Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Starting 8:15 am on Tuesday, February 16, people in Vermont who are age 70 and older will be able to make their appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The Vermont Department of Health is also reporting on Monday that there are 126 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death since Friday, for a statewide total of 190.

Vermont Business Magazine More than 200 Vermont educators, business advisors, business leaders, and students gathered virtually on February 10, 2021, for the 12th annual Vermont Student Entrepreneurship Day event. A content-rich, exciting agenda included helpful advice and stories presented by business leaders from throughout the state, punctuated by interactive games, entrepreneur education, and a wealth of enthusiasm during the first virtual presentation of this event.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Business Magazine Today, Governor Scott extended Vermont's State of Emergency another month. It was first invoked March 13, 2020, as the pandemic weighed down on the state. Scott extended the COVID-19 State of Emergency to March 15, 2021 as the State continues its distribution of vaccines to Vermonters most at risk of death. All previous addendums to the State of Emergency remain in place to continue to mitigate the spread of the virus and ensure economic protections remain in place. Scott said he will extend the emergency as long as is necessary.

Vermont Business Magazine GlobalFoundries today announced a strategic partnership with the US Department of Defense to provide a secure and reliable supply of semiconductor solutions manufactured at GF's Fab 8 in Malta, NY. These semiconductor chips will be used in some of the DoD's most sensitive applications for land, air, sea, and space systems. The new supply agreement builds upon the longstanding partnership between the DoD and GF to provide chips for defense, aerospace, and other sensitive applications. GF currently supplies the DoD with chips manufactured at GF's other on-shore facilities, Fab 10 in East Fishkill, NY, and Fab 9 in Burlington, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine When asked how the pandemic has directly impacted their business an overwhelming 85% have experienced a decrease in revenue (31% have decreased by more than 50%, 35% decreased between 20-50%). Only 13% of business owners surveyed have not had their revenue negatively impacted by COVID-19. All respondents agree that the pandemic has permanently changed how they do business. While everyone anticipates significant challenges for their business in 2021 no one is definitively planning to downsize in any way because of it.

Vermont Research News According to a report about US forest compositions, Vermont will experience a change in the types of trees present in its forests over the next 200 years. Red spruce and eastern hemlock populations are projected to decline, while Sugar Maple and American Birch trees will remain dominant species. Also, rural schools can be more expensive than non-rural schools for a variety of reasons. A recent article applied a new formula for calculating state-level school funding to schools throughout Vermont.

Campaign for Vermont There was some big news this week from the legislature. Some of it positive, some not so much. Let's start of with the good news. Budgeting officials from the Agency of Education notified the House Ways and Means Committee last week that 60% of school budgets have been submitted at this point (school boards are required to send the Agency a copy of the budget being voted on town meeting day) and the results are promising.

by CB Hall, Vermont Business Magazine Estimates place aviation's share of the blame for global warming at about 3.5 percent, measured in terms of the differential between incoming energy and the energy radiated back to space as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. That 3.5 percent may not seem like much, but, according to ourworldindata.org, the volume of aviation-borne carbon-dioxide emissions has increased by 4 to 5 percent yearly since 2010, while aviation's share of total carbon-dioxide emissions from all sources has likewise been increasing.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont tends to get lyrical about its writers. From Rudyard Kipling to Robert Frost, from Sinclair Lewis to Galway Kinnell, from Pearl Buck to Katherine Paterson, these and many, many other writers have found a quiet, safe and leafy harbor here even as their words reach around the world. But if you think writing is simply an art form, then you need to talk to Archer Mayor. Mayor, 70, is the prolific creator of the popular Vermont-based Joe Gunther series of detective novels. Joe Gunther began his fictional career as a Brattleboro police detective in 1988 in the book “Open Season.”

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch’s legislative committees, House Energy and Commerce and Oversight and Reform, marked up and passed on Friday core components of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package championed by the Biden administration. The relief bill, the “American Rescue Plan,” included key Vermont legislative priorities that Welch (D-Vermont) successfully fought for that will deliver immediate financial relief.

Vermont Business Magazine Northwestern Counseling & Support Services, Inc (NCSS) is pleased to announce it has received the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s 988 State Planning Grant through Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit administrator of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline). Through the grant, NCSS will participate in the development of strategic plans for Vermont in preparation for the projected infrastructure needs, volume growth, and access to Lifeline’s new 988 number. Vibrant has awarded grants to 49 states and territories.

Vermont Business Magazine Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) Secretary Julie Moore invites the public to join her on Tuesday, February 23 from 4-5 pm for a virtual discussion about environmental permitting in Vermont. Each year, ANR issues a variety of permits for projects covering everything from septic system upgrades to solar development. These permits support smart economic development and community growth while protecting and conserving Vermont’s important natural resources.