Current News

Vermont Business Magazine According to union leadership, an overwhelming majority of union members voted to authorize union leaders to call a strike at Consolidated Communications. The unions have been in negotiations with the company since March and have yet to reach an agreement. The contracts of over 1,000 union employees in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont expire on August 7. A strike authorization vote is a necessary precursor to a work stoppage, but does not require the union members to actually go on strike. Such a decision could be made later by union leaders.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE), the innovative COVID-19 response program that provides meal assistance to Vermonters in need while supporting local restaurants, farmers and food producers, has received an extension to continue programming. Program managers had previously anticipated that the program would end on June 30, but the state has extended the program contract recognizing that many Vermonters continue to face exacerbated food insecurity due to the COVID-19 economic crisis. The program is now expected to continue through September.

Vermont Business Magazine The late, great Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige is known for the quote, “Don’t look back; something might be gaining on you.” Noted futurist Brian Solis shares that belief, especially as it pertains to businesses and their need to look forward, not back.

That is especially the case here in the post-pandemic world, according to Solis, who maintains that businesses should not be yearning for a return to the old normal but rather must adapt to the changed behaviors of consumers in what he calls the “novel economy” — as in the novel coronavirus.

“There’s no need to try to look to the past to see what we did when (instead) you have an opportunity to explore what you could do differently or what you should have been doing differently,” said Solis, who holds the title of global innovation evangelist at cloud computing giant Salesforce.com.

Vermont Business Magazine The Small Business Administration is still accepting applications for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. Eligible entities may be live venues, promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organizations, museums, movie theaters, and talent representatives.

The Vermont Republican Party have unanimously approved a resolution at its state committee meeting on July 10 to oppose vaccine passports in Vermont. The resolution comes in response to concerns over medical privacy and individual rights as described in the 4th amendment to the US constitution. Nationally, liberal thought leaders, such as Naomi Wolf, have expressed concerns about such proposals to identify vaccinated persons versus those who are not. However, some Vermont Democratic lawmakers have suggested that persons entering the Vermont statehouse must show proof of vaccination for the upcoming session in 2022.

by Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos This month we celebrated the birth of our nation. Since its inception, American democracy has undergone continual transformation. Over the last 245 years many activists and advocates have fought tirelessly to expand the franchise that our democratic ideals depend on: the right to vote.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott will meet with President Biden, Vice President Harris, the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor and a small bipartisan group of governors and mayors today at the White House to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework and the importance of making critical infrastructure investments.

Vermont Business Magazine Healthy Living Market and Café has partnered with Spectrum Youth and Family Services to provide a new sign for its service center, Detail Works. A Spectrum enterprise doubling as an automotive detailer, Detail Works was created to help young adults build the soft skills needed to thrive in a workplace environment. Spectrum Youth and Family Services aids young adults and their families with services that make and sustain positive changes.

Vermont Business Magazine Common Good Vermont, a recently merged program of United Way of Northwest Vermont, will offer its annual Nonprofit Summer Camp in a virtual format this year on July 28 and August 11. Leaders of all levels from Vermont nonprofits are invited to participate in a series of workshops focusing on reimaging how nonprofit professionals work and lead as we move forward.

Vermont Business Magazine Heidenberg Properties Group (HPG), Downstreet Housing & Community Development and Evernorth have announced the two latest projects that will call Berlin’s New Town Center home: 30-units of affordable workforce housing and Central Vermont’s first Starbucks. Over the past decade, Heidenberg Properties has worked with the Town of Berlin to introduce a variety of mixed uses into the 65-acre Berlin Mall parcel. These have included a Walmart grocery, Kohls department store, Planet Fitness, Passumpsic Bank, and most recently, Chestnut Place, a 98-unit senior housing project which will welcome residents in the first quarter of 2022.

Program to enroll Vermonters in free courses to enhance skills and provide workforce training

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, the University of Vermont and Community College of Vermont today announced the launch of the Upskill Vermont Scholarship Program, which is intended to address the training needs of Vermont’s workforce, specifically for unemployed or underemployed individuals seeking new opportunities through career change or advancement in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency. CCV is getting $4.5 million from several different sources of funding. UVM has received $1 million in federal ARPA funds.

Vermont Business Magazine Clean Energy Group (CEG), a national nonprofit that works on clean energy and climate, announced the retirement of Lewis Milford, its founder and president. His retirement will become effective on December 31, 2021. Milford founded CEG in 1998, after working over several years on clean energy and utility restructuring dockets in New England while with the Conservation Law Foundation. With CEG, Milford focused on how state and communities could develop sound renewable energy policies, programs, and finance tools.