Current News

by Vermont Speaker of the House Jill Krowinsky Since the start of the pandemic, Vermont has been leading the nation in our response to COVID, and Vermonters have stepped up heroically, steadfastly, and let evidence-based science guide our policy response. That’s why I am concerned that the Governor’s change in strategy is failing to keep Vermonters, all of us, safe. We need to be more proactive in following guidance from the CDC and ensure that we are doing everything we can to mitigate the spread of the virus. This could include an indoor mask mandate and a requirement that all state employees and teachers get vaccinated.

by John McClaughry The unfolding human and political tragedy in Afghanistan was, sadly, predictable from the day – February 29, 2020 - that the self-styled Great Deal Maker Donald Trump, bypassing the Afghan government, entered into a sham “peace agreement” with the Taliban, then pressured the Afghan government to release five thousand imprisoned Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists.

Vermont Business Magazine The Waterbury community’s year-old online news outlet, Waterbury Roundabout Inc, and the Vermont Journalism Trust, Ltd, announce a fiscal sponsorship agreement to assist the new local news site as it works to become financially sustainable. The website WaterburyRoundabout.org launched in May 2020, several weeks after the community’s weekly newspaper, the Waterbury Record, folded early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine The VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, (VNAHSR), one of the state’s largest providers of skilled home health and hospice services, recognized Claire McCaughey, a personal care attendant in the CarePlus program as Clinical Employee of the 2^nd Quarter of 2021 and Edmond “Ed” Young, IT support technician as Non-Clinical Employee of the 2nd Quarter of 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Department of Corrections (Vermont DOC) is reporting two staff members at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport tested positive for COVID-19 in independent tests conducted August 18 and August 21. The first staff member was last in the facility on August 17 and tested positive on August 18. One staff close contact was identified, and that individual is quarantined. The second staff member was last in the facility on August 21 and tested positive through a rapid test the same day.

Vermont Business Magazine With the popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin again surging above $50,000 for a single coin, Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) Commissioner Michael Pieciak urges Vermont investors to fully understand the risks when using and investing in cryptocurrencies. Throughout the pandemic, the number of cryptocurrency transactions initiated in Vermont skyrocketed over 400% percent (224,283 transactions in 2020, compared to 44,290 in 2019). The total value of those Vermont-based transactions topped out at $83.7 million in 2020, compared to $15.1 million in 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development (RD) announced $1,079,000 in funding for the Addison County Community Trust (ACCT) to install a septic system in the Lindale Mobile Home Park in Middlebury, Vermont. The investment is packaged as a $203,000 loan and $876,000 grant through RD’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan & Grant program. Other contributions to the project include $111,072 from the ACCT, a $450,000 Vermont Community Development Block grant and $500,000 from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board. USDA and ACCT also worked closely with the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) to facilitate the project.

Vermont Business Magazine 1% for the Planet today announced that it has received a generous grant of $60,000 from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust to support paid internships at 1% for the Planet’s Burlington, Vermont headquarters. The Canaday Family Charitable Trust is a foundation established in 1945 that supports Vermont organizations working to improve the lives of children and families, promote environmental education and conservation, and preserve the environment.

Vermont Business Magazine Union members from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Locals 2320, 2326 and 2327 and the Communication Workers of America (CWA), Local 1400 have ratified new, four-year agreements with Consolidated Communications, which cover approximately 900 workers in Northern New England.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack returned to Vermont last Thursday on a drizzly day on Burlington's waterfront. Vilsack was hosted by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) at the Leahy Echo Center. They were joined by several Vermont officials in a roundtable discussion. Two of the main themes at the discussion were Vermont's diversification of its agriculture industry and environmental impacts of farming on the state's waterways. Vermont is in the middle of vigorous and expensive mitigation efforts to reduce and restore the land and water.

Vermont Business Magazine Secretary of Administration Susanne Young today released Vermont’s revenue results for July 2021. General, Education, and Transportation Fund revenues came in above target. However, the Personal Income tax, the states most important General Fund revenue source, was below its expectation. The PI had been leading the way in Vermont's revenue surplus over the last two years. Young indicated that while it's too early to tell (July is the first month of the 2922 fiscal year), the PI is a reliable economic indicator. Meanwhile, other sources, like the Corporate, the tourism-related Rooms & Meals and secondary taxes picked up the slack.

Vermont Business Magazine A Brattleboro Rotary Club Gateway Foundation scholarship awarded to a Community College of Vermont (CCV) student each year aims to address the shortage of child care workers in Windham County. CCV-Brattleboro student Emma Rose Sprenger received this year’s $2,500 Jesse M. Corum, IV Scholarship.