Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott is seeking applicants for appointment to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to fill a forthcoming vacancy. The PUC was created to ensure the provision of high-quality public utility services in Vermont at minimum reasonable costs. The Commission strives to achieve this mission by providing an independent, fair and efficient means of resolving public utility disputes, and by guiding the development of state utility policies and rules for public services to best serve the long-term interests of Vermont and its residents.

Vermont Business Magazine We appreciate the challenge of governing during a global pandemic. Instead of meeting with colleagues and constituents, we now rely on video chat, texts, emails, and phone calls. We are in an extraordinary time, where safety requires us to maintain physical distance from one another. We believe government is essential and applaud the efforts to adapt. We cannot allow this virus to grind the gears of government to a halt.

Vermont Business Magazine Adrianne Johnson Ross, MHA, was today named Home Health & Hospice’s next president and chief operating officer. She is preceded by Judy Peterson, who is retiring in January 2021 after eight years leading the organization. Johnson Ross’s appointment is effective immediately. She begins today and will transition into in her new role over the next few weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine Sunday night President Trump signed the COVID 19 relief bill. It had passed both the House and Senate last week. It includes extending the unemployment and PUA benefits, with the extra $300 per week, one-time direct payments of $600 to individuals ($1,200 filing jointly) and ensures that PPP forgiveness does not result in taxable income. Among other measures, it includes a second round of PPP.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board, Vermont’s regulatory healthcare board, granted Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), a Certificate of Need (CON) for a $26 million project to modernize and expand its Emergency Department and renovate its main entrance and public areas on the ground floor. Traffic and parking improvements are also included. The regulatory approval was necessary to proceed with the project.

Vermont Business Magazine On December 22, Governor Phil Scott announced a small, temporary modification to restrictions on multi-household gatherings during the holidays. Between December 23rd and January 2nd, households may gather with one other trusted household. Governor Scott also announced youth sports may resume with no-contact practices. Effective December 26th, school-based and youth recreational programs may begin practices with individual skills, strength and conditioning. The Agency of Education has released full guidance for school-based sports.

Vermont Business Magazine There's no need to travel outside of the Castleton area for a blood test. Community Health Castleton's laboratory has received certification of compliance from the State of Vermont for the lab services provided in Community Health's Castleton practice in Bomoseen, Vermont. The Community Health laboratory handles lab work for Community Health's primary care patients as well as those from Castleton Express Care, and a separate outpatient lab service run by Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) serves not only Community Health patients but any community member with orders from their provider. RRMC's blood draw facility, located in a dedicated space adjacent to the waiting area in the Castleton practice, is staffed by RRMC.

Vermont Business Magazine Looking for fun, educational projects to keep the kids busy over winter break? Help them take the Good Citizen At-Home Challenge! This statewide youth civics initiative is organized by Burlington-based Seven Days newspaper and its parenting publication, Kids VT, with support from the Vermont Community Foundation. Since 2018, the Good Citizen Challenge has encouraged young Vermonters to learn about history, government and news literacy, as well as ways they can pitch in to help out their communities.

Conflict of Interest by Kevin Ellis MacKenzie Scott riled the world of philanthropy last week by donating $4.2 billion to a lot of non-profits doing great work. Good on her.

What raised eyebrows, and rightly so, was that she ignored the usual suspects - Ivy League schools for example - in favor of lesser-known colleges, food banks, Goodwill Industries, YMCAs, Meals-on-Wheels, and others caring for people in the pandemic who most need the money.

This giving raises a whole host of issues. Some great. Some very troubling.

Scott came by her money after her divorce from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Scott walked away with $38 billion that has grown to $60 billion in our stock market, and makes her one of the wealthiest people on the planet.

This wealth is a pittance compared to Bezos, whose Amazon stock rises on the opportunities presented by the pandemic. Get ready for three-hour delivery of your meds by Amazon very soon.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 92 new cases of COVID-19 statewide with three more deaths. Total cases appear to have stabilized, down from their peak from mid-November to mid-December when they were running well over 100 a day, but higher than in the early fall, summer and spring. There are 22 hospitalized and six in the ICU.

The VDH also has initiated a weekly dashboard on vaccine distribution. SEE BELOW. The VDH expects to get the full initial allotment of 34,000 doses before the end of December, despite some delays.

The 1A group of frontline health care workers and nursing home residents are expected to complete their regimen by the end of January.

VDH will continue to run the daily COVID dashboard. However, there will be no Daily Update on 12/24 or 12/25.

by Geoff Robertson, Business Assistance Director at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Over a seven-day period that she refers to as “Twilight Zone Week,” Abbey Duke, owner of Sugarsnap Catering in Burlington went from a full schedule of weddings and corporate catering events to a blank calendar. With large gatherings banned during COVID-19, her book of business vanished virtually overnight.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) is ready to respond as forecasters say a regionwide storm will bring gusty winds and heavy rain to Vermont and all of the northeast Thursday. Rain is predicted to be heavy – up to three inches especially in the parts of central and southern Vermont that got heavy snow last week. Snow melt could add to waterways, and the National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for Addison, Bennington, Chittenden, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties.