Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Air National Guard fire department responded to a small apartment building fire in Winooski early Wednesday morning. The Vermont Air National Guard fire department is the only crash, fire, and emergency response to all incidents on Burlington International Airport, and routinely provides mutual aid to surrounding towns, including 214 responses for fire, medical and other emergencies in 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine People's United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBCT) today reported results for the second quarter of 2021. M&T from Buffalo and Bridgeport, CT-based People's each have received the necessary shareholder approvals for the consummation of the acquisition of People's United by M&T. Based on stock prices when the deal was announced in February 2021, the all-stock acquisition is valued at approximately $7.6 billion.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Housing Authority has been allocated $110 million in federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act to administer the Vermont Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The Program was created to stabilize Vermont’s rental market by providing direct assistance to residential tenants and landlords to stimulate the economy of the state still struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barton Community Giving Garden kicks off first harvest of the year

Vermont Business Magazine Volunteers from Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (VPPSA) gave back to the Barton Village community on Wednesday by pulling weeds from the Barton Community Giving Garden. The VPPSA volunteer team removed stacks of invasive knotweed, an aggressive, stalky plant that is encroaching on the garden’s growing space.

The garden, established in 2020 as a “giving garden,” provides a space for local gardeners to learn from one another while growing produce for community members in need. Last year, the Barton Community Garden provided more than 2,000 pounds of food to local families and seniors.

Vermont Business Magazine A federal district court in Burlington gave preliminary approval on a class action settlement reflecting Vermont’s agreement to improve and expand access to the Hepatitis C cure for people in Department of Corrections (DOC) custody. The settlement will resolve the class action lawsuit filed in 2019 on behalf of hundreds of incarcerated Vermonters by the ACLU of Vermont, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School , and Costello, Valente & Gentry, P.C., which challenged the DOC’s policy and practice of denying lifesaving medical care to hundreds of incarcerated Vermonters.

Vermont Research News Windham and Bennington counties rank among the 10 least religiously affiliated counties in America, according to a 2020 census conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute. Researchers found 45% of Windham and 44% of Bennington county residents identify as “religiously unaffiliated.” According to a recent Vermont-based study, women, those with a college degree or higher, and parents with children were more likely to purchase food with organic labels. A recent study from the Cato Institute examines impacts on tax revenue, crime, the economy and public health finding that there is not enough data yet to make conclusive claims about the impact of cannabis legalization.

Statement by Attorney General TJ Donovan on Koffee Kup Decision Regarding Paid Time Off (PTO) for Former Employees

I am very pleased with the decision by Chittenden Superior Court today (Wednesday) that the outstanding vacation time and paid time off (PTO) of the terminated workers at Koffee Kup Bakery and Vermont Bread Company amounts to wages that must be paid. These hardworking Vermonters are entitled to these funds rightfully earned.

In addition, I am pleased that the Court ordered payment of interest for these funds, which were rightfully owed to employees given the significant delay in payment.

In total, Koffee Kup and Vermont Bread Company workers will be receiving collectively more than $800,000 in PTO, plus $16,437 in interest.

Attorney General. 7.14.2021

Vermont Business Magazine Shelburne Museum will be fully powered by renewable energy when two new arrays constructed on museum property come online later this year. Construction of the first phase of the project, a 500-kilowatt array on land adjacent to the museum campus, was completed in December 2020. The second phase, a separate, smaller 150kW array, south of the museum campus, is under construction and scheduled to be complete in the fall. The museum partnered with Encore Renewable Energy of Burlington, Vermont, on the development, financing and construction of both solar projects.

Vermont Business Magazine In order to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent in Vermont, full-time workers need to earn $23.68 an hour, or $49,258 annually. This is Vermont’s 2021 Housing Wage, revealed in a national report released today. The report, Out of Reach, was released jointly by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a research and advocacy organization dedicated solely to achieving affordable and decent homes for the lowest income people, and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition.

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.