Current News

Vermont Business Magazine When an emergency happens in Vermont, whether it be a car accident or a natural disaster, there are a lot of questions that need to get answered as quickly as possible. Vermont first responders arrive on the scene and assess rapidly before taking action, but when the situation is in a hard-to-reach location, or an unprecedented disaster has occurred, it can be difficult to act fast. Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS or drones) are enhancing the way first responders and emergency personnel assess and react to emergencies and extreme weather events. A FEMA-funded program hosted by the UVM Spatial Analysis Lab brought drone training to fifteen emergency-response roles across Vermont this week.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's congressional delegation today applauded the Biden Administration’s announcement that it removed barriers to states and localities investing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars in new housing. The new guidance will make it easier to build affordable housing by allowing states and local governments to make long-term housing loans with ARPA funds. This change opens up access to Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, a key source of funding for affordable housing production. The change reflects the intent of the bi-partisan, bi-cameral LIFELINE Act introduced by Senators Leahy and Sanders in the Senate and cosponsored by Representative Welch in the House.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont gasoline prices continued to fall this week and are down another 11 cents in the last seven days, to an average of $4.34 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy. Prices have fallen 40 cents in the last month but are $1.26/g higher than one year ago. Prices are falling faster nationally than in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today at 5 pm ET will hold a Q&A discussion with the White House’s COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr Ashish Jha on ways to stay safe and healthy. The livestream discussion will cover the latest guidance and resources from the White House on COVID. Sanders and Dr. Jha will also take questions sent in by viewers on Facebook.

Vermont Business Magazine With legal THC sales scheduled to start in October, two licensed cannabis cultivators in northern Vermont have announced the launch of Vermontijuana Cannabis Tours taking place over six weekends starting August 19. The cannabis tours meet guests at local bars with a school bus and transport them to nearby licensed cannabis farms where cultivators share the basics of how cannabis is cultivated outdoors in Northern Vermont and everything it takes to bring legal THC cannabis to market. Visitors must be over the age of 21, but there are no cannabis samples included.

Vermont Business Magazine The new Vermont Trades Scholarship Forgivable Loan Program, proposed by Governor Scott to the Vermont Legislature and administered by Vermont Student Assistance Corp. (VSAC), will offer Vermont and non-Vermont residents funding for tuition, initial licensing fees, and exam fees for qualified recipients who enroll in high-need trades training and certificate programs. Funding for the $3 million trades scholarship program is part of the $84.5 million comprehensive workforce and economic development initiative signed into law in June by Governor Scott. The bill invests both state and federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to address Vermont’s workforce shortage and provide local businesses and municipalities with resources to grow in the years ahead.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) will be initiating a project on August 15th through a contractor to expand the existing parking capacity servicing the Monroe Trail in Camel’s Hump State Park in Duxbury. The Monroe Trail is a popular hiking route to the summit of Camel’s Hump. Visitors should be aware that the two upper parking areas at the Monroe Trailhead will be closed Monday through Friday while the project is active through September 15, 2022. The parking lot is being expanded, roughly doubling in capacity, to better accommodate the existing levels of visitation by allowing vehicles to park off the traveled portion of Camel’s Hump Road.

Vermont Business Magazine Business Resource Services (BRS) announced today that over two thirds of companies covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont’s Blue Edge Business (BEB) health plans have earned money back on their 2021 premiums. “BEB plans continue to work, as designed, to help small businesses,” remarked Mitch Fleischer, President of BRS. “The best evidence of success is this fact that 70% of BEB groups will receive an average refund of $1,500 per employee on their 2021 claims experience this year. For many businesses this will be the second year of refunds. And the remaining groups that won’t receive a refund still enjoyed some of the lowest premiums available.”

VermontBiz Leaders who really want their people to learn and grow need to be willing to let them say "no" when they're asked to do assignments or tasks that could sidetrack or derail their development, maintains leadership coach Whitney Johnson.

The CEO of talent development company Disruption Advisors is a proponent of the S Curve of Learning, where the bottom of the S is the launch point where growth is slow, the middle of the S is the sweet spot where learning takes off, and the top of the S is where mastery of a subject or job occurs. Johnson said leaders need to understand that "if I can grow my people, I can grow my organization."

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont and Maine have the oldest populations in the US, which coupled with rurality, predisposes northern New Englanders to health challenges including cancer, substance use disorders, food insecurity, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. Thanks to a $20 million-dollar renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), residents in Vermont and Maine – and particularly the elderly, New American and Indigenous populations – will receive greater support to address chronic and life-threatening diseases.

Vermont Business Magazine US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today announced that USDA is awarding $74 million in grants to improve health care facilities (PDF, 321 KB) in rural towns across the Nation. These grants will help 143 rural health care organizations expand critical services for 3 million people in 37 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. The investments include $32 million for 67 rural health care organizations to help more than 1 million people living in socially vulnerable communities, and include $1 million to Springfield Hospital in
Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Bellows Falls Middle School received significant support this spring which enabled hands-on science with an over $9000 grant, providing a set of 15 microscopes, the associated slides, sample preparation materials, books, and other educational materials. The Chroma Technology grant includes several phases to the program with the first phase of the donation of the Swift Binocular Compound Microscope SW350B, with 40X-2500X magnification, camera, and software as well as Hayear 14MP digital LED microscopes that connect directly to the student's computers. This donation will give the students an understanding of how a microscope works and how light and optics are part of the operation of a microscope.