Current News

University of Vermont This email was sent to all UVM students at 1:42 p.m. and shared with faculty and staff at 1:48 on September 16. The university will continue its existing testing protocols. All students who are not entirely remote are required to continue to receive PCR testing every seven days. This requirement will remain in place until November 1, at which time we will revisit the results to date with our medical expert panel again.

Reversal follows letters from the Members and Governors Scott, Sununu, and Mills asking President Trump to reverse 10% tariff on aluminum.

Vermont Business Magazine Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Annie Kuster (D-N.H.-2), Chellie Pingree (D- Maine-1) and Jason Pappas (D- N.H.-1) applauded the Trump administration’s decision to suspend a 10 percent tariff on Canadian aluminum imports. The decision comes just days after the representatives wrote President Trump supporting the request of Governors Scott, Sununu and Mills to lift the tariffs.

“We are pleased that by working together with our governors and congressional delegations, we succeeded in reversing this harmful tariff on Canadian aluminum imports,” said Welch, Kuster, Pingree and Pappas. “This is an important victory for our regional economy and for the continued close cooperation with Canada.”

by President Elaine C Collins, Northern Vermont University The end of August marked the return of many of our students to campus. Beyond the masks, the intense new cleaning regimens and mandatory COVID testing, the return of students has brought back a semblance of normalcy during these strange and unsettling times.

Their return has also provided a stark reminder of the value that NVU students and alumni bring to our community, our region and our employers. The vast majority of our students – 70 percent – are Vermonters and nearly half are the first in their family to attend college.

While at NVU, our students enrich our local community with their skills, their community engagement and their economic output.

When they graduate, they more often than not become an integral and critical part of Vermont’s workforce – providing employers with the hard to find skills needed for success.

Vermont Business Magazine The Justice Department’s Office On Violence Against Women (OVW) announced today that it will direct over $6 million in grant funding to Vermont victims service organizations to curb domestic violence.

These awards are part of a larger portfolio of new grants designed to help law enforcement, victim services providers, and prosecutors identify and assist victims at high risk for being killed by an abusive partner.

Christina Nolan, United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, noted: “As hard as my office works – and will continue to work – to prevent violent offenders from causing harm and death, we know that victims need more than justice in court to recover and move forward. The OVW grants to victim services groups in Vermont will help identify victims, support their recovery, and give them the chance at living the rest of their lives free from abuse.”

Saasable launches in the QuickBooks App Store, unlocking automated recurring revenue metrics for millions of accountants and SMBs

Vermont Business Magazine Software startup, Saasable, announced today their launch in the QuickBooks App Store. Saasable is a financial reporting and analytics app that allows accountants and SMBs to automate recurring revenue metrics in a beautiful, real-time dashboard.

“Previously, accountants spent hours putting together tedious spreadsheets to report basic revenue and related numbers for their clients and investors.” said Michael Ly, CEO of Saasable. “Saasable makes it easy for accounting professionals and startup founders to track and share recurring revenue metrics in one easy to use app by simply connecting their QuickBooks file.”

Vermont Business Magazine The STEM Next Opportunity Fund today announced a multi-year grant to Vermont Afterschool as part of the Million Girls Moonshot. The Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation have joined STEM Next Opportunity Fund and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to launch the Million Girls Moonshot. The effort is designed to engage 1 million school-age girls in the United States in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning opportunities over the next five years. The first year Vermont grant, just awarded, is for $55,000.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Secretary of State’s Office and the Vermont Bar Association (VBA) are working together to enlist lawyers and law students to volunteer as poll workers at their local polling stations in November. Many of our traditional poll worker volunteers may not be in a position to participate in person at their polling stations this fall due to COVID-19 and being an at-risk population, so lawyers and law students who are able to participate in person are being asked to contact their Town Clerk offices to help fill the need.

Vermont Busienss Magazine For 35 years, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) have helped expand the number of small businesses that successfully compete for and win federal, state, and local government contracts. On September 16, PTACs from around the country are coming together to celebrate the success of the tens of thousands of small businesses who have benefitted from training and technical assistance delivered by their local PTACs.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today vetoed H.688, An act relating to addressing climate change, but provided a path forward to pass a bill that achieves the stated goals without the harmful impacts of the current bill. Governor Scott outlined three areas where the bill could be improved to earn his support, which he had previously detailed in an August 12 letter to legislative leaders, alongside proposed legislative language for which his Administration has advocated throughout the process. “To prioritize the emission reductions necessary to address climate change, we need to learn the lessons of building a comprehensive clean water plan. H.688, as written, will lead to inefficient spending and long, costly court battles, not the tangible investments in climate-resilient infrastructure, and affordable weatherization and clean transportation options that Vermonters need,” he added.

Vermont Business Magazine Dr Fauci sought to provide confidence that the EPA will deliver a safe vaccine and he explained the multiple layers of checkpoints, including an independent data and safety monitoring board, a safety pledge by the FDA, and the scientific community, that is watching and “are not shy about giving our scientific opinions.”

Vermont Business Magazine At his regular press briefing Tuesday, Governor Phil Scott was joined by Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to discuss Vermont and the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Scott, who extended the State of Emergency to October 15 on Friday, detailed the state’s progress in suppressing the virus in Vermont. Scott highlighted the value of relying on the available science and public health experts at the Vermont Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and credited the vigilance of Vermonters in adhering to health guidance.

Vermont Business Magazine Omega Optical, a leading manufacturer of precision optical filters and coatings, announced today that it has been acquired by Artemis Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused exclusively on partnering with differentiated industrial technology companies. Omega will continue to operate as an independent company from its headquarters in Brattleboro. Financial terms were not disclosed. Omega has been recognized as an innovator in precision optical filters and coatings since its founding in 1969 by Dr Robert Johnson. The company's filter products are designed and fabricated to control the passage of light and enable a broad range of mission-critical optical applications including flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, spectroscopy, LiDAR, machine vision, and satellite imaging for global OEM customers in the life science, aerospace & defense, instrumentation, semiconductor, environmental and industrial sensor industries.