Current News

Vermont Business Magazine After a year of declining available homes for sale in Burlington, inventory went up 26.5% for the month of June, according to RE/MAX, but closed transactions went down 31.3%. The number of transactions and prices also fell for the month. Median home prices are still well ahead of where they were a year ago. The median home price is $420,500.

Vermont Business Magazine A total of $4.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education has been awarded to support first-generation college students in Vermont. Northern Vermont University-Johnson was awarded a $2.7M five-year grant, and Northern Vermont University-Lyndon was awarded a $1.8M five-year grant for their Upward Bound programs. The grants will continue to support the Upward Bound program when NVU unifies with Castleton University and Vermont Technical College to become Vermont State University in July 2023. Upward Bound is one of the US. Department of Education’s TRIO programs and is free for any eligible participating student. Students are eligible if neither parent has completed a bachelor’s degree, or if the family is low-to-moderate income, based on federal guidelines.

Vermont Business Magazine A sample of mosquitoes collected in Alburgh have tested positive for West Nile virus. This is the first positive pool of mosquitoes of the 2022 surveillance season. A pool is a group of up to 50 mosquitoes of the same species and location. There have been no human cases of West Nile virus yet this year. The last confirmed case was in 2021. West Nile virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. Historically, the virus has been found in all counties of Vermont. Most people who are infected do not get sick from the virus, but it can lead to serious illnesses, such as encephalitis. Symptoms of illness can include fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or a rash. People aged 50 and older are at highest risk.

Vermont Business Magazine The public comment period for the draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for West Central Vermont has been extended to Friday, September 9th. The draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for West Central Vermont is available for review at westcentralvt.org.

Vermont Business Magazine Select boards in Groton, Hardwick, Peacham, Ryegate, and Walden have voted to allocate a total of $328,050 in American Rescue Plan Act funding towards constructing additional high-speed broadband infrastructure within their communities. The funds pledged by the five Caledonia County towns will be matched by both NEK Broadband and the Vermont Community Broadband Board. The combined total of $984,150 will accelerate the construction of the initial framework of infrastructure referred to as the “backbone” of the project. By building the backbone sooner than planned, NEK Broadband expects to bring new high-speed internet to portions of 90% of the towns in the Northeast Kingdom over the next two years. The ARPA funding also enables NEK Broadband to build new infrastructure sooner to three additional towns: Danville, Lyndon, and Saint Johnsbury.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has signed a proclamation declaring the week of August 22-26, 2022 as Vermont Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week. The proclamation mirrors one signed at the National level where the President declared the same period as National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week. ESGR Week recognizes and thanks the multitude of civilian employers who, through their support to their dual-career employees, enable these citizen service members to continue to serve in uniform without concern for losing their jobs.

by Senator Bernie Sanders I wish very much that I could tell you that the Covid pandemic was over, and that we no longer had to worry about it into the future. But that would not be true. The good news, however, is that as a result of vaccines and improved treatments the death rates and hospital admission rates from COVID today are far lower than they were at the height of the pandemic. Further, a great deal of research is now taking place to create new and better vaccines and treatments. The bad news is that almost 500 Americans a day are still dying from COVID, over 40,000 are in hospitals, and many thousands every day test positive. As a nation we’ve lost over one million Americans to COVID.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets is seeking feedback to further understand Accessory On-Farm Businesses (AOFBs) and Act 143. This model expands opportunities for farmers to diversify operations through an AOFB, such as on-farm sales of agricultural products as well as educational, recreational, or social events. While this business model is vital to support long-term viability of Vermont farmers, the current legislation can be difficult to understand and varies across the state. Therefore, the Legislature has tasked the Natural Resources Board (NRB), with support from the Agency of Agriculture, in preparing a report to analyze current conditions, understand challenges, and offer specific suggestions to help strengthen AOFBs in Vermont.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine If Vermont has a problem, Ellen Kahler probably has an action plan. While everyone seems to know what's wrong with the Vermont economy — jobs going begging, an aging population, the high cost of housing if you can still find housing, homelessness for those who can't, low wages, limited childcare, an opioid problem — not many have spent their careers finding long-range solutions. Kahler, the executive director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF), has.