Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Sunday reported 532 new cases of COVID-19, after Friday's record of 740 cases. All of the highest case counts since the beginning of the pandemic have occurred since November 3, 2021. Timing of when tests are taken and when results come back has affected daily totals, but there has been a post-Thanksgiving surge in cases in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine At Okemo, two new lifts made their debut one week apart: the Evergreen Summit Express on December 4 and the Quantum Six on December 11. With the grand opening of two lifts, Okemo has completed a transformational upgrade – part of a Vail Resorts capital improvement plan that makes accessing the mountain faster and easier. Major infrastructure improvements that took place between April and November 2021 include the relocation of one high-speed bubble chairlift and the installation of a new high-speed, six-passenger chairlift – as well as terrain and snowmaking expansions.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy announced that he will be retiring from office at the end of his current term. His retirement will mark the end of a long and distinguished Senate career, which began in 1974, when he became the first Democrat and youngest person ever elected to the US Senate from Vermont. US Representative Peter Welch on November 22 announced he is running for US Senate. Vermont’s revenue results for October 2021 show General, Education, and Transportation Fund cumulative revenues were slightly below targets for October 2021, the first month of the second quarter. Revenues remain above targets for the year-to-date.

by Lisa Ventriss Since joining the Champlain College community in mid-August as Interim Dean, I have had the privilege of developing a much deeper appreciation for the college, its faculty and staff, and our amazingly talented students. On a tight urban footprint with 65 of Burlington’s most architecturally significant buildings, this campus and the hill on which it resides is a place of much history and beauty. Champlain College is home to four academic divisions — Communications and Creative Media (the largest program of which is the renowned Game Studio); Education & Human Services (known for majors in criminal justice, social work, and education, among others); Information Technology & Sciences (boasting the Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity); and the Robert P. Stiller School of Business, Vermont’s longest standing business school.

by David Kelley In my lifetime, we have fought more than our share of senseless wars. The so-called “war on poverty” has been one of them. Its failures are too replete to recount in a short op ed, but surely schools are the front line of that war, and here in Vermont our educational funding formula continues to be one of our biggest failures.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Saturday reported 260 new cases of COVID-19, after Friday's record of 740 cases. All of the highest case counts since the beginning of the pandemic have occurred since November 3, 2021. Timing of when tests are taken and when results come back has affected daily totals, but there has been a post-Thanksgiving surge in cases in Vermont. Hospitalizations were 76 (down two) after breaking its one-day record Wednesday with 92 statewide. ICU stays, which also have been elevated, were 21 (down three). The one-day record there was set last Tuesday (31).

Vermont Business Magazine Historic Hotels of America offer travelers many memorable ways to experience holiday traditions, many dating back decades if not centuries. Twenty-five of these legendary hotels, resorts, and inns have created magnificent gingerbread displays to delight and inspire guests. The 25 include the Woodstock Inn in Vermont. This season they have prepared a whimsical cottage style that pulls inspiration from Dr. Seuss

Vermont Business Magazine The Mad River Valley has been chosen as the location for HGTV Dream Home 2022 with help from Vermont Real Estate Company owner-broker, Kara Koptiuch, and Sugarbush Real Estate's Cindy Carr. Vermont Real Estate Company's Kara Koptiuch had previously worked with HGTV in 2017-2018 when they were scouting for a waterfront home on Lake Champlain to create the DIY Network Ultimate Retreat 2018. After visiting several properties, Kara and the network agreed, they had found the perfect Colchester property to renovate into a gorgeous lakefront home.

Vermont Business Magazine A new company called Troove has entered the higher education arena with the goal of making college search and admissions more efficient and accessible. Troove helps applicants find their ideal fit, in and out of the classroom, by engaging alumni and current college students in the search process for the first time. Troove is powered by AI technology that gathers, mines and decodes experience data for any school to align with the values, abilities, priorities and ambitions of the students entering the admissions process.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Friday reported a new daily record of 740 cases of COVID-19, nearly 300 more than Thursday (467). The previous record of 643 cases of COVID-19 was set this past Sunday. All of the highest case counts since the beginning of the pandemic have occurred since November 3, 2021. Hospitalizations fell back to 78 (down nine) after breaking its one-day record Wednesday with 92 statewide. ICU stays, which also have been elevated, are 24 (up one). The one-day record there was set on Tuesday (31). Cases Friday were especially high in Windsor (99) and Rutland (90) counties.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) filed its 2021 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) this afternoon, a report that is updated every three years. The IRP is a roadmap as GMP continues its work to strengthen the greater grid to increase resiliency for Vermont communities, while driving down costs and enabling more cost-effective local renewable power. Leveraging innovation to empower customers and communities through this greater grid also drives down costs for all customers. GMP’s energy storage network provides added backup power for residents, businesses, and communities and in 2020 alone, reduced more than $3 million in costs for all GMP customers.

Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, US Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and 42 of their Senate Democratic colleagues sent a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service Charles Rettig calling for the Biden Administration to revise current guidance that has led to members of the LGBTQIA+ community being denied pension survivor benefits after losing their life partner.