Current News

Vilsack Tells Leahy The Process Begins TODAY

Vermont Business Magazine This morning (TUESDAY), Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack about delivering urgently needed relief to Vermont’s dairy farmers. Leahy asked Vilsack at a hearing by the Appropriations Committee’s Agriculture Subcommittee to review the President’s budget request.

Vermont Business Magazine Pomerleau Real Estate in Burlington has announced several recent commercial real estate transactions.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), earned an ‘A’ for hospital safety from the Leapfrog Group. The national distinction recognizes SVMC’s achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care.

Vermont Business Magazine The Town of St Albans faces an increasingly difficult and expensive challenge of addressing stormwater management needs and regulatory requirements. Portions of the watersheds related to Rugg Brook and Stevens Brook have been identified as being impaired due to excessive stormwater runoff. Additionally, stormwater runoff has been identified as a significant contributor to the water quality issues associated with St Albans Bay.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, USDA Rural Development announced a $119,637 disaster relief grant awarded to the city of Newport, Vermont to make streetscaping improvements. The initiative will make the downtown area safer and more attractive for pedestrians, bikers and motorists, and create easier navigation to surrounding recreational opportunities. Funds were provided through the Community Facilities Disaster Relief Grant program, as the area was affected by flooding in 2018.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor is re-opening local Job Centers across Vermont for in-person services and will be offering both walk-in and by-appointment-only hours. Job Centers in Barre, Brattleboro, Burlington, St. Albans, and St. Johnsbury are open immediately for in-person services, with Bennington, Rutland, and Middlebury beginning on July 6. In-person schedules for the remaining Job Centers will announced the coming weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at Norwich University, St Michael’s College and the University of Vermont partnered with municipal wastewater officials and state agency representatives to conduct wastewater surveillance for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and develop wastewater-based risk assessment tools for COVID-19, tools that can also be applied to other environmental health hazards that may emerge in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Beginning Tuesday, June 15th, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), is updating its visitation policy for hospital visitors and medical practice patients as well as expanding its visiting hours. The change follows an announcement by Vermont Governor Phil Scott Monday that discontinued COVID-related restrictions now that the state has reached a vaccination rate of 80 percent of eligible people. Visiting hours have been expanded to 9 am – 7 pm daily.

Vermont Business Magazine Monday night, the Burlington City Council voted unanimously to affirm the current ownership structure of the Burlington International Airport (BTV), which is a municipal department of the City operating as a separately reported enterprise fund. The vote followed a presentation by Burlington City Attorney Eileen Blackwood of a report produced by her office in January of 2020, which lays out the history of the Burlington International Airport and addresses questions of regional governance.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Red Cross is experiencing a severe blood shortage as the number of trauma cases, organ transplants and elective surgeries rise – and deplete the nation’s blood inventory. Donors of all blood types – especially type O and those giving platelets – are urged to make an appointment to give as soon as possible to prevent further impact to patients. Right now, hospitals are responding to an atypically high number of traumas and emergency room visits, as well as overdoses and resulting transplants. In comparison to 2019, the Red Cross has seen demand from trauma centers climb by 10% in 2021 − more than five times the growth of other facilities that provide blood transfusions.

by John McClaughry Periodically, it seems, concerned citizens of Vermont gather to revive the idea of creating an inspiring Vision for the state’s future. Last month the largely federally-funded Vermont Council on Rural Development released the draft of its “Vermont Proposition.” It draws on the ideas, they claim, of thousands of participants at 22 “rural summits” around the state.

Vermont Business Magazine “I think I want to try running track next year,” an 11-year-old girl tells her dad, who looks down at her with a surprised smile. They are both breathing hard, and the girl is visibly reverberating with excitement and pride. The pair had just finished a 5K that capped an eight-week session of Girls on the Run Vermont. The program is open to girls in elementary school, and their Heart & Sole program has a specialized curriculum for middle school girls. Each lesson is designed to engage their confidence, positive decision making, physical, social, and emotional competencies.