Current News

Vermont Agency of Transportation This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will have traffic impacts on state highways throughout Vermont for the week of October 24, 2022. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported October 12 that COVID-19 cases rose and hospitalizations increased from 48 to 73. COVID-19 infections are now considered "Medium" after being at the "Low" level for the last few months. Total cases increased from 623 to 662. Hospitalizations have been edging up over the last few weeks (from a low of 30). There have been no reported COVID-related deaths in the last week. There were 19 COVID-related fatalities in August, 11 in September and 8 so far in October, for a pandemic total of 734

by Rob Roper Listening to the presentation to the Climate Council on the cost savings they are claiming will be associated with the Climate Action Plan (CAP), I was reminded of the classic scene from Caddyshack where Bill Murray’s character tells the story of his compensation for a round with Dalai Lama: “Oh, there won’t be any money,” says the Lama, “But when you die, on your deathbed you will receive total consciousness.” The reason for my cinematic flashback is that the “savings” being promised by the Climate Council if we spend the multiple tens of billions of dollars necessary to implement their programs are largely based on something called “The Social Cost of Carbon.” What is this? Well, like Murray’s caddying fee, there won’t be money.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Electric Supply, Inc of Colchester has acquired Falcone Electric of Batavia, NY. Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses based in Dallas, announced the sale on behalf of its client, Vanderhoof Electric Supply, Inc (dba Falcone Electric). The acquisition closed October 3, 2022. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Vermont Business Magazine As the holidays are fast approaching, so are the mailing deadlines to send presents and merriment to friends and loved ones serving away from home. Be prepared and get your letters and packages in the mail in time to ensure their delight this festive season. To send packages to military and diplomatic addresses abroad, the Postal Service offers a discounted price of $20.95 on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate Box. The price includes a $1.50 discount per box for mail sent to Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office (APO/FPO/DPO) destinations worldwide.

Vermont Business Magazine Lisa Kelley, a Realtor with Cummings and Company in Windham, has been named the 2022 Realtor of the Year (ROTY) by the Vermont Association of Realtors (VAR). VAR’s Realtor of the Year recognition is the association’s highest honor and recognizes a Realtor member for outstanding commitment to the Realtor industry, and to their clients and community.

Vermont Business Magazine GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF), a global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing, today announced that Vermont’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has issued a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) approving the formation and operation of GF Power LLC as the electric utility for GF’s facility in Essex Junction. GF, which consumes more electricity than the City of Burlington, will not retail or distribute energy like a traditional utility. Due to its size, GF is the only transmission class customer in Vermont, meaning it takes service at a higher voltage than all other GMP customers in addition to owning, maintaining, and investing in its own transmission and distribution system. This uniquely positions GF to take on the responsibilities of becoming its own utility, directly serving only the facility’s needs.

Public Assets Institute Despite a national pandemic, poverty fell in Vermont, New England, and the nation in 2020 and 2021. Vermont’s supplemental poverty rate dropped to just below 7 percent; approximately 14,000 fewer Vermonters were living in poverty in 2021 than in 2019. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) defines income and need differently from the official measure—and more realistically. The SPM factors in cash income as well as non-cash benefits and variable expenses including taxes, childcare, and medical care. SPM poverty thresholds are generally higher and based on the cost of food, clothing, shelter, and utilities. The official measure counts only cash income, and need is based only on the cost of food.

Vermont Business Magazine The Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region (CEDRR) has secured a nearly $1.5 million Venture Challenge grant via the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build to Scale (B2S) program. The announcement came on October 5, 2022. CEDRR worked with the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) to apply for this grant as part of CORI’s 2022 Rural Innovation Initiative, a technical assistance program empowering rural communities to create inclusive digital economies that support scalable entrepreneurship and tech job creation. The Initiative was launched in 2018 by CORI and its mission-aligned collaborating organization, Rural Innovations Strategies, Inc. (RISI). To date, this program has graduated 29 communities and helped rural organizations secure more than $29.9 million to develop strategies and build out programs that can accelerate their local digital economic development efforts.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor reported that the seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for September was 2.1 percent. This reflects no change from the last two months’ revised estimates. Vermont is tied for the second lowest rate in the nation. Minnesota is lowest at 2.0 percent. New Hampshire is at 2.2 percent, tied for fourth. Illinois (4.5 percent) has the highest rate. The civilian labor force participation in Vermont was 61.8 percent in September, no change from the prior month, after edging up the last few months. The labor force, total employed and total unemployed all increased slightly. The US rate in September was 3.5 percent, a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point.