Current News

Northeastern Vermont Development Association NVDA employees have returned to their offices on a limited basis. Our building remains closed to the general public, but we are accepting meetings by appointment. Despite increasing pressure to lift travel restrictions, the US is keeping the ban on nonessential Canadian border crossings in place to at least September 21st to minimize the spread of Covid-19 and the Delta variant. On August 9th, the state disbursed the first payment of $29 million in American Rescue Plan Act Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to 274 local governments. Municipalities in Essex, Orleans and Caledonia Counties are making decisions on how to spend the funds. Vermont received an additional $60 million which will be distributed to the same municipalities by Labor Day Weekend!

Vermont Business Magazine September is Hunger Action Month in Vermont. The COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in food insecurity and the results of a recent University of Vermont study show that need has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Vermonters continue to face the challenge of keeping food on the table. In its fifth year supporting Vermonters in need and the vital work of the Vermont Foodbank, the Vermont Legal Community Fighting Hunger Food Drive will start Friday, September 3^rd and run until Friday, September 17^th.

Vermont Business Magazine USCRI, a national nonprofit resettlement agency that assists people who have migrated to our country to help them live safe and dignified lives, submitted a proposal to the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to serve up to 100 Afghans in Vermont. The goal is to accommodate some of the many Afghans who are being targeted due to their support of the US military and government agencies, as well as media and non-governmental organizations, following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Vermont Business Magazine Adam Rainville, Chair of the board of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce, shared the following announcement, “it is my great pleasure to share with you the appointment of Philip Summers to serve as executive director of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce effective October 4th, 2021.” Summers replaces Rob Carter, who will retire at the end of September. Rob and his wife will be moving to VA to be closer to family.

Vermont Business Magazine What’s the secret for turning customers into diehard fans? Raising Cane’s founder and CEO Todd Graves will share his tried-and-true strategy in the September Business Forum webcast.

This webcast will broadcast at 12 PM Wednesday, September 8. Registration is free.

​Vermont Business Magazine E4H Environments for Health Architecture, with an office in Williston, has announced the acquisition of Dixon + Associates. Based in Salt Lake City, Dixon + Associates is a niche architectural design firm focused on the healthcare and medical design industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Pomerleau Real Estate has announced that D.W Voigt, CPA has leased 1,900 SF at Post Office Square in Essex Junction. Kendra Kenney of Pomerleau Real Estate represented the tenant and Rick Harrison of J.L Davis Realty represented the building owner, Handy’s Hotel’s and Rentals, LLC.

Vermont Business Magazine The Labor Day Weekend is fast approaching, which brings us to the last major Holiday of the Summer Season. This is a time to celebrate the last days of good weather with friends and family. Unfortunately, it is also a time when too many people make the decision to get behind the wheel while under the influence of Alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both. As of August 24th, there have been 41 fatal crashes on Vermont's roadways that have caused 45 people to lose their lives.

Vermont Business Magazine A new offering that connects expectant families with doula support services is proving popular due to the value of perinatal services delivered at no cost. The project is made possible by a federally-funded grant in partnership with the Screening, Treatment and Access for Mothers and Perinatal Partners (STAMPP), Central Vermont Medical Center and Washington County Mental Health Services. The project is available to expecting individuals and their partners but closes at the end of September. So far, more than 20 expectant families have enrolled in the unique perinatal project.

Vermont Business Magazine An engineering lab at Dartmouth College has been awarded two grants totaling $1.25 million to conduct planetary science research relating to the geophysics and astrobiology of icy planets in our solar system. The research could lead to clues about the nature of the icy planets' inaccessible interiors and support future space travel to these planets.

Vermont Business Magazine At a press conference Tuesday, Governor Phil Scott and members of his Administration discussed the start of the school year, the latest COVID-19 trends in Vermont, and continued to encourage Vermonters to get vaccinated. A full transcript of the Governor’s remarks is embedded below. "I’d like to start this week by acknowledging that today is International Overdose Awareness Day. For 18 months, so much of our focus has been on the pandemic. But it is critical to remember, long before COVID, and to this day, we are still confronted with the impacts of overdoses and the deaths that follow. Unfortunately, there is no denying that over the last year and a half, overdoses have increased. With all the stresses from COVID, barriers to treatment, businesses closing and the uncertainty of the past 18 months, people with substance use disorder have been impacted significantly."

by Timothy McQusiton, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and administration officials held their usual Tuesday press briefing to discuss COVID-19 mitigation for schools, which mostly opened last week; parents protesting masking mandates at schools; CDC guidance on mask wearing indoors; Corrections Department cases and new rules for DOC staff starting Wednesday; and Scott also released the list of this week's vaccination clinics. As of today, the Vermont Department of Health is reporting one more death for 276 statewide, with 104 cases, 28 hospitalized and 8 in the ICU.