and strengthening the state’s agricultural sector—two community assets that are essential for Vermont’s resilience in the face of COVID-19. The suite of loans and equity investments completed over the last four months channels $2.2 million towards building new affordable housing projects throughout the state, and $1.4 million towards securing the land base and expanding markets for Vermont’s farmers.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich Technologies announced today that the company has been awarded a $1.1 million dollar US Department of Energy (DOE) grant to develop a low cost hybrid solar power system that can deliver renewable energy 24 hours a day with the use of long duration thermal energy storage.

Vermont Business Magazine Having received approval from the state of its feasibility study on improving Internet connectivity in Central Vermont, CVFiber is moving forward aggressively in building partnerships and seeking funds to reach its goal of providing fast Internet access throughout the underserved areas of its 20 member towns. Towns in the CVFiber Communications Union District are Barre City, Barre Town, Berlin, Cabot, Calais, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Elmore, Marshfield, Middlesex, Montpelier, Moretown, Northfield, Orange, Plainfield, Roxbury, Washington, Williamstown, Woodbury, and Worcester.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) is working with Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) to produce and deliver free weekly farm shares to 150 families in Washington County this summer and fall. Even in normal times, nearly one in 10 Vermont households experiences food insecurity. COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenges faced by those families, and increased the overall number of households in need of food assistance.