Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren and Governor Phil Scott today announced that the Springfield area, Greater Barre, Lamoille County and Winooski are the recipients of $300,000 grants as part of the Boston Fed’s Working Communities Challenge. The program includes more than $700,000 in additional planning and action grants for Vermont communities, and aims to strengthen the economies of rural towns and smaller cities. The competition officially launched in Vermont in 2019 with state, private sector and not-for-profit support.

Vermont Physician Groups Call on Vermonters to Prioritize their Communities and Protect Schools for our Children

Vermont Business Magazine The American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, Vermont Academy of Family Physicians and Vermont Medical Society join Governor Scott and the Vermont Department of Health in calling on Vermonters to refrain from any social gathering in order to protect and prioritize essential services like schools, child care, and health care as we see rates of community transmission of COVID-19 rise.

The new restriction on multi-household gatherings is based on epidemiology or systematic observations of how the virus is spreading in our communities, the medical groups said in a statement released Thursday.

Vermont Business Magazine While the return of passenger service to Vermont is not imminent, there's promising news that Amtrak is planning for it. Amtrak today announced it is in discussions with the Town of Brattleboro, NECR Railroad and the State of Vermont on its proposal for a new, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant Brattleboro Station, including a new station building, platform and track changes. The new station will feature the first level boarding platform in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Flags are lowered to half-staff today in honor of all 61 Vermonters lost to COVID-19, as they are on the 19^th of each month. The 19^th was selected because the first two COVID-related deaths in Vermont were on March 19. Cases across the US and in Vermont have been growing in both number and deaths. After not having a single COVID death since July, the Vermont Department of Health has reported three in the last two weeks, with two of those in the last two days, both of which have been from Rutland County. WCAX is reporting that there are now three deaths over the past days at Rutland Healthcare and Rehab, bringing the unofficial tally to 62. Vermont set a new record today as the VDH reported 148 new cases of COVID-19.

Vermont Business Magazine Altus Power America, Inc has completed the acquisition of a 2.5-megawatt operating solar project in Charlotte, Vermont. The acquired project generates approximately 3 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. This project sells energy to VEPP, Inc, a not-for-profit Vermont Corporation that administers two of Vermont's Renewable Energy Programs under contract with the Vermont Public Utility Commission.

Vermont Business Magazine When it comes to stories about climate change in Vermont, it’s hard to beat Joe’s Pond in the Northeast Kingdom – where locals bet on when the ice melts. Since the 1980s, folks have put a cinder block on the pond when it freezes. When the ice melts, the block sinks – unplugging an alarm clock that captures the exact time of the melt. There’s a clear pattern. The ice is melting earlier.

Vermont Business Magazine The Province of Québec on Monday announced an aggressive plan to further electrify the economy and thus reduce greenhouse gases. The goals are to reduce GHG emissions by 37.5 percent of 1990 levels by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050. Like Québec, Vermont has struggled to meet its own GHG reduction goals, but Québec is starting from a stronger position. PQ right now has the lowest GHG emissions of any province or US state. Quebec also is a major supplier of electricity, via Hydro-Quebec contracts, and sole supplier of natural gas, via Énergir and its subsidiary Vermont Gas Systems, to the state of Vermont.

​Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Boston Regional Office is excited to work with the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) which will receive up to $500,000 annually to conduct pesticide safety training across the country over the next five years. With EPA funding, AFOP will administer this grant to provide occupational health and safety trainings to migrant and seasonal farmworkers in more than 25 states including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Paramount Theatre in Rutland announced Wednesday that with the support of Same Sun of Vermont, they are selling raffle tickets for a $20,000 custom designed solar array. Should the winner of the raffle opt instead for a cash grand prize, their winning ticket will earn them $10,000. In addition to the grand-prize (solar array or $10,000 cash – winner’s choice) the second and third place drawings are worth $1,000 each. Tickets are now available exclusively online at ParamountVT.org for $100 or 5 for $399.

Vermont Business Magazine When the State of Vermont converted the Mount Mansfield Electric Railway to a road for cars in 1932, they left behind some of the infrastructure that supported the elevated tram as it crossed Graves Brook in Waterbury. Massive stone piers punctuated the landscape behind what is now Billing’s Mobil station, and they served as a reminder of the electric railway for nearly a century.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun Energy, innovators in the world of smart, solar-powered furnishings, announces the launch of its new iSun Oasis Smart Solar Bench, available starting in early 2021. iSun Energy is the company behind the leading-edge iSun Energy & Mobility Hub, a smart solar-powered canopy and EV charging investment. The new bench joins the company’s fleet of transformative hardware, software, and services.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting that another Vermonter has died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 60. It's the first death in the state from the novel coronavirus in nearly two weeks. The death occurred in Rutland County. The last death from COVID came November 7 in Orleans County. Altogether, the VDH reported 51 cases statewide today, which is a decrease from the recent spike of record-breaking numbers, which have been close to or over 100. There are 17 people hospitalized with two people in the ICU.