Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor on March 15 announced that the January 2021 unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. This reflects a decrease of three-tenths of one percentage point from the prior month’s upwardly revised estimate of 3.5 percent. The comparable United States rate in January was 6.3 percent, which was a decrease of four-tenths of one percentage point from the revised December estimate. Vermont's jobless rate is tied for third lowest in the nation with Nebraska. North Dakota and Utah are at 3.1 percent. Hawaii has the highest rate at 10.2 percent.

Testing returns 21 new positive cases in Newport; 100 cases medically cleared from isolation

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Department of Corrections (Vermont DOC) is reporting 19 new cases of COVID-19 among incarcerated individuals and two new staff cases in the outbreak at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport. The cases were detected both independently and in testing conducted March 11. Corrections previously reported 100 cases.

The outbreak began after one staff member and 21 incarcerated individuals tested positive for the virus in testing conducted February 23, 2021. There are currently 37 positive incarcerated cases and 6 positive staff cases at the facility. Four staff are expected to be medically cleared early this week.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Co-op and Green Mountain Power today each launched a Broadband Deployment Program to help more Vermonters in some of the hardest-to-reach corners of Vermont get connected to broadband quickly and cost-effectively. The plans approved Friday by the Vermont PUC lower the cost for broadband providers to connect the hardest-to-serve customers, by offering up to $2,000 per unserved location for infrastructure connection costs. The program aims to create greater equity for customers. If broadband companies fully enroll for the discounts, more than 10,000 customers who currently do not have broadband could be connected by the end of next year.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture As we hit the one-year mark of COVID-19's devastating shock to our community and nation, we'd like to express our awe at the resilience, hope, and inspiration that we have witnessed across Vermont's farming and food community. In those early months, when we all felt paralyzed in disbelief - like our world was crumbling, we saw businesses and individuals conjure the strength, motivation and courage to step outside of the familiar, take risks, form alliances and build new iterations of that true Vermonter grit.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine It would have been a bigger surprise if Vermont had failed. Think of Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, and how Vermont and Vermonters rose to meet the challenge. Why would we expect anything less when COVID-19 came along? We wouldn't, of course, which is why Vermont has been a leader in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic since it first reared its ugly head at the beginning of the year 2020. Governor Phil Scott proclaimed a State of Emergency on March 13, 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Friday announced updates to COVID-19 guidance for small, multi-household gatherings and table seating at restaurants. Effective March 12, the changes allow two unvaccinated households to gather at a time, and permit restaurants to seat multiple households together, but no more than six people can be seated at the same table. Masking, distancing, capacity limits, and other mitigation guidelines remain in place. Also, there will be another PPP Webinar on March 19 as the filing deadline at the end of the month draws near.

Vermont Business Magazine The report is in the form of cards with health and wellness tips provided by community members and Howard Center staff focusing on mental health, COVID-19 wellness, activity, connection, exercise, and the power of positive thinking.

Small Business Magazine Vermont personal care providers, please join the SBA Vermont District Office on Friday, March 19th at 9:00am for a FREE webinar on how the PPP program works and how you may qualify for more funds under new formula changes for IRS Form 1040, Schedule C filers. Need application assistance? Learn about available technical assistance supports from Vermont’s SBA Resource Partners.

​Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will hold a statewide virtual town hall meeting with Vermont students this Monday, March 15 at 7:30 pm. The virtual event, Coping During COVID: How Students are Handling the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic, will focus on how students have experienced the social, emotional, and mental health challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leonine Public Affairs The legislature was in high gear this week as committees worked to finalize legislation to meet the Friday crossover deadline for policy bills. The House Appropriations committee continued to refine the FY2022 budget bill and the Senate Appropriations committee spent much of the week discussing H.315, the “fast-track” COVID-19 recovery funding bill. The crossover deadline for money bills is March 19.

by Sena Meilleur “Risk management” is a term that gets used a lot in insurance. Companies face all kinds of risk and they need to insure against it: risk of property loss to a natural disaster or fire; risk of legal action from a customer; risk of a cyber-attack or an employee being injured at work. Ironically, the risk that many did not see coming was that of a pandemic-related shutdown, which in the vast majority of cases was not covered by insurance. This risk has come front and center for many companies who filed a business interruption claim during the past year, only to have it denied.

Vermont Business Magazine Maine Drilling & Blasting, with offices in Vermont, celebrates its 55^th Anniversary this year on the heels of a very atypical and challenging 2020.