Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Safety would like to hear from first responders and members of the public as part of the process of enacting a fee structure for dispatch services through Vermont State Police Public Safety Answering Points. Dispatchers most often are the first contact that people have with the Vermont State Police and the 100+ agencies for whom we provide dispatch services. VSP dispatch centers are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide emergency and non-emergency support to the people of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Treasury Department, today released a simpler loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less. This action streamlines the PPP forgiveness process to provide financial and administrative relief to America’s smallest businesses while also ensuring sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police next week will be participating in a review by a team of assessors representing the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA) as part of a voluntary program to achieve re-accreditation of its law enforcement programs. The CALEA assessment team will be comprised of former Executive Director Gerald Bailey of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (retired), the team leader; and Director Charis Paulson of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported 11 new cases of COVID 19. No one is hospitalized statewide and there has not been a death in two months. The VDH also weighed in on the use of gaiters. If you choose to wear a gaiter as a face covering, fold it over so it is two layers. Based on a few experiments in adults, gaiters with one layer trap the least amount of respiratory droplets. Gaiters with two layers trap more droplets than gaiters with one layer. Gaiters folded over into two layers have a similar effectiveness at trapping respiratory droplets as two layers of cotton T-shirt material.

Middlebury College The following is a letter from Middlebury College President Laurie Patton to the college community explaining next steps for the J-Term (winter) and next spring. The J-term will be conducted remotely for all students with the exception of some research projects. The spring semester will not begin until March 1 and run without a break until May 21. All of this is to minimize the risk posed by COVID-19.

LETTER

This is a comprehensive letter with many details—we want you to have all of this information at once so you know what the remainder of the academic year will look like.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced Thursday, October 1, 2020 an increase to the State’s minimum wage. Beginning January 1, 2021, the State’s minimum wage will increase $0.79, from $10.96 to $11.75 per hour. The calculation for this increase is in accordance with Act 86 of the 2019 Vermont General Assembly.

This adjustment also impacts the minimum wage of “tipped employees.” The Basic Tipped Wage Rate for service or tipped employees equals 50% of the full minimum wage or $5.88 per hour starting January 1, 2021.

The minimum wage is set to increase to $12.55 per hour in 2022 as determined by current state statute. After 2022, the minimum wage will resume increasing annually with inflation as calculated by the Department of Labor.

For more information about the Vermont Department of Labor, visit: www.labor.vermont.gov.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Public Utility Commission announced that the temporary moratorium on utility service disconnections will end on October 15, 2020. The PUC is also ordering new, mandatory consumer protections for utility customers who are facing economic hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the Department and several utilities informed the Commission that many utility customers were not taking advantage of the VCAAP or responding to utility outreach to address their past-due balances.

Public Assets Institute Washington scrambled to meet people’s needs as COVID-19 shutdowns began in March. Many received financial support, others did not. Those left out include low-wage, essential workers—disproportionately women and Vermonters of color—who have been hit hardest by the crisis both physically and economically. Before taking a summer break at the end of June, the Legislature appropriated $28.0 million for the Hazard Pay Program, providing 16,000 front-line public safety and health care workers with one-time bonus pay of up to $2,000.

Vermont Business Magazine Jim Brown, President of The Bank of Bennington, announced the promotion of Scott Dikeman to Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending. Dikeman, who joined the bank in 2018, will take over for retiring Senior Vice President David Bardin. Bardin has enjoyed a storied banking career in Southern Vermont, where his name is synonymous with business banking itself.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of Directors of Union Mutual Insurance Company voted unanimously last week to elect Lisa L Keysar to the role of President and CEO. Keysar is the 15th person to assume the role and the first woman to head the company since its founding in 1874. Keysar succeeds Michael Nobles who passed away this summer.

Vermont Business Magazine Capstone Community Action was selected as the 2020 recipient of the Anne and Arthur Berndt Award at the Energy Action Network Summit, held remotely on October 2, 2020. The Anne and Arthur Berndt Award is presented annually to recognize Energy Action Network (EAN) members who have demonstrated vision, leadership, and commitment to a renewable energy future for Vermont. The award was created in 2013 to honor two of the founding members, and Capstone Community Action is the first organization to receive the award.

Vermont Business Magazine Advocates for legalizing the retail sale of cannabis, including Heady Vermont, are weighing in after Governor Phil Scott allowed a bill to tax and regulate cannabis to pass into law without his signature. He also signed off on automatically expunging records for cannabis possession. Included in the bill is changing the word "marijuana" to "cannabis" in all Vermont statutes.