Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections detected one new incarcerated case of COVID-19 during intake quarantine at Northwest State Correctional Facility (NWSCF) in St. Albans. The testing was conducted January 4. As of Thursday morning, five incarcerated individuals are considered positive across three Vermont facilities, all of which were identified in intake quarantine. Statewide, 41 positive staff cases currently exist across six correctional facilities, six field offices, and Central Office.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that the State has opened registration for COVID-19 booster shots for children 12 to 15 years old, following approval by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky late Wednesday night. This age group can receive their Pfizer booster as early as five months after their second Pfizer dose. Children ages 16 and 17 have already been eligible for a Pfizer booster but can now also get their booster shot as soon as five months after the second dose.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont gasoline prices today held at $3.35 a gallon from last week, according to vermontgasprices.com (GasBuddy). They are 5 cents less than a month ago and $1.11 more than a year ago. Nationally, prices are up 2 cents from last week to $3.30, down 5 cents from last month and up $1.00 from last year.

The lowest prices in Vermont can be found in Middlebury ($3.15/g) and the highest prices are in Addison ($3.59/g).

Burlington gas prices are up 1 cent per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.37/g today, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 100 stations in Burlington. Gas prices in Burlington are 4.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand $1.09/g higher than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine Coronavirus cases are rising and a new variant has quickly spread across the country. Still, millions of Americans remain unvaccinated and say they have no plans to change that. Online insurance broker QuoteWizard looked at the latest data on vaccine hesitancy. They found that concerns over side effects, government mistrust and indifference are the main reasons why people aren’t getting vaccinated. In Vermont, the reasons follow a similar pattern to the national data: 54% are worried about side effects; 36% are waiting to see if it’s safe; 26% don’t trust COVID-19 vaccines; 28% don’t trust the government; 11% don’t believe COVID is a threat.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company based in Williston, announced Wednesday that it has been selected to design and deliver an expected total of 1,780 off-grid solar canopies to be located at EV charging stations. iSun has 50-years of construction experience in solar, electrical and data services and a provider of proprietary electric vehicle charging platforms

by Bill Schubart “The oldest weekly newspaper in Vermont is on its last legs.” The Boston Globe reported in Mid-December of the Vermont Standard of Woodstock. The Vermont media landscape is in turmoil. The technologies of news-gathering and presentation are merging and altering the economic support systems for hyper-local, statewide, and national media.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Co-op (VEC) is continuing to offer a wide variety of bill credits this year for members who purchase certain electricity-powered devices for their homes or businesses to transition away from fossil fuels. More than 2,700 VEC members have taken advantage of incentives through VEC’s Energy Transformation Program since the co-op began offering them in 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine In 2021 Vermont River Conservancy took on new and larger projects to improve wildlife habitat, keep communities safe, and to ensure people will always have access to rivers for swimming, paddling, and fishing. Vermont boasts hundreds of rivers and streams -- iconic swimming holes and fabled paddlers’ trails that draw more than a half million Vermonters and visitors each year to splash, float, and fish with families and friends. Back in 1995, central Vermont volunteers founded VRC when they saw that more and more “no trespassing” signs were cutting communities off from their beloved rivers.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VT NDCAP) will hold a Special Meeting on Monday evening, January 10, 2022 from 6 pm to 8 pm to review and potentially approve its 2021 Annual Report to the Vermont Legislature.

by Rob Roper A key component of the Climate Action Plan just put forward by the Vermont Climate Council is a thing they’re calling “The Clean Heat Standard.” This is a convoluted scheme that is in practice a stealth tax on home heating oil, propane, natural gas, and kerosene that will drive up the costs of those products for consumers.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today delivered his State of the State address to the General Assembly, outlining his priorities for the 2022 legislative session and reporting on the progress of the last year. The major themes Scott presented are familiar to Vermonters: Take care of each other during COVID and do your part to get vaccinated and take other precautions; the state must take advantage of this "once in a lifetime opportunity" with the billions of dollars of federal money coming to Vermont to rebuild the infrastructure, expand broadband and build up the workforce; improve housing; and upgrade education. "It's all within our grasp."

Vermont Business Magazine Elected leaders, business and healthcare experts have weighed-in on Governor Phil Scott's State of the State Address given remotely today before a joint session of the Legislature.