Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Technical College’s Architectural and Building Engineering Technology Department at Vermont Technical College had both its bachelor’s degree and associate degree accreditations extended for an additional six years, the longest term that the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) grants. The programs, assessed under ABET’s Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission, received a final evaluation of “no findings,” which means the programs had no deficiencies, weaknesses, or concerns.

by Catherine Coteus, Board Member, Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom The future of reproductive freedom is at stake. This week, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, which challenges the constitutionality of Mississippi’s law banning abortions after 15 weeks. The Mississippi law is part of a growing trend among states to restrict, dismantle, hinder and eliminate abortion access that was firmly established in the US through extensive case precedent that bases the right to an abortion in the constitution.

​Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D) and Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) on Thursday announced that Vermont will be receiving $63,041,000 in funding for drinking water systems and wastewater treatment as a result of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Biden late last month. The funds will go into the State’s revolving loan funds for drinking water and wastewater. Those funds are loaned or granted to municipalities for constructing, improving or expanding public drinking water and wastewater systems.

Vermont Business Magazine Sixteen new cases of COVID-19 were detected at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport. Thirteen of the cases were identified in the incarcerated population and three among staff in outbreak testing conducted on November 29. A total of 40 incarcerated individuals and 14 staff have tested positive in the NSCF outbreak, which began on November 10. There are now a total of 13 active incarcerated cases and six active staff cases at NSCF; 27 individuals and eight staff have been medically cleared of the virus. The facility remains on full lockdown and contact tracing on the new positives is underway.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s COVID-19 Winter Action Plan. Governor Scott: “President Biden today outlined a strong plan to confront COVID-19 that will help the country keep moving forward. Like Vermont’s current policies, it strongly prioritizes vaccines, boosters and testing. I share the President’s commitment to progress by prioritizing what we know will work best, which are not the broad restrictions of 2020, because we need to be able to bring Americans and Vermonters along with us 20+ months into the pandemic."

Vermont Business Magazine CVFiber has begun network developer and operator negotiations with the joint partnership of three firms, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), Waitsfield Champlain Valley Telecom (WCVT) and Mission Broadband. This is a major step forward to delivering fast, 100/100 Mbps, broadband service to all addresses connected to the electrical grid in the 21 communities in the CVFiber Communications Union District. CVFiber believes that it has selected a team that shares its values and brings extensive experience building and operating a future-proof fiber-optic network.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported a daily record COVID-19 cases with 604 (up more than 100 from Wednesday's 497). Health Commissioner Dr Mark Levine Tuesday that case counts have been up and down since the Thanksgiving holiday as there had been fewer people seeking to be tested. Now people are back to getting tested. Dr Levine has said he is concerned that the holiday would lead to higher case counts, which appears now to be the situation.

Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth College dedicated the new home of the Arthur L Irving Institute for Energy and Society today during an online event. The event celebrated the five-year, $160 million investment in the Irving Institute.The Irving Institute is a nexus for interdisciplinary research and teaching that will harness Dartmouth’s liberal arts strengths and research excellence to shape a more sustainable, equitable energy future for humankind.

Vermont Business Magazine The Northwest Communications Union District (NWCUD) is now operating under Northwest Fiberworx (NWFX) Northwest Fiberworx is quickly becoming a leader in bringing an open-access fiber-optic network to Northwestern Vermont. NWFX recently hired a full-time Executive Director (Sean Kio of Enosburgh); was awarded $1,275,028 from the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) for pre-construction planning and network design; is working with National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative to develop the organization’s business plan; and is actively looking to expand the employee roster with a full-time Operations Project Manager.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Winooski School District Superintendent Sean McMannon issued the following statement in response to a legislative proposal that would remove English language learners (ELL) from the equity formula, funding their education with grants instead: “By choosing to separate/segregate ELL funding from the rest of the formula, and intentionally setting the amount at substantially less than empirical analysis says it should be, I believe this proposal results in discrimination against ELL students on the basis of national origin and language."

Vermont Business Magazine Resonant Link, a Shelburne-based company that builds the world’s most efficient wireless chargers, has been selected to participate in Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN), a multi-million dollar program developed in collaboration between Shell GameChanger and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). GCxN provides promising early-stage cleantech companies with resources to accelerate product commercialization while de-risking investment.

Vermont Business Magazine ECFiber announced today it has placed $9 million of new municipal revenue bonds at an average interest rate of 4.48% and average maturity of 21 years. This brings ECFiber’s total bond commitments to $63.3 million with about 70% of its network constructed. Last week, the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) approved the municipally-owned broadband provider’s $2.8 million grant application for pre-construction expenses. With over 6,700 customers in 23 towns, ECFiber continues to show the way forward as Vermont’s first communications union district (CUD).