Current News
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power has launched a new pilot program to empower residential customers with new technology to simplify the transition to clean energy for home heating, vehicle charging, solar generation and energy storage. GMP is the first utility in the country to work with Span to offer the Span Smart Panel. The Span Smart Panel replaces the traditional home electric panel, and will give customers an easy way to understand and control energy use from anywhere, while helping all GMP customers as the technology can foster a more flexible, resilient, green grid. Plus, the smart panel can do much more than a traditional home panel, including replacing the meter to also measure energy use.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College today announced that Monique M Taylor, PhD, has been named its new Provost and Chief Academic Officer. She will begin in late summer. Dr Taylor comes to Champlain College from the New York Institute of Technology, where she has served as the Campus Dean and Executive Director for the school’s Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates programs.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) Wednesday introduced the College for All Act to open up the dream of a college degree to millions of working-class children. The legislation would make the most substantial federal investment in higher education in the modern history of the United States and its transformative potential is on par with President Lyndon B Johnson’s Higher Education Act of 1965.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The Chittenden Solid Waste District has been awarded a grant worth $106,849 by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to help cover costs for providing facilities and education for the proper disposal of hazardous waste generated by residents and qualifying businesses. The grant is part of a solid waste assistance fund provided by the state to help towns and solid waste planning entities implement their solid waste plans.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced new details about application requirements and eligibility for the upcoming Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). The opening date for the application portal has not yet been announcement but is expected in the weeks ahead. To review initial program details, ACCD and the SBA will hold a webinar today at 3:00pm for businesses owners.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine During the most recent quarter ended March 31, the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) approved over $14.4 million in new financing to support commercial, agricultural, small business and renewable energy projects across Vermont. VEDA also closed over $25.4 million in new loans, including $14.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans for over 300 businesses and farms.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's elected leaders released the following statements Tuesday evening, April 20, 2021, on the guilty verdicts convicting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of murder for the death of George Floyd.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray and Attorney General TJ Donovan on Tuesday joined a bipartisan coalition of over 50 current or former statewide elected leaders in signing a letter calling upon corporate leadership to speak out against voter suppression, following the passage of Georgia’s controversial voting rights restriction law. According to the non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice 361 bills aimed at restricting the rights of eligible voters have been introduced in 47 states.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Construction for a Light Demolition Range will begin this summer on the Vermont Army National Guard’s Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho. The new range will allow traditional Soldiers who usually drill one weekend a month and two weeks a year to maximize training time by avoiding travel to Fort Drum, NY.
by tim
by Jeff Tieman, President & CEO of VAHHS The pandemic has taught us to adjust, and to be resilient in the face of adversity. COVID-19 required us to find and show strength we may not have known we had. Whether it was staying away from loved ones, quarantining from household members, forgoing trips, moving to remote work and learning, closing businesses, or otherwise altering our normal course of life, the pandemic has been hard on everyone.
As we learned to manage these variables and developments, we also learned to be careful, strong and patient.
This past week, we needed to tap into that inner strength and resolve as many Vermonters had their long-awaited vaccine appointments cancelled when the federal government temporarily paused administration of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Giving back to the communities it serves has long been central to New England Federal Credit Union’s (NEFCU) mission. As an ongoing part of this effort, four times each year, NEFCU selects four recipient organizations at random to receive $625 each, for a total of $10,000 annually.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, recognized the incredible progress of Vermont’s testing capabilities at Tuesday’s press conference, as the state surpassed 1.5 million tests performed, with more than 372,000 people tested.
“It is really Vermonters who have helped us reach this point — your willingness to get tested, and your understanding of why it is so important, have been essential to slowing the spread of the virus,” Dr. Levine said. “Now, we are finally in a place where testing is highly accessible. It’s still free, and easy to do.”
Dr. Levine said that we expect Vermonters will continue to use this critical tool under Vermont’s new travel policy, which requires a test within 3 days of travel for anyone who is unvaccinated. In addition, anyone with a possible exposure to the virus or with a possible COVID-19 symptom should get also tested and stay home and away from others while they wait for their result.