Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Public Radio has hired journalists Connor Cyrus and Mikaela Lefrak as the new co-hosts and senior producers of Vermont Edition, the station announced today. Cyrus and Lefrak will take over for Jane Lindholm, who is stepping down from the program after 14 years to focus full time on VPR’s children’s program But Why and special news projects. Her final show is March 25, although listeners will continue to hear her voice on the air as a contributor to VPR special news coverage.

Vermont Business Magazine Starting today, Vermonters age 65 and older can make an appointment at Walgreens to get their COVID-19 vaccination. This is in advance of the statewide clinics for this age group that begin on March 1. Anyone age 65 and older can go online to Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine or call 1-800-Walgreens (1-800-925-4733) to make an appointment to be vaccinated. There are no walk-ins, appointments must be scheduled.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott announced today that he has appointed Tayt Brooks, currently the Governor’s director of affordability and economic initiatives, as deputy secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). He takes over from Ted Brady, who will be the new executive director at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Edward M (Ted) Brady as the League’s new executive director. Brady, who currently serves as Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, will assume his new responsibilities in early April.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Public Service (PSD) has extended the window for questions and answers, as well as proposal submission bids, under the Request for Proposals for the Comprehensive Energy Plan Public Involvement Facilitator. The new deadline by which questions are to be received is Thursday, February 25, 2021. The PSD will respond to questions by Friday, February 26, 2021. The deadline for proposal submissions has been extended to Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine The USDA today announced it is investing $42.3 million to help rural residents gain access to health care and educational opportunities. Distance Learning & Telemedicine (DLT) grants awarded to institutions in northern Vermont and southern New Hampshire are included in the national initiative: $994,326 to North Country Hospital Health Center (Newport, VT) and $995,158 to Fall Mountain Regional School District (NH).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Lake Monsters announced today that the team will have new ownership and a new partner league when it takes the field this summer. The Vermont Expos, Inc, have agreed in principle to sell the Lake Monsters to the investment group, Nos Amours Baseball Club. The group is led by Chris English a long time affiliated, independent and college summer league owner & operator. The intent is to continue to play at 38-game home schedule from May to August in Burlington. The team would be comprised of college players, but using wooden bats like the professional teams.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy is one of Vermont’s fastest growing sectors, contributing $1.8 billion to Vermont's GDP in 2019 and linked to 20,000 jobs, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. The pandemic has only heightened the importance of the outdoors as an economic driver for Vermont’s communities as people turn to physical activity and the mental health it affords.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health Wednesday reported two more COVID-19 deaths, bringing the Vermont total to 201. There were also 78 new cases for a total of 14,768. Vermont has the second fewest deaths per 100,000 people (32) and cases (2,354), behind only Hawaii (30 & 1,868). Over 92,000 Vermonters have been vaccinated with at least one dose. Those 65 and older may start signing up to get vaccinated starting Monday, March 1.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch yesterday introduced the Electric Cars Act, bicameral legislation that would address America’s addiction to dangerous fossil fuels by fully extending the electric vehicle tax credit for 10 years, making the tax credit immediately available to buyers at the dealership and helping to deploy critical charging infrastructure. Currently, a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 is available for the purchase of electric vehicles—with federal statute capping the number of eligible vehicles at 200,000 per manufacturer. Several domestic manufactures have already hit the manufacturing cap and consumers seeking to buy those vehicles will no longer receive tax credits.

Vermont Business Magazine Bennington College’s Prison Education Initiative (PEI) has been awarded a grant of $40,000 from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. Now in its sixth year, PEI brings Bennington College faculty to Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men’s prison in Comstock, NY, to provide a quality liberal arts education to incarcerated students. This grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation will allow PEI to serve more students while expanding its course offerings and increasing student services and academic support.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) will break ground this spring on a cutting-edge utility microgrid in Panton, Vermont, pioneering a new way to keep the power on for residents, farms and municipal buildings in the town center during power outages. A microgrid is essentially a smaller grid that can operate independently, disconnecting from the larger grid during outages. Panton is the perfect place for this innovative work because it leverages GMP’s existing 4.9-megawatt solar facility with utility-scale batteries already up and running in the town. This project is unique because GMP is believed to be the first utility in the country to island a distribution circuit using inverter-based sources with no reliance on fossil fuel generation backup.