Current News

UVM Today A commentary published in the journal Pediatrics, the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, concludes that children infrequently transmit Covid-19 to each other or to adults and that many schools, provided they follow appropriate social distancing guidelines and take into account rates of transmission in their community, can and should reopen in the fall. The authors, Benjamin Lee, MD and William V Raszka, Jr, MD, are both pediatric infectious disease specialists on the faculty of the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. Dr Raszka is an associate editor of Pediatrics.

Vermont Business Magazine The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Massachusetts against the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), challenges what the coalition calls the federal government’s “cruel, abrupt, and unlawful action to expel international students amidst the pandemic that has wrought death and disruption across the United States.”

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University has been awarded a $138,917, three-year grant from the Davis Educational Foundation for “Building a Humanities-Centered Interdisciplinary Curriculum to Foster Citizen Scholars,” the second phase of the Norwich Humanities Initiative. This work aims to create an interdisciplinary minor that combines the humanities with technical and professional studies.

The Norwich Humanities Initiative launched in 2018-19 with the support of a $35,000 Humanities Connections Planning Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The initiative was created to promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning and to foster the development of citizen scholars. In May 2020, Norwich University was awarded a $100,000 Humanities Connections Implementation Grant from the NEH to continue this work.

Vermont Business Magazine Windham County residents of all ages and various employment needs are now able to connect with employers and learn about local employment opportunities virtually. The website is designed to support job-seekers, especially those impacted by COVID-19, as face-to-face hiring events remain cancelled for the foreseeable future and many Vermonters are unemployed due to the crisis.

The website will serve as a replacement for the annual Southern Vermont Career Expo, traditionally held every fall in Brattleboro, and the Expo IS managed and staffed by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation in partnership with the Vermont Department of Labor and the Southern Vermont Career Expo team.

Vermont Business Magazine In light of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Vermont will not require standardized test score submissions for undergraduate students applying in 2020-21. This decision reflects uncertainty surrounding test-taking opportunities and aligns with changes being made in higher education throughout the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine Along with recent guidance on money for housing and preventing homelessness, college reopening and the $163 million in grants for businesses and nonprofits, new rules also allow for larger gatherings for outside events under specific conditions.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine Frank Cioffi didn’t sugarcoat what Vermont and Chittenden County are facing: “COVID was a beast and still is a beast and we’re going to be awhile recovering from it,” said Cioffi, president of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp. Cioffi has the facts to back up the toll the pandemic could take on Chittenden County’s businesses. He cites a Brookings Institution analysis that of the 6,631 small businesses in the county, 21 percent are at immediate risk of failure, 30 percent face a near term risk and 47 percent face a longterm risk.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine Despite the challenging times, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger remains an optimist. That’s not so easy when the city you lead is facing a steep drop in revenues and your budget is $62 million. It’s the new normal or at the very least the temporary COVID-19 normal.

by Bruce Edwards, Vermont Business Magazine The restaurant business has never been easy - long hours and tight margins. Enter COVID-19 and that scenario got progressively worse, literally overnight. That’s when Governor Phil Scott took the painful step in mid-March of ordering all non-essential businesses to close. For The Skinny Pancake founder Benjamin Adler, the first priority was to get his people signed up for unemployment insurance.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has welcomed Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer’s (D-NY) support for his amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which has been guaranteed a floor vote during the week of July 20th. "Let me thank Senator Schumer for his support for my amendment to cut the bloated $740 billion Pentagon budget by 10% and invest $74 billion in communities that have been ravaged by extreme poverty and mass incarceration," said Sanders on Twitter. “This amendment will begin to change our national priorities."

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Vermont State Housing Authority, and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency today announced $30 million in housing assistance to those affected by COVID-19. The programs utilize federal CARES Act funding to provide relief for those tenants unable to pay rent, landlords suffering from a loss of rent payments, and those lower income homeowners needing assistance in paying the mortgage.

Vermont Business Magazine During the pandemic, we have heard of many people who have come (or returned) to Vermont to “shelter in place” – sometimes bringing their remote job with them. In collaboration with the Vermont Futures Project and the University of Vermont we are asking people if they think they might stay in Vermont when things return to more normal. And what Vermont might do to keep them here.

Take the survey here. More information is here.

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