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Leonine Public Affairs The Vermont General Assembly convened for the 2022 legislative session on Tuesday, January 4. Legislators are starting the session working from their homes and offices, as has been the case since the COVID-19 pandemic swept Vermont in March 2020. Lawmakers had hoped to return in-person for the 2022 session, but the surging Omicron variant caused legislators to approve a two-week remote start to the year.

Vermont Business Magazine Funding is now available from the Vermont Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation for organizations and programs supporting economic security and well-being, and career opportunities, for Vermont women and girls. The 2022 competitive grant program will award grants of up to $10,000 for accepted proposals.

Vermont Business Magazine Every year during the holiday season, SunCommon hosts an annual Holiday Giving campaign to shine light on important issues in our local communities. While the company’s core mission is addressing climate change through the installation of commercial and residential solar, this annual campaign uses the business as a force for good beyond their everyday work.

Vermont Business Magazine Thomas Dukeshire, formally owner & CEO of Rural Techs, announces the launch of his new company, Rural Solutions, in Burlington. Described as a “one-stop shop” for small businesses, Rural Solutions offers small businesses the support needed for success: IT & technology (including both hardware and software components); business financial planning, analysis, and bookkeeping; business strategy and consulting; and full-scale marketing.

Vermont Business Magazine Richmond-based Clear Spot, a communications company serving mission-driven organizations, is pleased to announce it is expanding as a partnership between co-owners Katie and Kevin Titterton. Founded in 2016 to support Vermont nonprofits with thoughtful, nimble, and affordable communications content and strategy, Clear Spot works with organizations supporting the arts, children, education, the environment, food systems, energy resilience, poverty relief, and more.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported 1,917 cases of COVID-19 for Thursday, just short of Wednesday's record of 2,188. The previous record of 1,727 cases of COVID-19 was set on Monday. On December 30, it reported a then-record 1,471 cases. The record for cases was broken three times last week and another three times this week.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the launch of the State’s “Tests for Tots” program, which will provide rapid antigen COVID-19 test kits to regulated childcare providers across Vermont. These childcare providers can enroll in the program effective immediately.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) recently opened applications for the new Vermont Pay for Phosphorus (VPFP) program, one of the first of its kind in the United States. VAAFM received a $7 million grant award from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in September of 2020, enabling the Agency to launch a statewide Vermont Pay for Phosphorus (VPFP) Program to further expand and support agriculture’s role in delivering clean water results for Vermont. The program will provide $4.9 million in direct payments to farms over 4 years for successful phosphorus management. Vermont farmers wishing to apply for the program have until January 31, 2022 to do so.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), along with colleagues in both the Senate and House of Representatives, Wednesday sent a a bicameral letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard Glick urging the agency to use its authority to protect consumers from unfairly high energy costs.

The Vermont State Police is investigating a robbery that occurred early Friday afternoon, Jan. 7, 2022, at the Bar Harbor Bank on Methodist Lane in Williamstown. At about 12:20 p.m., an unknown male entered the bank and demanded cash from the teller. The suspect did not display a weapon or threaten the teller. He fled the bank with an undisclosed sum of money and was seen operating a silver or gold four-door sedan. No one was injured in the incident.

Vermont Business Magazine On January 6, 2022, the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) and the federally appointed receiver for Jay Peak, Michael Goldberg, announced a settlement with the broker-dealer firm Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (Merrill Lynch). The settlement totals $4.5 million and relates to Merrill Lynch’s handling of accounts used in connection with the Jay Peak EB-5 fraud.

Vermont Business Magazine Turnstone Ventures, a vertically-integrated real estate investment first led by seasoned Boston-based developer Jeff Glew, has acquired the historic 50-key The Shire Woodstock in Woodstock, Vermont. Turnstone has hired New York-based Life House Hotels, signaling the tech-enabled hotel operator’s first hotel in Vermont and 20th hotel in New England.