Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On Monday, the Vermont State Colleges System Board of Trustees voted to freeze tuition for the 2021-2022 academic year. “There is no doubt that the Vermont State Colleges are in a tough financial position this year; however, our first priority is ensuring a Vermont State Colleges education remains accessible to and affordable for our students. Our students depend on us and we will not close our budget gap on their backs. Freezing tuition right now as students and families face grave economic uncertainty is the right thing to do.”

Vermont Business Magazine Retreat Farm, the nonprofit in Brattleboro dedicated to connecting people to the land and to one another, received a $35,000 grant from the Gannett family fund at the Vermont Community Foundation to support the Farm’s efforts to address food insecurity in the wake of COVID-19. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Farm launched an emergency food pantry and ramped up its production of vegetables and meat to share directly with people in need and through several food pantry partners throughout the community. Thanks to Gannett Family’s generous support, the program will expand in the coming year with the introduction of a pay-what-you-can farmstand.

Vermont Business Magazine For the fourth consecutive year, Darn Tough Vermont has partnered with the Vermont Foodbank to donate 100 percent of their proceeds from Giving Tuesday online sales. This year's sales were an astounding 165 percent increase over last year, resulting in 137,100 meals being donated from the single day. The Foodbank Farmer’s Market sock has provided a total of 269,841 meals which equates to feeding 2,998 Vermonters for one month.

Vermont Business Magazine USDA Rural Development is now accepting applications for the Rural Energy for America Program Energy Audit & Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants (REAP EA/REDA), with an application deadline of January 31, 2021. REAP EA/REDA grants strengthen American energy independence by helping rural businesses gain access to more sources of renewable energy and establish energy-efficiency solutions.

Vermont Business Magazine For the first time since it was established in 1994, the Vermont Women’s Fund has distributed a second round of grants in a calendar year. Supported by its 100-for-100 Campaign that celebrated the anniversary of women’s voting rights, unrestricted grants of $10,000 will be given to organizations with wraparound services that help displaced workers find new employment and, in some cases, first help them gain stability and skills.

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center Issued by the RestartVT Manufacturing Working Group concerning the operations of Vermont’s manufacturing, fulfillment and distribution sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, this proclamation is an assertion that Vermont’s manufacturing sector is critical for the state’s economic recovery, health and future development.

by Aimee Minbiole, Dartmouth With COVID-19 cases increasing across the country, including in Grafton County, the campus residential move-in for the Dartmouth College undergraduate winter term will be delayed, Provost Joseph Helble said Monday in a message to the community. Winter-term classes will begin as planned, on Jan. 7, and will initially be held remotely for all undergraduates.

Vermont Business Magazine While the national annual median cost of long term care increased across the board this year, the cost of long term care services in Vermont was mixed as COVID-19 intensified providers' existing challenges in meeting the increasing demand for long term care, according to Genworth's 17th annual Cost of Care Survey. Most categories showed a decrease in costs in Vermont (except for home services) as average costs nationally were generally up. However costs in every category in Vermont were higher than the national average by substantial amounts.

by Jeff Tieman, VAHHS President and CEO What a day. What a week. What a month. What a YEAR. I’ll bet you’ve made these exclamations more than once in 2020. I know I have. We have entered the final month of likely the most difficult and strange year in most of our lives, and I’m sure there are still more twists and turns in store for us before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve.

Vermont Business Magazine Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is offering no-cost flu vaccines to all individuals in need of the vaccination this season. The free service is available in all 12 PPNNE health centers across Vermont. Individuals using their insurance at PPNNE are likely to receive the vaccine for free under their plan. For those who are uninsured, paying out of pocket, or who have a plan that does not cover the flu shot, PPNNE will absorb the cost.

Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, the state’s Select Committee on the Future of Public Higher Education in Vermont released their initial report. The recommendations include reducing the total number of colleges from four to two, leaving Community College of Vermont, with the other three institutions being consolidated perhaps as Vermont State University. This is similar to the failed attempt to consolidate the colleges offered by former Chancellor Jeb Spaulding earlier this year. However, the report does not call for the shuttering of all but one campus, but does offer a stern warning that severe action must be taken right away. The committee also takes to task a lack of focus among state leaders and the very mission of the colleges, which it says should be more vocationally oriented.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting 65 new cases of COVID-19 statewide today, which is noticeable lower than nearly any day in the last month. However, the VDH is reporting two more deaths for a statewide total of 81. Hospitalizations (26) and ICU patients (6) also remain high as the coronavirus has infected vulnerable residents in long-term care facilities.