Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont again is ranked highly in the annual, national ranking in the well-being of children, finishing fourth overall. Vermont also did well in the sub-categories for health, education, family and financial. Massachusetts and New Hampshire also ranked highly in the study. However, within many of the categories, Vermont did the same or worse than in the previous report. The 32nd edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT Data Book describes how children across the United States were faring before — and during — the coronavirus pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Effective today, Vermont PBS and Vermont Public Radio have merged to become a unified public media organization dedicated to community service. The Vermont PBS and VPR boards of directors first announced their intention to merge last September. Finn will lead the new, integrated organization alongside COO Steve Ferreira. Nicole Junas Ravlin chairs the new board of directors, and Marguerite Dibble serves as vice chair.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that he has appointed Monica White as commissioner of the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), effective today. July 1 is the first day of the state's fiscal year (FY 2022). White served as interim commissioner of DAIL after Governor Scott appointed Monica Caserta Hutt, the previous commissioner, as the state’s chief prevention officer. White previously served as DAIL’s director of operations and led DAIL’s COVID-19 response efforts.

Vermont Business Magazine Audubon Vermont, Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD) has announced the results of a review of a recently released report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The federal report on Birds of Conservation Concern identifies the species of highest priority for USFWS. As noted in the report, recent studies have shown that birds are facing significant threats. In a landmark publication, researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology documented the loss of almost three billion birds in North America since 1970. In 2017, VCE issued a report documenting a number of significant and worrisome trends relating to the decline of Vermont forest birds. In its Survival by Degrees report, the National Audubon Society documented that two-thirds of North American bird species are at risk of extinction from climate change by the end of the century.

Vermont Business Magazine Lake Champlain Maritime Museum announced today that they are re-opening select indoor exhibit buildings starting this Friday, July 2. Just in time for long weekend and 4th of July holiday, included among the indoor exhibits re-opening is the museum’s signature exhibit Key to Liberty: The American Revolution on Lake Champlain which explores the important local connections and regional history from the Revolutionary War. The museum’s free admission extends to these indoor experiences, which will be open along with the rest of the museum’s outdoor exhibits every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

United Church of Hinesburg (UCofH.org)

by Bill Schubart When I was ten, a book arrived in the mail from my older cousin in New York City. Ann was a people person, often to her own detriment. A professional photographer, her only partner in life was the camera. She rode with the Freedom Riders in the South in the civil rights demonstrations, photographed Louis Armstrong and Martha Graham, anyone she felt enriched the spirit of humanity.

The book was The Family of Man. I was lost in what I saw. Having grown up in Morrisville, I saw white people and cows and had little idea of what the larger world was like.

Vermont Business Magazine Embodying the mantra “I Hike Vermont,” Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel raised $6,515 for the Green Mountain Club through a clever fundraising event this spring. Lenny’s teamed up with Darn Tough Vermont to create limited-edition Green Mountain Club hiking socks. Over 1,400 pairs of socks were released exclusively at Lenny’s in mid-March and the vast majority sold in the first few weeks. Lenny’s donated $5.00 from each pair sold to the Green Mountain Club.

Vermont Business Magazine Following a suit filed by Vermont Legal Aid regarding the termination of the hotel housing program run and paid for by the Vermont Agency of Human Resources, the court has approved a plan presented by Legal Aid and HHS to extend to program for two more weeks for eligible people with certain disabilities. It extends the program for those people by two weeks. For all people who must leave the program, which accounts for more than 600 people, HHS is offering $2,500 plus another $8,000 in housing assistance.

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute Vermont’s average annual wage rose to just over $54,000 last year. The increase, nearly 10 percent, was the largest since at least 1988. It’s nothing to celebrate, though. We aren’t really better off.

Vermont State Police Following a lengthy investigation, the Vermont State Police has cited Leonard Forte, 79, of LaBelle, Florida, on suspicion of two counts of obstruction of justice. The charges arise from an ongoing criminal prosecution related to allegations that Forte raped a young girl more than 30 years ago in Vermont. Forte, who was described as a former law enforcement officer with the New York Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, was convicted by a Vermont jury in 1988 of three counts of rape of a 12-year-old girl. Forte appealed his conviction, and a motion for a new trial was granted in 1989.

Vermont Business Magazine VSECU distributed $50,000 in grants to eight Vermont nonprofits significantly impacted by COVID-19. The $5,000 and $10,000 grants will help preserve and create job opportunities, support local economic development, and further important community services. The grants are funded by Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Jobs for New England Recovery Grant program. The program was specifically created in 2020 to provide member financial institutions with grants to support local small businesses and nonprofit organizations experiencing significant losses because of COVID-19. This is the second round of funding FHLBank Boston and VSECU are providing to Vermont nonprofits through the Jobs for New England Recovery Grant program. They also gave $100,000 in grants to seven nonprofits in November 2020.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Green Mountain Care Board, in consultation with Vermont’s Agency of Human Services, submitted the Annual ACO Scale Target and Alignment Report for Performance Year 3 (2020), as required by the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization Model Agreement with the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. OneCare Vermont, based in Colchester, is the only ACO operating in Vermont.