Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Local Support and Community Action Team led by Paul Costello, Executive Director of Vermont Council on Rural Development, today released its interim report for economic and social recovery. The Action Team was convened in mid-April as part of the Economic Mitigation and Recovery Task Force and charged by Governor Scott with identifying and replicating regional and community recovery initiatives and gaps in recovery efforts to ensure equitable distribution of resources, especially in rural areas and underserved populations. The report emphasizes six initial recommendations, many already underway and part of the State’s first phases of economic mitigation proposals.

Vermont Business Magazine Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has selected Further, a leader in health care spending and savings account administration, to administer their consumer directed health plan (CDHP) spending account administration services starting January 1, 2021. The relationship provides Blue Cross members a consistent, high quality experience to pay for qualified health-related expenses pre-taxed through Further’s health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), and flexible spending accounts (FSAs).

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott announced at his press briefing Monday and has signed an Executive Order to form the Racial Equity Task Force as a component of a broader state effort to promote racial, ethnic and cultural equity, including in its response to COVID-19. Executive Director of Racial Equity Xusana Davis will chair the task force.

Vermont State Police On 06/01/2020 at approximately 1533 hours, Troopers from the Vermont State Police responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash in the area of Vermont Route 103 north of Town Hill Rd in the Town of Shrewsbury. Preliminary investigation indicated that vehicle #1, operated by Ryan Ahonen age 21 of Mt. Holly, was traveling northbound when Vehicle #1 crossed the solid double yellow centerline into the southbound travel lane and crashed into vehicle #2, operated by Benjamin Dufield age 49 of Springfield, VT. Dufield was uninjured. Ahonen was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Agency of Commerce & Community Development The Department of Economic Development will host a virtual town hall on Friday, June 5th at 2:00pm to share updates about the Paycheck Protection Program. Funds are still available for businesses to access. Representatives from the SBA and local banks and credit unions will be available to answer questions.

by Devon Green​ Vice President of Government Relations, VAHHS Coronavirus $1.25 Billion Relief Fund: VAHHS updated the health care committees on the current financial status of Vermont’s hospitals, noting that while hospitals have received federal funding, the amount does not cover the Medicare advance payments that hospitals turned to at the beginning of the crisis to fund COVID-19 preparation. These are loans from the federal government with a 10.2 percent interest rate.

by John McClaughry A year from now Vermont state government will almost certainly look quite a bit different than it does now. We will hopefully have worked through much of the economic destruction of the COVID- 19 pandemic. State government will have pocketed and allocated $1.25 billion in Federal funds to cushion the pandemic’s impact, but that pot of gold will not be continually replenished.

Vermont, facing a $250 million shortfall in General Fund revenues for the fiscal year that starts a month from now, will have to rethink what it is and what it does. To undertake that task intelligently we must bravely launch a thorough-going Performance Review.

A Performance Review is not merely a process for squeezing out waste from the current operations of our $6 billion state government. Every administration proposes to take aggressive action to improve operational efficiency and squeeze out waste.

Vermont Business Magazine Two organizations focused on reducing hunger in northern Vermont – the Johnson Food Shelf and a mobile food effort in the Northeast Kingdom known as the Lunchbox - were awarded grants recently by the Vermont Electric Co-op’s Community Fund.

Green Mountain Care Board The Board will be holding its meetings in April, May, and June 2020 via conference call/Skype web presentation due to the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Per Act 92, signed by Governor Scott on March 30, 2020, public meetings are not required to have a physical location during this state of emergency. All members of the public are welcome to call into the Board Meetings (the call-in information will be listed on the agenda, meeting materials will be listed below, and presenters will clearly state what slide they are on) or they can attend via Skype video.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported two new cases of COVID-19, no deaths, and none hospitalized. But Governor Scott began his remarks at today's press briefing by talking about the death of George Floyd in Minnesota at the hands of police, the reactions, and the justifiable outrage it sparked across the nation. He announced the formation of a Racial Equity Task Force. He also supported the call for charging all four police officers in the case with murder. Scott said he was proud of how Vermonters protested peacefully in response. VDH Commissioner Levine urged protesters to maintain the social distancing and the wearing of facial coverings even as he acknowledged the necessity of crowd sizes being larger than the health guidance would otherwise warrant.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) today announced a restart plan for resuming driver’s license tests and a new service for Vermonters to receive their learner’s permit online as the state begins limited resumption of services paused due to COVID-19. Starting today, Vermonters can take the learner’s permit test online at the DMV website, dmv.vermont.gov. Those who pass will receive their learner’s permit in the mail within three weeks. This new online test is for a standard learner’s permit only and does not include motorcycles or commercial vehicles. Additionally, the DMV will resume offering driver’s license examinations next Monday, June 8. Starting today, customers who had a driving exam cancelled due to COVID-19 during March or April will be contacted by the DMV to reschedule their exam.

Vermont Business Magazine Laura R Walker has been selected to be the next President of Bennington College. A pioneering media executive and leader in the arts, Walker has a long record of empowering prominent non-profit institutions to realize their creative potential and strengthen their impact. Walker is widely recognized for leading the transformation of New York Public Radio (NYPR) into an independent media powerhouse -- effectively setting and supporting an entirely new paradigm for public media -- and for spearheading highly successful, innovative initiatives at Sesame Workshop and Carnegie Hall.