Current News

Vermont State Police On Sunday afternoon, State Police received a call of a tractor trailer unit stuck at Smuggler’s Notch on route 108 in the town of Cambridge. The operator of vehicle, Kyle Shepherd ignored and passed several clearly posted signs advising that tractor trailer units are not permitted. Shepherd stated he observed the signs but decided to continue. After several attempts, Shepherd was unable to clear the turn due to the length of the trailer.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine After a year of upheaval, uncertainty, and staying home, Rutland County is ready to get back to business. The influx of federal funding and the loosening of pandemic-related restrictions on how people gather has helped to fuel this sense of possibility.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine “We're okay, we're doing well, we're financially stable, but we don't know what the future is going to be,” said Claudio Fort, president, and CEO at Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC). When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Vermont last March, the hospital went into protective mode. It stopped all elective procedures and watched its revenues drop.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine “I would say that people are undaunted by the pandemic,” said Nancy Shuttleworth. “They're just going forward with something they’ve thought about doing for a long time, or they've had a significant job change situation, and this is the time to do it.” Shuttleworth is the Rutland and Bennington business advisor with the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC).

by Julie Lowell, Public Assets Institute Good government serves its people and puts their needs first. But unemployment insurance policy changes this year that would have helped unemployed Vermonters were stymied by a 40-year-old computer system.

In non-pandemic times, workers who qualify for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits receive up to 57 percent of their wages. A federal benefit boost is helping them make ends meet during the pandemic but is set to end in early September. So legislators brainstormed several UI benefit changes that would start in September.

Vermont Business Magazine Banktivity, a personal finance software app from IGG Software, designed for Apple devices, today announced the latest enhancements to its platform. Customers in Europe and the UK now have the power to directly connect all of their bank accounts with the app, removing the need to manually enter transactions in order for the app to have a complete and current understanding of their financial situation. IGG Software, Inc is based in Putney, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Community College of Vermont (CCV) held a virtual celebration today for the Class of 2021 and the Class of 2020. From the Class of 2021, more than 450 students received associate degrees. Graduates represent all 14 Vermont counties, 10 states, and 15 countries. The youngest graduate is 17 and the oldest is 78. Also among the graduates are 23 veterans and active members of the military.

Vermont Business Magazine A key component of ReArch Company’s corporate mission has always been giving back to our communities. This philosophy is embodied in a portion of our Mission Statement, as follows: ReArch will be a recognized and well-respected leader, in the project development and construction industry, through supporting our communities by being involved, engaged, and philanthropic.

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Vermont University’s original online theater piece, “The Monument,” took home a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award in the national awards ceremony on Friday, May 22. This marks the second time that this piece, created by students in NVU’s Performance, Arts, and Technology program, has been recognized by the Kennedy Center — first when it was selected for presentation at the Region 1 American College Theater Festival held virtually in late January, and now as an award winner at the national level.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont’s Board of Trustees today approved a general fund operating expense budget of $379,560,000 for fiscal year 2022, which starts July 1. Last February the board approved President Suresh Garimella’s proposal to freeze tuition for the coming academic year. It will be the third consecutive year tuition levels have remained the same. At the February meeting, the board also approved Garimella’s recommendations to reduce the student comprehensive fee by 2.2% and to freeze next year’s room and board charges at their current rates.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, Jay Peak Receiver, Michael Goldberg, reached a $32.5 million settlement with Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, generally known as MSK, for its role in providing legal advice to Ariel Quiros and the EB-5 projects in the Northeast Kingdom. This comes on the heels of a settlement with Raymond James over ownership of Burke Mountain Hotel and in guilty pleas related to a separate development.

Vermont Business Magazine The state is lining up many walk-in vaccination clinics in an effort to get to 80 percent of eligible Vermonters vaccinated as quickly as possible. Doing so will eliminate the remaining COVID restrictions. An additional 7,878 individuals remain to be vaccinated. On June 3, 2021, an additional 348 individuals were vaccinated. To reopen June 11 about 1,000 Vermonters will need to be vaccinated daily; to reopen June 8 about 1,500 Vermonters daily; and to reopen June 7 about 2,000 daily. Also, the VDH today is reporting only 12 new cases of COVID-19, however, the state suffered its first death in more than two weeks. Fatalities now stand at 256 statewide.