Current News

A tuition-free college course for the Classes of 2020 and 2021
Vermont Business Magazine To the high school classes of 2020 and 2021: Vermont has a graduation gift for you! The state of Vermont, the Vermont State Colleges System and VSAC are teaming up to provide one tuition-free college class to the graduates of the classes of 2020 and 2021.

by Shawn Shouldice In a time when businesses are trying to recover from a government ordered shut-down due to COVID-19, some Vermont lawmakers look to pour more salt in their wounds by adding $100 million of dollars on increased costs on to their backs. Struggling to bring workers back into the workforce is a daily challenge as unemployment benefits have softened the hardship that workers too have felt during this unprecedented last 14 months. The mantra - we’re all in this together - seems to be slipping further and further from reality as some lawmakers stand firm on placing an unnecessary $100 million unemployment insurance tax increase on Vermont businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine FEMA recently awarded a $1,947,350 grant to the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development for the State of Vermont’s innovative Emergency Feeding Program. The grant covers the state’s Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE) Program, which provided nutritious meals to high-risk populations impacted by COVID-19 throughout Vermont from March 15 to April 11 of this year.

by Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos The big lie, perpetuated by former President Trump and some of his supporters, is that our elections are not secure. These dangerous and disingenuous claims are made without evidence to support them. The former President and his supporters have filed over 60 lawsuits across the country to try to steal the election. All but one were dismissed or ruled against because of a lack of evidence.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Electric Department (BED), a not-for-profit public power utility serving the City of Burlington, today announced to the community that it is proposing a 7.5 percent electricity rate increase that, if approved by the Public Utility Commission (PUC), would take effect later this year. The increase follows an exceptional 12-year period during which BED bucked industry trends and inflationary pressures through strong financial management and multiple cost-reduction efforts.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges System voted to appoint John W Mills interim president of Northern Vermont University, effective August 2021. This follows yesterday’s announcement that current Northern Vermont University President Elaine C. Collins will be stepping down in mid-August after six years as president of NVU and before that Johnson State College. President Collins received national recognition for leading the unification of Johnson State College and Lyndon State College into Northern Vermont University.

Vermont Business Magazine BETA Technologies has begun the permitting process to construct its next phase facility in Vermont. The project includes building a state-of-the-art training and assembly facility at Burlington International Airport (BTV). The project is expected to create hundreds of additional new jobs in the coming years, not including construction. The majority of these positions will be in engineering, design and manufacturing.

by Mary Elizabeth Platt To say that 2020--and now, 2021—was a year of growth would be a vast understatement. The world is forever changed, day-to-day life is forever changed, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in health care. The COVID-19 pandemic stretched the US health care system to its limits, and well beyond, but in the face of adversity the health care industry is emerging stronger.

by Devon Green, VAHHS, Vice President of Government Relations That collective itch in the air isn’t allergies—it is Vermonters dying to get outside into the warm temperatures and sunshine, and our legislators are not immune to it. Welcome to what could be the last week of the legislative session! Last Week: Children waiting in EDs for mental health treatment: The House Health Care Committee sent a letter to the Agency of Human Services, the Department of Education, and VAHHS with a framework for addressing long wait times for children in emergency departments waiting for mental health treatment.

Vermont Business Magazine The USDA is now accepting applications for three different grants that support the development, coordination and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and enterprises and value-added agricultural products. Over $93.5 million dollars is available in total.

by John McClaughry In three lawsuits currently in process, plaintiff parents ask that public funds follow their children to the school of their choice. The impetus for those suits was the US Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark case of Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, announced last June. In that case the Court held that if the State of Montana provided tax credits for contributions to a nonprofit organization which supported scholarships for students at independent schools, the organization could not exclude students at religious schools.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) nurses Melissa Blanchard and Jackie Osanitsch were honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses for their compassionate care at the two latest DAISY award ceremonies, held on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide their patients and their families every day.