Current News

Vermont Business Magazine As with many societal challenges we have all faced in the past two years, the pandemic uncovered vulnerabilities in Vermont’s food system, while at the same time highlighting our capabilities and strengths. In response, Governor Scott appointed a Commission on the Future of Vermont Agriculture to grow our food economy. This includes establishing a $20 million VAAFM Strategic Infrastructure Grant Program with $10 million dedicated to storage, distribution, and other infrastructure needed to increase producers' access to Vermont distribution networks and out-of-state markets, and the remaining $10 million directed toward investments in the meat processing and waste industry.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters have a new pathway to high-wage, high-demand careers in accounting and bookkeeping through the Community College of Vermont’s (CCV) certified public bookkeeper apprenticeship program. The earn-while-you-learn program pairs on-the-job training with four college-level courses. Apprentices also earn four certifications from the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) and earn their license as a certified public bookkeeper (CPB).

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 149 cases of COVID-19 for Sunday. Excluding the Thanksgiving and Christmas reports, this is the lowest daily total since October 24 and the first time daily cases have been under 200 since November. The VDH today also reported no additional deaths since last Thursday and stands at 553 statewide. Deaths had not been falling even as case counts subsided in January, which had the second most COVID-related fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic. Hospitalizations, which like deaths is a lagging indicator, have also fallen over the last week.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber and KeyBank are pleased to announce a grant of $150,000 from the KeyBank Foundation in support of the Bobby Miller Opportunity Fund and LaunchVT. The funded project aims to create economic opportunity for small- to medium-sized entrepreneurial founders and accompanying jobs, with a focus on historically underserved populations and female founders. The project will accelerate over 100 small and medium businesses throughout the state in the next three years through skill development, leadership training, and assistance with accounting, marketing and branding, sales, and more.

​Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network Board of Trustees has voted to elect three new members, who bring experience in nursing, health care education and research, and business to the board. Trustees voted to elect Noma Anderson, PhD; Carol Haraden, PhD; and Betsy Vicencio. They will each serve four-year terms on the 22-member board, which oversees the UVM Health Network.

Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Last week, Vermont officially implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact. This licensure compact came after years of advocacy from VAHHS and other health care provider associations, as well as extensive work from the Office of Professional Regulation. It is all too easy to jump to the next emerging policy issue without taking a beat to properly acknowledge this type of accomplishment. Also, the House Health Care Committee heard testimony from Vermont’s higher education system on ways to support and expand nurse education. Current proposals include $1.5 million to expand K-12 education pipeline programs and Governor Scott’s FY ’23 budget proposal, adding $2 million to the nurse loan repayment program. The Vermont State Colleges system hopes to obtain $7 million to reduce its $7,000-per-semester tuition to more closely match the national average of $4,500 per semester. All of the representatives from higher education coalesced around increasing salaries for faculty and creating more opportunities for clinical placement.

Vermont Business Magazine On Monday, former Lieutenant Governor of Vermont David Zuckerman announced his bid to reclaim the office he held until running for governor against Phil Scott in 2020. Also Monday, longtime Democratic legislator Catherine "Kitty" Toll of Danville will launch her run for lieutenant governor. She served from 2009-2021. She did not seek re-election in 2020. She previously was chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Democrats Charles Kimbell, a state representative from Woodstock, and Patricia Preston, Executive Director of the Vermont Council on World Affairs, announced in January that they will run for lieutenant governor.

Vermont Business Magazine Kingsbury, a general contractor and biological waste management company with corporate headquarters in Middlesex VT, is celebrating the completion of their latest wholly owned and operated solar array in Georgia, VT. In 2018 the Kingsbury family of companies made a commitment to lead the construction industry, and other like-minded Vermont companies, in the effort to achieve our state’s goal of 90% Carbon Neutrality by 2050.

Vermont Business Magazine February is Black History Month, a time to recognize and uplift the achievements, sacrifices, and contributions made by Black Americans to every aspect of our country’s diverse cultural heritage. This is also a time to truly honor the foundational and profound role of Black people in the agricultural sector in the United States and Vermont. Below are a few upcoming events and resources to learn and engage in this month and beyond.

Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont Understanding how variants function allows public health leaders to develop more effective prevention strategies against SARS-CoV-2. In a new study in the journal PNAS, a team of University of Vermont and University of Washington scientists discovered that – based on clinical samples from infected individuals – the Delta variant had a higher infectivity than the Alpha variant of COVID-19. The group was surprised by their findings. “What we saw was that people infected with Delta had almost six times more virus in their nasal swab samples than people infected with Alpha for the same amount of RNA."

Vermont Business Magazine Last winter, over 1,000 people attended the inaugural Artful Ice Shanties exhibit, presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) and Retreat Farm. Visitors saw ice shanties shaped like a giant iridescent fish, a black die with moon-shaped dots, a seascape with a three-dimensional octopus, and more.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Foundation’s Insight Hub, its research-driven arm focused on providing insight to inform charitable giving, has published a brief on how charitable individuals can use their philanthropy to support Vermonters experiencing social isolation. The Insight Hub offers webinars, events, briefs, and peer-to-peer experiences that help philanthropists understand where their giving can make a difference.