Current News

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims were down from last week and remain at a higher level than last summer. The summer claims were similar to a pre-pandemic summer, with typically low claims about or below 300 a week. The holiday season usually results in wild swings in claims as retailers hire and fire workers to meet the ebb and flow of customers. Those swings have not been witnessed yet.

​Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center is pleased to announce it will expand its outpatient medication-assisted substance use treatment services to patients served by the regional provider Phoenix House of New England. The organization is discontinuing its service footprint in Northwest Vermont. With the help of the 12 clinical and program staff who will be joining Howard Center from Phoenix House, the organizations are working collaboratively to put in place a coordinated transition process to ensure continuity of care for patients currently receiving medication-assisted treatment and telehealth services. With this change, Howard Center will be serving an additional 450 patients.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Lantern Solar, based in Waterbury, has received approvals for three net-metering projects in Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) territory, bringing the total number of Green Lantern projects in Vermont to more than 100, located in nearly 70 towns across Vermont. One of these 500 kW(AC) projects is located in Bloomfield on a gravel pit.

Vermont Business Magazine While the economy may be bouncing back, Thanksgiving travel is not. GasBuddy, the leading fuel savings platform providing North American drivers with the most ways to save money on gas, revealed in its 2021 Annual Thanksgiving Travel Survey that 32% of Americans plan to travel for Thanksgiving this year, a decline from 35% last year that compares to some 65% that planned to hit the road for Thanksgiving 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine Following continued investigation, the Vermont State Police is able to provide the following update about a stabbing that occurred Wednesday in Weathersfield in which one person died and a second was injured. The deceased man is identified as Daniel Murray, 29, of Springfield. Investigators learned that Daniel was experiencing a mental-health crisis and had gone to visit his mother and stepfather at their home on Melody Lane in Weathersfield. Daniel’s stepfather, 68-year-old Donald Brochu, was working to help Daniel when Daniel broke a glass-front cabinet and used a piece of glass to harm his stepfather. Donald suffered critical injuries but was able to escape, at which point Daniel used the sharp object to inflict fatal injuries on himself.

Vermont Business Magazine The fully online program designed for experienced IT professionals will provide crucial skills to build leaders in the dynamic IT field. Champlain College Online, a leader in career-focused adult higher education, today announced the addition of a fully online Master of Science (MS) in Information Technology. The new program is designed for IT professionals—computer network architects, software developers, web developers, and more—looking to deepen their technical expertise, develop advanced analytical skills, and rise to the top of their fields.

by Dr Michael K Dorsey Protecting our environment and reducing climate change inducing emissions is complex and often defined by hard choices. While we may wish environmental protection was as simple as flipping a switch, the reality is rarely that straightforward. There will never be a “silver bullet” when it comes to protecting our environment. I believe that rather than becoming frustrated by the absence of one-size fit-all solutions, it can be just as productive to make thoughtful choices today that enable us to achieve incremental environmental gains – that may ultimately may deliver breakthroughs over the longer term.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed a proclamation calling a special session, convening the Legislature on Monday, November 22 for the sole purpose of passing legislation narrowly tailored to grant municipalities the authority to implement time limited mask mandates, if they choose. The Legislature, however, could theoretically pass any bill. Scott vowed to veto any other action.

One staff, 13 incarcerated individuals test positive in Northern State Correctional Facility outbreak testing

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting 245 COVID-19 cases, which was up from Tuesday's 187. There were 222 on Monday and 298 cases on Sunday. There were 463 COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 505 cases Friday, which was the second highest case count on record after they spiked to 591 last Thursday. There were 44 COVID-related deaths in Vermont in October, which was the third-worst month on record (December 2020, 71; September 2021, 50). There are 22 so far in November.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce wraps up another year of Vermont’s Stay To Stay Program this December with over 200 families registered, 50 plus people participating in Zoom meetings and 8 families moving to Southwestern Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Department of Labor celebrated the seventh annual National Apprenticeship Week in Vermont today at Central Vermont Medical Center. Administered by the DOL, the Vermont Registered Apprenticeship Program brings together businesses, jobseekers, students, and educators to develop apprenticeship opportunities to meet the needs of employers and provide quality career paths for Vermonters through an “earn while you learn” model. Since 2017, enrollment for apprenticeships has totaled more than 8,880 across more than 35 programs. With a 90% job placement rate of apprentices nationally, employers on average see a return of $1.51 per every dollar spent on registered apprenticeship.