Current News

Vermont Business Magazine USA Spirits Ratings, a global spirits competition featuring hundreds of entrants from over 45 different countries, handed Barr Hill Gin its first ever 100-point score at this year’s event. Produced by Vermont-based distillery Caledonia Spirits, Barr Hill Gin was awarded several prestigious medals by the competition’s panel of expert judges, including 2020 Spirit of the Year and Gin of the Year.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank, with locations in Vermont and throughout New England, New York and the Mid-Atlantic, today announced its Foundation is now accepting applications for its annual NeXt Gen Scholars Program. High school seniors, college students and adults who live in or attend a school in select communities served by Berkshire Bank and are pursuing an undergraduate degree from an accredited non-profit college or technical school in the fall of 2021 are eligible to apply. A total of $100,000 in scholarships will be awarded to 40 individuals.

Vermont Business Magazine In light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases throughout the state, including Chittenden County, the University of Vermont said in a statement Tuesday evening that it "deeply regrets" that is not in a position to provide classroom space to Burlington High School.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported 95 more cases of COVID-19 statewide. There is not a single 'Green' county left in the Northeast. Governor Scott urged personal responsibility in reversing the upward trend in cases. He said, "Please don’t call it patriotic or pretend it’s about freedom. Because real patriots serve and sacrifice for all, whether they agree with them or not. Patriots also stand up and fight when our nation’s health and security is threatened. And right now, our country and way of life is being attacked by this virus — not the protections we put in place."

Vermont Business Magazine People that supported mask-wearing had motivations like keeping their family members and immuno-compromised friends safe. People who sometimes or never wore masks generally did so for reasons like glasses fogging up, difficulty being heard and COVID skepticism. The August 1 mask mandate increased mask-wearing from 84.6% of survey respondents prior to 97.3% after.

Governor Phil Scott I understand it may seem counter-intuitive that restaurants remain open and yet you can’t have neighbors over for dinner. But the fact is, from October 1 to the time of Friday’s announcement, 71% of outbreaks were linked to social events, parties and people hanging out at a home or at bars and clubs. We’re just not seeing these types of outbreaks linked back to people dining at restaurants or working out at gyms. This tells us the protocols at these businesses are, for the most part, working. And while we have a number of cases that have shown up at schools, we have very few schools that have experienced transmission from one person to another, which means schools are not driving this either.

Vermont Business Magazine Executives from Comcast Corporation and Comcast’s Western New England Region, which serves 300 communities in Connecticut, Vermont, western Massachusetts, western New Hampshire and New York, today held a virtual summit on the topic of veterans to raise awareness of the impact the digital divide has on them. As part of the event, Comcast also announced several donations worth more than $250,000 to support digital inclusion efforts in Connecticut, Vermont and western Massachusetts.

Vermont Business Magazine The City of Burlington is again offering additional, free testing in Burlington on Wednesday and Saturday this week, as they are trying to provide extra coverage outside of weekday working hours: Wednesday: 5:00-8:00 pm at the Miller Center, indoors; Saturday: 9:00 am-12:00 pm at the Old North End Community Center, outdoors.

Vermont Business Magazine Women-owned, American-made, and essential in supporting breastfeeding, Mamava, the lactation suite category creator, has announced that, with lactation pods recently placed in Montana and West Virginia, they will be available in all 50 states. This milestone marks a major achievement for Mamava, a company born to transform the culture of breastfeeding in the US by creating infrastructure that makes breastfeeding an authentic and easier choice.

by Mark Peluso, Chief Health Officer and College Physician, Middlebury College I am writing to inform you that early results from yesterday’s testing included two new positive cases of COVID-19 on our campus. These are the first positive results among students since arrival week testing in August. Of the 506 tests taken yesterday (Monday), two were positive, 495 were negative, and nine individuals will be retested due to insufficient samples. We will post the latest results on the COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard by noon each day that we receive results.

by Don Turner As I wrote before the election, this was a very unique cycle in Vermont. The implications were even more far-reaching than I could have predicted. Here are a few top takeaways for Vermont policymakers.

Vermont Business Magazine Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths, and it’s estimated that 570 Vermont residents will be diagnosed with this disease in 2020 alone. The 2020 “State of Lung Cancer” report examines the toll of lung cancer throughout the nation and outlines steps every state can take to better protect its residents from lung cancer. While the report found that more Americans are surviving the disease, it also found that in Vermont, an astounding 19.7% of lung cancer cases receive no treatment, and only 18.7% of cases receive surgery as a first course of treatment.