Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Administrative Council of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program recently approved $5.8 million[VG1] in funding to support 62 projects to conduct applied research, farmer education and farm advisor training to strengthen sustainable agriculture throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. This includes more than $1 million in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine A collaboration between the Addison County Economic Development Corporation, Addison County Chamber of Commerce, Better Middlebury Partnership, Vergennes Partnership, and Bristol CORE has received a $30,000 grant from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Department of Tourism and Marketing, for regional marketing. These funds were awarded to the State of Vermont through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and have been distributed to 22 grantees across the state.

Proposal would send a $250 rebate check to Vermont property taxpayers using half of the $90 million Education Fund surplus

Vermont Business Magazine At his weekly media briefing, Governor Phil Scott called on legislators to support his proposal to return half of the more than $90 million Education Fund surplus to Vermont taxpayers and dedicate the other half to strengthen Vermont’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) system. The governor’s tax proposal, if supported by the Legislature, would return about $250 - $275 to Vermont residential property taxpayers through a rebate check, issued this summer. Each taxpayer would get the same amount regardless of property value for the sake of simplicity, he said.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Fund has awarded a FY 22 Service Provider grant to the Vermont Grape and Wine Council, as part of nearly $1 million in grants statewide. The grant underwrites the development and submission of a petition to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to create an American Viticulture Area (AVA) for the Champlain Valley of Vermont. These federally recognized viticulture areas identify grape and wine regions with unique characteristics and enable wine makers to label their wines to reflect these exceptional areas.

Vermont Business Magazine TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank today awarded a total of $5.8 million through the 16th annual Housing for Everyone grant program. The TD Charitable Foundation selected 33 non-profit organizations across TD Bank's footprint to receive Housing for Everyone grants ranging from $150,000 to $250,000. In Vermont, the Champlain Housing Trust received $150,000 and the Downstreet Housing & Community Development, Inc received $175,000.

Vermont Business Magazine On March 24th the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation will begin a new workshop series for small businesses designed to increase financial acumen. Join BDCC’s Business Technical Assistance Provider, Eyad Salha, for training sessions designed to help small business owners navigate today’s financial challenges. The workshops will provide practical tools, resources and steps to help your financial expertise.

Vermont Business Magazine M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) and People's United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBCT) jointly announced Monday the closing of the previously announced merger between the two companies is expected to occur on or about April 1, 2022, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining customary closing conditions set forth in the merger agreement.

Customers will continue to be served through their respective M&T and People's United branches, websites, mobile apps, financial advisors, and relationship managers until systems conversion is complete, which is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2022.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Organic Valley announced today the single largest effort to save small organic family farms in the Northeast following news last year that Horizon and Maple Hill Creamery would be terminating contracts with more than 130 family farms. Wisconsin-based Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative since its founding in 1988, is offering 80 small, Northeast organic family farms a market for their dairy through a letter of intent. While those 80 families decide, 10 Northeast organic family farms have already been offered membership. Last July, Horizon Organics notified its Northeast organic milk suppliers that it would be dropping all of its eastern suppliers, including 27 dairies in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) is ranked the fifth Most Innovative Company in North America by Fast Company. Fast Company highlighted GMP’s pioneering work to deliver real world, first-of-its-kind solutions to fight climate change through grid transformation using microgrids and battery storage saying GMP “continues to build greater energy resiliency and grid stability without fossil fuels,” adding that GMP "reflects the best values of their region: brilliant problem-solving and an irrepressible spirit.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Department for Children and Families announced today that many 3SquaresVT households will continue to receive a higher benefit in March and April. This extra help is part of the federal Coronavirus Relief Bill. It will not permanently change a household’s monthly benefit. It is a temporary increase from the federal government to help those affected by the pandemic. Households at a zero benefit will not receive a benefit. Everyone else will receive the maximum benefit for their household size.

Vermont Association of Hospitals & Health Systems As we hit the middle of the session and crossover week, I’m struck by how much has changed since January. Going into the session, I wrote a letter to key legislators laying out the fragile state of our hospital system and what we were up against with workforce and capacity challenges in addition to COVID. VAHHS appreciates the quick legislative action on extending COVID regulatory flexibilities and move to increase clinical slots for nurses, but the tone has massively shifted towards health care reform. This week, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee will be looking to quickly pass S.285, which provides the Green Mountain Care Board with $5 million to pay consultants to develop a process for establishing and implementing hospital global budgets.

Vermont Business Magazine Recovery Vermont is proud to announce that Senator Patrick Leahy was awarded the Peter Mallary Legislative Champion Award “for a lifetime of dedication to the health of Vermonters and for his national leadership in serving those with substance use disorder" at their annual Recovery Day at the State House, which was held virtually on February 16, 2022. The award’s namesake, Peter Mallary, served as the vice president for advocacy for the Vermont Association for Mental Health and Addiction Recovery and Recovery Vermont for more than eight years, as a legislator prior to that, and in numerous other capacities in service to Vermont for decades.