Current News

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House of Representatives gave preliminary approval today to the Fiscal Year 2023 State Budget, which includes a historic investment in public higher education. The House is proposing an annual $10 million increase to the Vermont State Colleges’ appropriation, which is the largest single-year increase since the VSC was founded.

​Vermont State Police Law enforcement agencies and members of the public have donated about 1,000 body-armor vests and 45 helmets to the Vermont State Police, which coordinated an extensive effort to collect the items and prepare them for shipment to Ukraine. The donations came from across Vermont and throughout the Northeast and totaled roughly 6,600 pounds — or just over 3 tons. The donations included about 875 soft-armor vests and 125 tactical vests. VSP received donations at all 10 barracks statewide, and then consolidated all the items at the Williston Barracks. The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles on Thursday, March 24, helped weigh the items and prepare them for shipping to the war zone.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 130 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday down from 199 Tuesday. As the Omicron BA.2 variant is now the most common coronavirus variant in New England (55 percent), overall cases are edging up but serious outcomes have fallen.

Vermont Business Magazine In Vermont, gasoline prices today were up one cent from yesterday to $4.21, down 1.6 cents from a week ago, up 60 cents from last month and up $1.44 from a year ago. The lowest price in Vermont today was in Bennington and Rutland at $3.99. The highest price was $4.49 in Charlotte and Northfield.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont College of Education and Social Services (CESS) and the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) honored outstanding teachers at the 41st Annual Outstanding Teachers’ Day on Wednesday, March 23. Along with the presentation of awards to 70 educators from 30 school districts and supervisory unions throughout the state, the event also recognized Vermont’s 2022 Teacher of the Year Karen McCalla and distinguished finalists for the award.

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Nuclear Waste Policy Committee (FNWPC) of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VT NDCAP) will hold its second meeting of 2022 on Monday, March 28, 2022, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. This meeting will be conducted as a webcast and teleconference. As permitted by Act 78 of the 2022 Vermont General Assembly, no physical meeting space will be provided for this FNWPC meeting.

Vermont Business Magazine Winter storms, severe rainstorms, and human infectious diseases are the natural disasters most likely to cause widespread economic loss and personal hardship in Chittenden County. Public input on the draft Chittenden County Multi-Jurisdictional All-Hazards Mitigation Plan (MJAHMP) will help the community identify steps needed to minimize damage from natural disasters. Taking steps to minimize the damage from a natural disaster is focus of the Chittenden County MJAHMP.

Vermont Business Magazine If you or someone you know would like to go turkey hunting this spring, but they have never taken a hunter education course, this is the time to act. Vermont’s volunteer hunter education instructors are now holding a limited number of courses throughout the state. A person must pass the hunter education course before they can purchase their first hunting license.

Vermont Business Magazine The School of the New American Farmstead at Sterling College creates opportunities for lifelong learners to live as part of the natural world. This summer, they are offering two intensive workshops that will help farmers, gardeners, or even folks with a small yard make their spaces more biodiverse, vibrant, and resilient. If you are looking for ways to have a positive impact on the climate and environment from right where you find yourself, these empowering courses will inspire meaningful action.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s trout fishing season opens Saturday, April 9. Despite lingering snow cover in some areas of the state, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says anglers can still have fun and be successful early in the season if they keep a few strategies in mind.

Vermont Business Magazine VT Logger Education to Advance Professionalism is extending the current LEAP certification status to June 1, 2023. This will ease the pressure for some of you who need to get caught up because of COVID. Also, here is a reminder of the changes made to the LEAP Curriculum to help make this industry and you all safer and more productive in the woods. There are two tracks now for a LEAP Logger. One for those of you who fell mostly with a chainsaw and one for those of you who fell mostly with mechanized machinery.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 199 cases of COVID-19 for Tuesday, up from 77 Monday, as cases in the Northeast Kingdom have risen (84 Sunday, 120 Saturday, 142 Friday). There was one additional death, which stands at 614 statewide. As the Omicron BA.2 variant is now the most common coronavirus variant in New England (55 percent), overall cases are edging up but serious outcomes have come down.