Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s State House is first in the nation to have clean backup power stored in batteries – using a GMP program to help lower costs for all Vermonters. A coalition of Vermont businesses, state officials, and GMP are demonstrating that storage is a clean alternative for backup power over fossil fuel. The backup system received an allocation of $450,000, which was originally to replace the old diesel system.

Vermont Business Magazine The City of Burlington’s Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) department, in concert with their Rapid Response Team (RRT) and Business Support Team, today announced the recipients of the BIPOC Small Business and Non-Profit Relief Grant Program. In total, they received 30 inquiries about the program and fulfilled 29 applications with awards of $2,000-$7,000, amounting to $180,000 dollars. These grantees covered a wide range of industries and services including, but not limited to, food, beauty, exercise, language access, legal aid, mental health, masonry, holistic healing, and more.

Lawmakers Urged to Put Economy Front and Center

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly two dozen business organizations, representing more than 200,000 workers, issued an open letter to the Governor and Vermont General Assembly in December acknowledging the daunting task lawmakers have in governing during a global pandemic. The virtual nature of lawmaking during this extraordinary time – requiring physical distancing – creates challenges for everyone.

But as the administration and legislative leaders commence the 2021 legislative session, these organizations suggest that this is not the time for business as usual and urge sole focus on the most immediate task at hand, to chart a path to our state’s economic recovery by:

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont legislative schedule for first (January 6) and second day of the House and Senate is presented below. The Speaker and a few members will be in the House Chamber, but the House of Representatives will not be convening in person, and the events of the day will be live streamed. A quorum of Senators will be present in person on Wednesday, with the remainder participating remotely, and the events will be live streamed. The Senate will convene remotely on Thursday.

Vermont Business Magazine Recognizing that community organizations are facing increased demands due to COVID, as 2020 ended New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) provided each employee with $100 to pledge to one of four community non-profit organizations. As a result, the Credit Union directed $5,200 to the Committee on Temporary Shelter, $10,400 to Vermont Foodbank, $6,700 to the Howard Center, and $2,800 to Gleaners Community Food Bank (for the Credit Union’s Michigan Division.)

Vermont Business Magazine The Heart of Winooski (HOW) Foundation has secured a lead gift of $100,000 from Shelburne residents, Bruce Lisman and Kyla Sternlieb. Lisman visited the district several years ago and was struck by how crowded the classrooms were, but also how critical the role of the school is in the lives of all community members—not just the students.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Mutual Insurance Group, a Vermont-based Property & Casualty insurer operating from Montpelier, has completed the distribution of $1 million to 45 Vermont nonprofit organizations to help with COVID-19 relief efforts. As the impact of COVID-19 on the Green Mountain state quickly became evident in early spring of 2020, Vermont Mutual responded with a declaration of one million dollars reserved specifically for COVID-19 relief efforts in Vermont. A significant portion was immediately distributed to the Vermont Foodbank and the Vermont Community Foundation. These two charitable institutions were chosen for their well-established infrastructures and their ability to quickly assist fellow Vermonters in need.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $450,464 to Vermont public housing authorities to help residents of public housing and voucher-assisted housing increase their earned income and reduce their dependency on public assistance and rental subsidies, this funding is part of $78 million being awarded nationally. Under Secretary Carson’s leadership, more money has been allocated to the Family Self -Sufficiency (FSS) Program in FY20 (fiscal year 2020) than at any other point in the program’s history. See below for a list of Vermont funding.

Vermont Business Magazine All three Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) primary care practices – Kingdom Internal Medicine in St. Johnsbury, Corner Medical in Lyndonville and St. Johnsbury Pediatrics in St. Johnsbury – have again been awarded recognition by the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) for Systematic Use of Patient-Centered and Coordinated Care Management Processes.

Vermont Business Magazine This year has brought an increased demand for housing in Vermont with people relocating to the region, and those already living here finding that they may need a different type of home to accommodate the lifestyle that the pandemic has enforced—including working and schooling from home. Local builder Dousevicz Inc was already underway in the planning and permitting process for a new neighborhood in Essex when the stay-at-home orders were announced.

Vermont Business Magazine With COVID-19 cases on the rise amid the news that there is a new variation of the disease threatening to hit the US, assisted living facilities around Vermont are taking no chances with the health and safety of their residents. As the nation prepares to embark on a massive vaccination campaign, the residents at LCB Senior Living Middlebury, South Burlington, and Shelburne communities will be among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting January 14.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 78 new cases of COVID-19 for 7,873 total. There are 36 hospitalized with four in the ICU. There have been eight deaths associated with the novel coronavirus since New Year's Eve, for a statewide total of 144. As of January 4, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Vermont now includes deaths among people who were considered probable cases since September 6, 2020. The impact on the total death count is minimal. Four probable deaths have been identified since September 6.