Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT), along with its tri-state partners in New Hampshire and Maine, today announced the launch of a more user-friendly and greatly enhanced New England 511 website that will enable travelers to plan better for trips in the region. The improved website works well on smart phones and features new functions such as customizable text and email alerts for specific roads and counties. In addition to searching the website’s map for areas with traffic congestion or active construction, users can now search for EV charging stations, view updated road conditions this winter during weather events, and more.

by Anore Horton & John Sayles September 28 marked the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in more than 50 years. Elected officials, people who have experienced hunger, advocates, non-profits, and private-sector leaders came together to discuss solutions to the ongoing injustice of hunger. Far too many in our country know the experience of not having enough food, including many neighbors here in Vermont. Important advancements came from the first conference of this kind, held in 1969, including changes to food and nutrition policy, major expansions of what is now called SNAP/3SquaresVT and School Lunch Program, and the creation of the Supplemental Feeding Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) recently approved a $9.1 million grant to Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom (WCVT), in partnership with Maple Broadband, to expand fiber-optic broadband in parts of Addison, Bridport, Ferrisburgh, New Haven, Panton, Waltham, and Weybridge. The source of the grant funding is the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This project will extend WCVT’s fiber-to-the-home network to approximately 2,000 additional customers in parts of Addison County in the Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom service area. The network is capable of delivering broadband speeds of up to 1 Gigabyte.

by Heidi Mohlman Tringe and Dennise Casey Working for an elected official is a tremendous honor. Each of us wore many hats and had different responsibilities in public service, including Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications Director, Deputy Press Secretary, Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs, and DC Director. During our time in public service, we were lucky to be part of a team of people with diverse views and life experiences and an office culture that encouraged discussion and debate. It shaped our lives and careers in many ways, and we are increasingly grateful for the opportunity to serve our great state. We worked hard, make no mistake, but our public service also propelled us onto non-profit boards and statewide leadership positions. It gave us privilege and afforded us opportunity. And we feel an ongoing obligation to give back.

Vermont Business Magazine The next guest on Medical Matters Weekly is Mariella Filbin, MD, PhD, a leading researcher working to find a cure to children’s brain tumors. The show airs on Facebook Live at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19.

The show is produced by Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can view on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. The show is also available to view or download as a podcast on svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters.

Vermont Business Magazine Friends and partners of Green Mountain United Way celebrated at the Barre Opera House in person for the first time in three years on October 6. Led by Executive Director, Tawnya Kristen, on the Opera House stage, nine awards were given to community members to honor their contribution to Green Mountain United Way and the communities they serve.

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast today announced it will increase speeds for its most popular Xfinity Internet tiers across 14 northeastern states from Maine through Virginia and the District of Columbia. The company will also roll out new download speeds up to 2 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) – combined with up to 5x-to-10x faster upload speeds – for Xfinity customers in markets across the Northeast, including Baltimore, Boston, Hartford, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, before the end of the year.

VermontBiz Gifford will distribute meals for Upper Valley Everyone Eats this month on Tuesday, October 25 between 5 – 5:30 p.m. at Gifford’s South Parking lot. The frozen meals, provided by Global Village Foods, are available by reservation. To reserve a meal or for any other questions, please contact Gifford Community Relations Coordinator, Katja Evans at 802-728-2377.

Upper Valley Everyone Eats is the local hub of Vermont’s coronavirus relief program, Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE). VEE provides nutritious meals to Vermonters in need of food assistance, as well as a stabilizing source of income for Vermont restaurants, farmers, and food producers. This program is open to all Vermonters looking to stretch their food budget as a result of the pandemic or otherwise. Check giffordhelathcare.org for updates on future Upper Valley Everyone Eats meal distributions at Gifford.

VermontBiz The Vermont Working Communities Challenge (WCC) has released its Initial Report sharing the new approaches made by the eight Vermont teams over the first three years to address systemic challenges in Vermont like housing, childcare, poverty, workforce development, racial equity, and more. The report was shared with Vermont’s decision-makers and community builders on October 14 and is now publicly available.

WCC was launched in Vermont in 2019 as a partnership between the State of Vermont and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) to advance collaborative efforts to build healthy economies and communities in northern New England’s rural towns, regions, and smaller cities. The eight Vermont teams are focused on Greater Barre, Lamoille County, Northeast Kingdom, Northwest Vermont, Southern Vermont, Springfield Area, White River Valley, and Winooski - covering approximately 62% of Vermont.