Vermont Business Magazine Purchase fruit and vegetable seeds and seedlings with your 3SquaresVT benefits to put fresh food on your table all season long. Signs of spring are slowly but surely appearing across the state, which means it’s time to think about which fruits, vegetables, and herbs to grow this season. Vermonters can buy their seeds and seedlings that produce edible foods with 3SquaresVT. 3SquaresVT is Vermont’s name for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides eligible people with money every month to buy groceries.

Leonine Public Affairs The House and Senate held lengthy floor sessions this week as lawmakers held one vote after another on a backlog of bills. The FY2023 budget bill, transportation bill (T-Bill) and capital bill all received floor votes in the House this week as did a major bill relating to workforce development and many other policy bills. The House worked deep into the evening on Wednesday and Thursday to try to clear its calendar so the Senate can receive and start work on the budget and other bills as the final phase of the 2022 legislative session approaches.

Vermont Business Magazine The Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College, in partnership with the Vermont State Board of Education, is offering a free online, on-demand conference on teaching personal finance that will begin on March 28, but will be accessible asynchronously through April 30. The conference was originally offered last spring, when more than 500 registered for the event. Many educators indicated that due to pandemic related reasons they were unable to take this free training and asked that if be offered on more time. The economic sponsor of that 2021 event, Northfield Savings Bank Foundation, has provided funding to our Center so that we can offer this event one more time.

Vermont Business Magazine A record number of University of Vermont students are recipients of prestigious Goldwater scholarships this year. Goldwater scholarships are considered the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering in the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Hopridge Farms will present the fifth annual Southern Vermont Winter Homebrew Festival on Saturday, April 30th in downtown Bennington, Vermont at the Bennington Sports Center formerly the Catamount School on North Street. The Saturday festival, which was canceled in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, will open its doors at noon to exclusive VIP ticket holders for a private tasting of the best homebrews in the region.

Shared Concern for Safety and Well-Being of Children

Vermont Business Magazine The child advocates from Prevent Child Abuse Vermont (PCAVT) applaud the recent announcement by Attorney General T.J. Donovan of a joint investigation into TikTok and the harms the use of their social media platforms pose for Vermont’s children and young adults.

Both before and during the pandemic, PCAVT has been working to bring awareness to the dangers inherent in social media platforms, that are increasingly used by youth as young as 6 yrs. old. TikTok, and other social media, are being used by adults with an inappropriate sexual interest in children to establish contact with them, to develop relationships, and to groom potential victims for sexual abuse.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union has been awarded the 2021 Crystal Performance Award by Raddon. The award is based on an analysis of key performance metrics focused on service, member relationships, sales and other areas. “We are honored to be among the award winners and thank our employees for their service and commitment to our members” said Jean Giard, CEO. “2021 was a challenging year for our communities and our staff, and I am incredibly proud of our team’s perseverance and dedication to our mission."

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center VMEC is seeking a new Center Director & CEO. Join us on the front lines in a leading role to develop and implement a strategy for strengthening and modernizing Vermont’s manufacturing sector. VMEC has also added in-person learning opportunities to its spring schedule. Check out what we have to offer you, your teams and your entire organization, both virtual and in-person. More dates and ways to upskill are being added so check back often.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 159 cases of COVID-19 for Thursday, up from 130 on Wednesday. Hospitalizations today were 12 (down 4). The record was 122 on January 19. Health officials have focused on this as a key indicator. They had been running over 100 in early February. ICU stays, which also had been elevated and have now fallen, were zero today, which is the first time there has been no one in the ICU for COVID for several months.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed into law a law (S.4) that would prohibit the carrying of firearm into a hospital except by law enforcement officials. It also includes a compromise to seven days of when a background check for a firearm transfer would have to be completed. The original bill proposed three days and the governor previously suggested 30 days. The governor also signed H.701, which regulates medical cannabis.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement following the Vermont Senate’s confirmation of Judge Nancy Waples to the Vermont Supreme Court: “I’m thrilled that the Vermont Senate has unanimously confirmed my appointment of Judge Nancy Waples to the State’s highest court. Judge Waples is a distinguished public servant, an accomplished jurist and will bring an invaluable perspective to the bench."