Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Citizens Bank announced Thursday that the quarterly national Citizens Business Conditions Index (CBCI) was 54.4 for the fourth quarter, down from 57.8 at the end of September, but still in expansionary territory. Following particularly high readings in the second and third quarters, the latest index value still reflects the demand momentum that is driving business conditions. Meanwhile, Vermont increased 1.1% since last quarter, and 7% year-to-year in 2021. The bank’s footprint – which includes New England - also saw increases: 1.1% since last quarter and 3% since last year. New Hampshire’s business conditions index increased 7.6% since last quarter, yielding a 4% increase from this point last year.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) raised over $80,000 in November and December of 2021. Mary Kate Mohlman, Montpelier resident and Vice Chair of CVHHH’s Board of Directors, supported fundraising efforts as Honorary Chair of CVHHH’s Fall Appeal. CVHHH is a nonprofit healthcare provider that delivers care regardless of a person’s insurance status or their ability to pay for the care they receive. Money raised goes right back into supporting programming and services that CVHHH delivers and for which the organization is not fully reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurers.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) announced Thursday that six Vermont arts organizations will be receiving a combined $500,000 in funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: “The arts was one of the hardest hit sectors in the country as the pandemic shuttered performance spaces and galleries. In Vermont, which has some the highest participation in the arts in the nation, the closing of arts spaces has been challenging for both artists and the Vermonters who love their work, and whose lives are enriched by what they produce. These grants will help arts organizations recover so we can all continue to enjoy the creativity and talent of Vermont’s artists and performers.”

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group employees, retirees and board members donated a record $320,000 to nonprofits of their choice through the company’s Share the Good campaign. The National Life Group Foundation then matched those donations, for a total of $640,164. Employees are encouraged to donate to up to four nonprofits through the campaign. The company’s Foundation matches up to $2,000 of their donations. The nonprofits that will receive the most in donations are: Vermont Foodbank: $30,136; Central Vermont Humane Society: $15,274; St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital: $8,066.

Vermont Business Magazine Kingsbury Companies was recently awarded the Surry Mountain Lake Service Gate Replacement Project in Surry, NH. Surry Mountain Lake is an impoundment on the Ashuelot River in Surry, NH. It was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1941 to protect downstream communities, such as Keene, from flooding. The work for this project at the Surry Mountain Lake Dam includes the in-kind furnishment and installation of two new service gates to replace the original gates which were manufactured in 1939.

Dartmouth College President Philip J Hanlon ’77 announced Tuesday that he will step down at the end of the next academic year in June 2023. President Hanlon, who assumed the presidency in 2013, announced his decision in a message to the Dartmouth community after informing the Board of Trustees at their meeting on Jan. 21. Elizabeth Cahill Lempres ’83, Thayer ’84, chair of the Board of Trustees, thanked President Hanlon for his tireless work in steering Dartmouth to ever greater academic excellence, inclusion, and impact in a separate message to the community.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington's Main Street Landing, home to Union Station, has hired a new CEO: Owiso Makuku. CEO Melinda Moulton announced the hiring on Facebook. On February 21st, 2022, Owiso Makuku will assume the leadership of Main Street Landing as their new Chief Executive Officer. Owiso graduated from Middlebury College and holds both a Master of Architecture and a Master in City Planning from MIT.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Administration has formerly requested that the Senate Appropriations Committee address key issues and restore critical proposals in the Budget Adjustment Act (BAA), as passed by the House. The Administration raised specific concerns that changes to the BAA made by the House will use $90 million in ARPA funds for initiatives that – while they may be worthy efforts – do not maximize the return on investment or accelerate Vermont’s economic recovery. If passed as is, this bill would spend approximately 20% of the remaining ARPA money without considering the larger economic revitalization needs of the state or maximizing the value of this money. These changes could also significantly reduce proposed ARPA investments by Governor Scott in climate change mitigation and home weatherization, broadband, and water, sewer and wastewater infrastructure.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced today the appointment of Jon Murad as Police Chief. Chief Murad has served as Deputy Chief at the Burlington Police Department since October 2018 and has served as Acting Chief since the summer of 2020. Previous to joining the Burlington Police Department, Chief Murad served in the New York Police Department as an officer, Detective, Sergeant, and Assistant Commissioner.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine UVM, the Vermont Department of Corrections, and the Urban Institute today released initial findings from the first phase of the Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) in Vermont, one of five states participating in the five-year effort to build evidence and spur innovation to make prisons more humane, safe, and rehabilitative. Survey results from staff, incarcerated people at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield highlighted issues around correctional staffing, programming for incarcerated people, and high rates of mental health concerns. Serious suicidal thoughts were high for both inmates (36%) and staff (10%).

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 1,490 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday. This was an increase of nearly a thousand from Tuesday. However, cases the last week were down 27 percent and for the last two weeks were down 37 percent. There were two additional deaths reported for 529. The deaths are attributed to the Delta variant, even as nearly all the new COVID cases are the result of exposure to the Omicron variant.