Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the opening of the application for appointment as the public member to the Racial Equity Task Force. The Task Force will be chaired by the State’s Executive Director of Racial Equity Xusana Davis and include up to seven additional members, including one member of the public. It will submit recommendations to the governor on the first project by August 15 and preliminary recommendations on the second and third by December 15.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness stated today that 1,110 Vermonters experienced literal homelessness on a one-day count January 22, 2020, although this number suggests that as a state we have been able to stabilize our homeless population, this is no longer the case. As COVID-19 struck, the state of homelessness in Vermont has changed drastically. As of the end of May 2020, there are currently 1,489 persons in state funded General Assistance (GA motels).

Vermont Business Magazine Effective June 15, 2020, some intra-squad activities and practices can begin to take place. Group numbers, including players, coaches and officials, may not exceed current limits on social gatherings – currently 25 or fewer individuals. On Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 3:00pm, Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Heather Pelham and Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Ted Brady will host a webinar to discuss implementing and understanding the recently released restart guidance for the lodging sector.​

Vermont Business Magazine At Monday’s press briefing, Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, said as testing efforts continue, we are getting a clearer picture of the outbreak of COVID-19 that emerged in Winooski about two weeks ago. The outbreak is now known to include people in neighboring Burlington. As of Sunday evening, a total of 62 cases are believed to be associated with the outbreak: 48 residents of Winooski, 9 Burlington residents, and 5 from other towns in Chittenden County. That includes 38 adults, and the rest children. People range in age from 1 to 64 years, with a median age of 21.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott once again began his media briefing today by supporting the demonstrations that happened across the state over the weekend regarding the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the subsequent Black Lives Matter response. He said he was proud of Vermonters both for the stand they're taking and for the peaceful way in which they’re doing it.

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Last week, House and Senate leadership announced plans to move forward with an immediate economic relief bill modeled largely off of the grant programs detailed in the Scott Administration's Restart Vermont Economic Recovery Package pitched last month. As a refresher, Governor Scott's plan would use $400 million of the $1.25 billion in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) Vermont received through the CARES Act.

Vermont Business Magazine At Governor Phil Scott’s press conference today, a reporter asked about a rumored positive case of COVID-19 associated with Mountain View Center located in Rutland, which is a longterm care facility. Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, stated that there was a positive case, and that facility-wide testing was being planned. Unfortunately, Dr. Levine was not aware of additional information learned this morning – that the test result was determined to be a false positive.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest mountain resort in Eastern North America, today announced Play It Forward, a newly launched employee and community-centric philanthropic platform designed to support the local community during COVID-19 and beyond. As part of Killington Resort’s Play Forever corporate responsibility commitment to protecting the environment and enabling participation, Play It Forward engages charitable giving through partnerships with local community foundations.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the American Council of Engineering Companies of Vermont (ACEC of Vermont) announced the 2020 recipients of its annual Engineering Excellence Awards. ACEC of Vermont’s annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) competition recognizes outstanding achievements in engineering projects completed in Vermont. A record setting, 27 EEA applications were submitted this year.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) on Friday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig demanding improvements to the Economic Impact Payment program. Delegation offices have heard from many Vermonters who are frustrated that they still have not received their payments and about the IRS’s poor communication.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Sunday reported that since Friday there have been 36 new cases of COVID-19 statewide. Nearly all of these are associated with the outbreak in Winooski that was reported earlier in the week. Just over 2,000 tests have been administered across the state and a new pop-up site in Winooski is available to anyone free of charge. The site will continue taking tests this coming week. However, there have been no new deaths associated with the outbreak or anywhere else in Vermont for more than a week and are holding at 55. There is one person hospitalized. However, the overall data suggests that this outbreak is localized and contained. With that, Governor Scott is allowing indoor dining with guidance will be allowed starting Monday. Visitors from certain low-case-count counties in New York and New England also will be able to travel to Vermont without quarantine.

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont and Champlain College students who are returning to Burlington can get tested for COVID-19 at sites on the UVM campus. The specimen collection is being done in collaboration with the Vermont Department of Health, and with the assistance of trained members of the Vermont National Guard.