Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Broadband Board has awarded Maple Broadband a construction grant of $8.69 million. The award was made on July 15th and will enable Maple Broadband to roll out services exclusively to underserved areas within its designated geographic area. The source of the grant funding is the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Maple Broadband is a Communications Union District (CUD) composed of 20 member towns in Addison County.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported July 27 that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are still considered "Low." Total cases for the week fell by more than 100. Meanwhile, hospitalizations saw a slight increase. The BA.5 variant has become the predominant variant of COVID-19. There were 12 deaths in June attributed to COVID after 32 in May. May saw an increase in fatalities from April and March. June had the fewest COVID fatalities since last July 2021 (2). As of July 25, there have been 9 deaths from COVID in Vermont in July for a pandemic total of 693. The rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Vermonters is below 200. New COVID-19 admissions are below 10 per 100,000 Vermonters per day, and the percent of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 is below 10%.

Vermont Business Magazine Over $11 million of a $50 million program to pay overdue housing costs for homeowners impacted by the pandemic has been disbursed within the first six months of the program. The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) launched the Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) in January 2022 with funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. It provides grants of up to $30,000 for income-eligible homeowners.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation has announced the release of a mid-year report for This Way UP: there’s power in our numbers, the initiative to count and identify women business owners in the state. The goal of This Way UP is to provide missing pieces of Vermont’s economic data, including the size and scope of women-owned businesses and what they need to succeed and grow. To date, the 2,250 businesses that have been identified and counted (70 of whom are business leaders running companies and nonprofits)

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) is alerting drivers that needed repairs to a line over Interstate 89 will require rolling roadblocks that could slow traffic to 5 miles per hour on Friday morning. The roadblocks will take place as crews work between Richmond and Waterbury, and will affect both lanes of travel in both directions during a 30 minute timeframe scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m.

Vermont Business Magazine Community National Bank CEO and President Kathy Austin is proud to announce Community National Bank was ranked as the number one bank in Vermont according to Forbes’ America’s Best Banks In Each State published June 21, 2022. Forbes teamed up with market research firm Statista to conduct interviews of more than 26,000 U.S. citizens for all 50 states about the financial institutions where they maintain accounts.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Chairman Christopher Coons (D-Del.) Thursday introduced a $21 billion emergency supplemental funding bill to provide the necessary resources to prepare for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and to address other emerging diseases that pose a significant threat to public health. The bill provides $16 billion in emergency funding through the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday released the Chairman’s mark of the 12 senate appropriations bills. The nearly $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 appropriations package includes $653 billion in non-defense discretionary spending, a 10.1 percent increase over fiscal year 2022; $850 billion in defense discretionary spending, an 8.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2022 and consistent with the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House; and $118.7 billion for VA medical care, a 22 percent increase over fiscal year 2022. The package also includes $21 billion in emergency supplemental funding to provide the necessary resources to prepare for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and to address other emerging diseases that pose a significant threat to public health.

Vermont State Police During search efforts Thursday morning, crews located a body believed to be that of Joshua Hwang in the Green River Reservoir in Hyde Park. The body was recovered and will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, and to confirm identity.

by Chris Graff New ratings by the Cook Political Report confirm Vermont’s status as the most Democratic state in the nation. That fact is why – for the statewide races at least - the upcoming Democratic primary election is far more important than November’s General Election. The US Senate and US House seats and the offices of lieutenant governor, treasurer, secretary of state, and attorney general are to be decided in this year’s elections. And Democrats are favored to win all of those races, again making the August 9 primary a critical election.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Jennifer Morrison as the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety (DPS). She will be the first woman to serve in the role, overseeing the State Police, Vermont Emergency Management, Vermont Crime Information Center, Forensic Lab, Division of Fire Safety and more. She joined the DPS in October 2020 as executive director of policy development and later deputy commissioner. She joined the Burlington Police Department as an officer in 1990 and advanced through the ranks, ultimately becoming deputy chief. In 2013, she accepted the position of chief of the Colchester Police Department, a role she held for five years before retiring. She returned to the Burlington Police Department in January 2020 as interim police chief.

by Darren Springer, General Manager, Burlington Electric Department Last year, we wrote a commentary discussing the McNeil Generating Station’s benefits, including its contribution to the Vermont economy, its support for sustainable forestry, and its importance as a renewable generator from a climate and reliability perspective. As policymakers continue to consider how to support renewable energy in Vermont, we write today to share two new important data points – one economic and one environmental - relative to McNeil that should inform discussions.