Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Department for Children and Families (DCF) announced today that approximately 18,370 fuel households will receive a one-time cash benefit to help offset the cost of heating their homes this winter. Eligible households will get a check for either $400 or $120.

The VDH will no longer be updating the COVID dashboard on the weekend. Weekend data will be reported on Monday.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 508 cases of COVID-19 for Thursday. Cases in Vermont last week plummeted by more than 3,000—a decrease of 40%. In the last two weeks, cases have fallen 56%. However, the VDH today reported five additional deaths for 553. One death was in the 30-39 age group, of which there have been only eight since the beginning of the pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine This morning at approximately 0340 hours, the Burlington Fire Department was dispatched to a medical call on South Willard Street. As units departed Central Fire Station, they noticed a fire in the building located at 199 King Street about a block away. First arriving companies encountered significant fire on the third floor extending into the attic space. Burlington firefighters initiated an aggressive but coordinated fire attack and search of the building. Due to the volume of fire and the structural integrity of the building, units could not search the third floor, and the incident commander quickly transitioned to a defensive firefighting operation, allowing only exterior fire suppression efforts to occur. This building was the site of a fatal fire on January 9, 2021, and had not been repaired.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) Child Nutrition Programs is seeking sponsors for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). This program, also known as Summer Meals, is federally funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by AOE Child Nutrition Programs. Funds are available and sponsors are needed to provide meals to children at summer food program sites.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber will host its next virtual Legislative Breakfast, sponsored by New England Federal Credit Union, on February 14, 2022. The Chamber will be joined by guest panelists Leap Fund Founder & CEO, Karen Schoellkopf and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Executive Vice President & Director of Research, Dr. David Altig to discuss how benefits cliffs can be addressed with business-and state-level policy changes. Benefits cliff is a term to describe when a person receives public benefits from the government or earns a raise, and then discovers that they make too much money to receive the benefits, yet they are not making enough money to sustain themselves and their household.

Vermont State Police Following an autopsy Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, the victim found deceased Wednesday morning in Swanton is identified as Elijah Oliver, 22, of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be gunshot wounds of the torso, and the manner of death is a homicide.

Vermont Business Magazine The Alliance for Vermont Communities closed on the gift of 256 acres to the towns of Sharon and Strafford for the creation a forest that spans these two towns. The Ashley Community Forest will be managed by representatives of both towns and serve as a resource for educational and recreational activities. The Alliance for Vermont Communities (AVC), a non-profit organization, purchased the Ashley property in June of 2018 as a response to a proposed development in the area and desire to create a community forest.

Vermont Business Magazine A new report confirms what Vermonters already knew. Home values keep going up and the equity in those homes here is going up with it. Vermont ranks second in the nation in "equity-rich" housing. Equity-rich is defined as a loan-to-value ratio of 50 percent or lower, meaning the property owner had at least 50 percent equity. Vermont (64.8 percent) is behind only Idaho (66.7 percent).

by Rob Roper This year, the tri-partisan Legislative Apportionment Board (LAB) recommended that the Vermont legislature re-draw house and senate district boundaries (we do this every ten years following the census) so that there would be 150 single member house districts and 30 single member senate districts. This would be a change from Vermont’s current mishmash of one- and two-member house districts and one-, two-, three- and six-member senate districts.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Senate passed S.30, a gun-safety bill. Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint issued the following statement upon passage: “I know Vermonters want sensible gun laws that keep our families safe. S.30 will reduce gun violence, protect victims of domestic violence, and keep guns out of our hospitals.”

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 574 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday. Cases in Vermont last week plummeted by more than 3,000—a decrease of 40%. In the last two weeks, cases have fallen 56%. However, the VDH today reported three additional deaths for 548. Hospitalizations today were 91 (up 3 from yesterday). The record was 122 on January 19. Health officials have focused on this as a key indicator. They had been running over 100 the last few weeks. ICU stays, which also have been elevated, were 23 (unchanged). The one-day record there was set December 7, 2021, (31). Like deaths, hospitalizations tend to lag case trends either way.

Vermont Business Magazine The Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce was recently awarded a $30,000 Tourism & Economic Recovery Marketing Grant from the Vermont Department of Economic Development. This region was also awarded a similar grant in 2021. This successful application was the result of a regional collaboration, including support letters & other input, with partners including the communities of Chester, Londonderry, Ludlow & Weathersfield. All 12 core communities in Okemo Valley will benefit from these marketing efforts provided by this award. As the project manager, the chamber will also engage with its 300+ members.