Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Christine Hallquist as executive director of the newly established Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB). The Board was created through Act 71, An act relating to accelerated community broadband deployment, to assist and accelerate community efforts to achieve universal access to reliable, high-speed broadband service. She ran for governor against Scott as the Democratic nominee in 2018. Hallquist previously was a long-serving CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative.

Vermont State Police On Monday at approximately 0623 hours, Troopers from the Royalton Barracks, Westminster Barracks, and Middlesex Barracks were dispatched to the area of mile marker 66 on I-91 north in the Town of Hartland for a report of several vehicles which crashed at that location. Hartford and Hartland Fire and Rescue also responded as well as the Agency of Transportation and an Inspector from the Department of Motor Vehicles commercial team.

Vermont Business Magazine With the restoration of Amtrak service, the Essex Junction Trustees are highlighting the need for an expanded and enhanced structure to serve Amtrak passengers at Vermont’s busiest train station. To make the point, Village Trustees and friends of passenger rail will gather at the Station on Railroad Avenue in Essex Junction July 19 – the first stop of the Vermonter as it heads to New York City – to review the current status of the station, to highlight the 2015 planning initiative that proposed a major redesign and renovation of the existing structure and to see how the project fits into the Village’s economic development plans.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation reminds all those who plan to attend celebratory events on July 19 at Amtrak stations in Vermont and ride the train that they must also make an online reservation in advance if they wish to return on a free shuttle bus. Train fares of $1 are being offered for travel within Vermont on July 19 so attendees may participate in the celebration with an Amtrak train ride. To reserve a $1 ticket, go to www.amtrak.com/vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine FEMA reimbursed the State of Vermont $7,554,501 it spent testing Vermonters for nearly five months during the statewide emergency response to coronavirus. VDH worked with CIC Health. Supplies included swabs, tubes and cryogenic boxes used to ship specimens to labs. Also, CIC generated results within 24 hours of specimens being received at labs. Additionally, it offered technical assistance.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan and Rutland County State’s Attorney Rosemary Kennedy will host a virtual expungement clinic on Friday, July 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Expungements wipe from your record specific convictions and dismissed charges after a certain period of time has passed. Under Vermont law, many misdemeanors, 14 different felony offenses, and all dismissed charges can be expunged. The free clinic will focus on expunging criminal charges and convictions from Rutland County and will be open to the public by telephone appointment.

by Walter Judge, Jr Many of Vermont’s and America’s stressed and deserving restaurants qualified for Restaurant Revitalization Fund relief grants and applied for them, but never got them because the program ran out of money. Please demand that Congress replenish the funding for this critical COVID-19 relief package. The probl947 applications valued at $197,628,169.em is that the RRF applications have totaled approximately 370,000 so far, but the $28.6 Billion in the program was exhausted with the first 105,000 applications, and the SBA stopped accepting applications. There is activity in Congress to replenish the RRF fund, but so far there is no news from the SBA on whether the application portal will re-open (and, if so, when).

Vermont Business Magazine As part of the Governor's Commission on the Future of Vermont Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts recently hosted a conversation with a panel of new and young Vermont farmers. The farmers shared personal stories about their experiences starting and running farm businesses in Vermont, including specifics about challenges and opportunities they've experienced in the sector and their visions for the future of agriculture here in the state.

by Senator Bernie Sanders The best part of my job as your Senator is sitting down with Vermonters from across our state. And on especially good days, like ones recently in Burlington and Fairfield, that also includes shooting some hoops with young Vermonters. As Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, I am working on the next budget reconciliation bill, which will determine the investments the federal government makes over the next decade to make life better for individuals and families throughout our nation.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Chittenden County has been the envy, for better or worse, of the rest of the state for decades. COVID is about as defeated there as anywhere in the nation, or even in the world, and the economy is bouncing back. But there’s still that big hole in the ground in Burlington that just won’t go away. But still…

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine “I remember the last day of manufacturing, and we just brought everyone together and said, ‘this is an unknown right now,'” said Julia Birnn Fields. “Our number one priority is your safety, and so until we know more, we're going to shut down production.” Birnn Fields co-owns Birnn Chocolates of Vermont, a fourth-generation chocolate company which produces truffles for the wholesale market from their factory in South Burlington.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine In March when approximately 1,200 students and staff started classes out of the former Macy’s store on Cherry Street, the story received national attention. Prussack isn’t surprised at the stories that were written about a high school setting up shop in a dead department store. To him, the news represented a positive story about how the Burlington School District found an innovative solution to a difficult problem.