Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 304 cases of COVID-19 for Monday (98 Sunday, which tends to have the fewest reported cases). Vermont, meanwhile, has the lowest level of "natural immunity" from having contracted COVID in the nation at 29 percent, while the US average is over 60 percent with some states over 70 percent. He said this is from a combination of local mitigation measures and the subsequent high rate of vaccination uptake (number one in the nation in vaccine plus booster; second lowest death rate to Hawaii).

Vermont Business Magazine May is National Foster Care Month. It is a time to acknowledge the role of foster care providers statewide. This year, relatives and kin caregivers are being celebrated for their commitment to children and youth who are placed in their care. Acknowledging the unique role kinship caregivers play in providing stability for children as families work to achieve reunification is a key factor in the support of families that can help lead to more positive outcomes for their future.

Vermont Business Magazine GlobalFoundries Inc announced Monday a $117 million agreement with the US Department of Defense (DoD) to provide a strategic supply of US-made semiconductors that are critical to national security systems. Securely manufactured at GF's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility, Fab 8 in Malta, New York, the chips will be used in some of the nation's most sensitive defense and aerospace applications. Under the agreement, the manufacturing of these chips will be transferred to GF's Fab 8 from GF's Fab 10 in East Fishkill, New York.

Vermont Business Magazine As part of National Small Business Week the SBA Vermont District Office is hosting a webinar at 2 p.m. May 4 about its free executive entrepreneurship training series. THRIVE, Emerging Leaders Reimagined, is a free intensive strategic growth planning program for small businesses and small business owners can apply now for this program to take a business to the next level of growth. Vermont’s SBA office will select 20 small businesses to participate in the program, but you need to apply to show your interest and be interviewed by May 31 at www.sbathrive.com. THRIVE is slated to begin in the summer.

Vermont Business Magazine A bright spot of the pandemic was that Vermonters got outside to exercise more than ever before. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is calling on our neighbors to come together to enjoy Mountain Days, a fun annual event that brings people of all body types and abilities to the top of a mountain. The idea was sparked by the energetic Blue Cross Windham County Community Advisory Board in 2001, when they invited their community to join them in what became an annual hike up Mt. Wantastiquet. This event inspired hikes across Vermont on a series of weekends in the spring.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Business Magazine Vermont elected leaders and others are weighing on a report from Politico that the US Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark abortion rights decision on Roe versus Wade. The leak of this report is unprecedented among Supreme Court draft decisions. According to Politico, the decision is written by Justice Alito and is expected to be announced in June.

Vermont Business Magazine Democrat Sarah Copeland Hanzas of Bradford announced the launch of her campaign for Vermont Secretary of State today on the front steps of the Vermont State House. Copeland Hanzas was joined by over 20 state representatives who showed their support for her campaign. Secretary of State Jim Condos previously announced that he would not seek reelection in November.

Vermont Business Magazine Prevention Day brought together youth, prevention organizations, and supporters to educate decision makers and to celebrate the substance misuse prevention community in Vermont. Over 70 youth participated from 15 groups, and 68 adults from 14 prevention organizations, three Vermont state agencies and three other organizations for a total of 148 people were in attendance. This year, Prevention Day was held in collaboration with the OVX (Our Voices Xposed) State House Rally on April 7th, 2022.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Co-operative members will learn what’s new and how the co-op is innovating in a changing energy environment at the VEC Annual Meeting May 14 at Smugglers’ Notch Resort. Members who attend can also enjoy a complimentary breakfast and be entered into a raffle for great prizes, including a battery-powered lawn mower, a string trimmer/leaf blower combo, gift cards to local and national chain stores, gift certificates and more. The meeting’s theme is Committed to Our Members in an Era of Change and will include a robust Q&A session with VEC leaders.

Vermont Business Magazine The award-winning, family-friendly Resort, Smugglers’ Notch, added a new employee benefit – full day child care and camps, at no cost to the employee. These new benefits will accommodate parents who desire employment at the Resort while their children attend a full day of supervised fun and games. Smuggs anticipates a one-stop-shop experience for parents, providing them with the ability to drive to the Resort and have their children with them. It seems like the perfect time and cost saving solution. The child care benefit is available to all employees on a first come, first serve basis.

Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont Agency of Transportation has selected the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to develop and administer a suite of clean transportation incentive programs for state residents to help curb greenhouse gas emissions. The transportation sector accounts for about 40% of Vermont’s carbon emissions. The programs, authorized by the 2021 Vermont Transportation Bill (Act 55), provide: $3 million to support incentives for the lease or purchase of new plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs); $1.5 million to create the Replace Your Ride Program, providing $3,000 for Vermonters to scrap older, high-polluting vehicles for cleaner transportation options; $50,000 to establish an electric bike incentive, the first authorized statewide e-bike program in the nation.

Vermont Business Magazine On April 29, 2022, Governor Phil Scott released a proclamation recognizing the first week of May as Abenaki Recognition and Heritage Week. The Vermont Department of Mental Health recognizes that celebrating identity through culture is a vital part of mental well-being. For thousands of years, the Abenaki people have lived on the land that we now occupy. Through their resilience and strength, they have worked through losses, and hardships. Accessing culturally informed mental health services continues to be a challenge today.