Current News

by Kevin Ellis Christina Nolan is running for the US Senate. Sounds great. The more candidates - especially the more women candidates - the better. The seat has been held by Senator Patrick J Leahy since his election in 1974. Sitting US Congressman Peter Welch is running to replace Leahy. Welch is well-known, popular and the odds-on favorite to win the seat.

Vermont Business Magazine With offices in Burlington, Vermont and Montréal, Québec, Nuwave Equity Corporation has partnered with Innerlogic (Halifax, Nova Scotia) to create nuLogic – a data and analytics platform that provides real time data on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion metrics, as well as pay equity, turnover rates, and more. nuwave Equity Corporation is a collection of Black-owned organizations centered around the dismantlement of anti-Black racism, and Innerlogic is a culture analytics platform offering cutting edge software solutions for difficult to measure human impact problems.

Vermont Business Magazine The Upper Valley MedTech Collaborative is hosting a MedTech Pitch Competition on April 27th at 5pm at the Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The winner will receive $10,000 of non-dilutive funding. Applications are open to all Northern New England-based medtech start-ups that have raised less than $2 million through institutional investment.

​Vermont State Police As the investigation continues into this morning’s reported shooting in St. Johnsbury, the Vermont State Police is seeking a vehicle in connection with the incident and would like to speak to the occupants. The vehicle in question is a gray Jeep Wrangler with Connecticut license plate AX74330. The vehicle was seen on a surveillance camera outside Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday. An image of the Jeep is included with this news release. The occupants of the vehicle should be considered potentially armed and dangerous.

Vermont Business Magazine The Cross Vermont Trail Association announces that it has met a $75,000 challenge grant awarded by the Northern Borders Regional Commission in 2021 to build the last phase of the Winooski Bridge Project that will extend the trail from the new bridge to Route 14 in East Montpelier. With donations from over 125 local individuals at the end of last year and a recently announced $75,000 grant from the State of Vermont, the CVTA has raised the $200,000 needed to complete the trail on both sides of the new Winooski Bridge built last summer.

Vermont Business Magazine The 1st of March marks the start of Women's History Month and a partnership between Vermont Works for Women and Tove Wear. Vermont Works for Women and Tove Wear are excited to announce the launch of a new collaboration to support working women in Vermont. Tove Wear, a sustainable women's workwear company, based at the AO Glass factory at 416 Pine St. in Burlington, VT, will be donating educational opportunities and marketing in support of Vermont Works for Women's mission: promoting economic justice by advancing gender equity and supporting women and youth at every stage of their career journeys.

by Representative Sally Achey For the past two months, my committee, the House Energy & Technology Committee, has been taking testimony on and debating a bill to establish a program called the “Clean Heat Standard” (CHS). The CHS is part of the Climate Action Plan put forward by the Climate Council under the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). The CHS is designed to drive up the cost of fossil home heating fuels (oil, propane, natural gas, and kerosene) by forcing distributors to purchase “credits” to offset their products’ greenhouse gas emissions.

Vermont Business Magazine A fall 2020 survey among students at the Community College of Vermont (CCV) revealed that 61% of respondents had experienced at least one form of basic needs insecurity during the pandemic. In response, the College has established Life Gap Plus, a new program designed to provide greater visibility of and access to resources for students facing basic needs insecurities. Funded with generous support from private donors, the program builds on CCV’s Life Gap Grants, just-in-time scholarships that can help students bridge challenging situations that might otherwise threaten their ability to stay in school.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will hold a statewide telephone town meeting on Wednesday, March 2 to hear directly from Vermonters about the challenges they face and how the federal government can address the issues that matter most to them. Dr Tim Lahey, an infectious disease physician at the UVM Medical Center, will join the discussion to answer questions about the current state of COVID-19 in Vermont. Participants will be able to submit questions in advance or ask them live during the meeting.

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Happy Town Meeting Week! The legislators are home this week to get input from their constituents and take a well-deserved break before the big crossover push. Among other things, the conference committee came to agreement on the Budget Adjustment Act—the final bill includes: $25 million in continued COVID financial support, such as funding for contracted workers, to prevent closures and disruptions at facilities; $60 million for health care worker recruitment and retention with grants of $2,000 per FTE. The first $45 million is allocated to long-term care facilities, home health agencies, designated agencies, adult day providers, substance use treatment providers and other human service providers. Hospitals with an identified need for funding may be eligible for $15 million if the needs of the above employers are met with the first $45 million.

by Joe Halko, Director of Community Relations, Northwestern Counseling & Support Services As COVID continues to impact our lives, we are faced with the stark reality that two years of increased stress, isolation, and uncertainty have taken their toll on the mental health of us all. At Northwestern Counseling & Support Services (NCSS), which serves Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, we are seeing an increase in mental health needs across the age span, from young children and their families through older Vermonters. At the same time, our capacity to meet the growing need is severely strained.

Vermont Business Magazine Hundreds of elder Northeast Kingdom residents are receiving emergency blizzard bags of shelf stable food and beverages thanks to a joint project from the NEK Council on Aging, Passumpsic Bank, Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH), and North Country Hospital. Each “Blizzard Bag” is filled with a one-day supply of emergency food and beverage. The bags are distributed to NEK Council on Aging home delivered meal recipients. The Passumpsic Bank coordinated funding of the project with their hospital partners.

The Blizzard Bag partnership with the NEK Council on Aging and Passumpsic Bank started in 2017 when the existing Council’s emergency food bag program was threatened due to budgetary constraints. Passumpsic Bank reached out to the Council to offer assistance. They partnered with NVRH to coordinate the first Blizzard Bag packing party. It was held at the hospital with volunteers from Passumpsic Bank, NVRH, and the NEKCOA.