Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The state’s leading small business organization, NFIB, released its small business voting record today for the 2019-2020 session for the Vermont General Assembly. Throughout each legislative biennium, NFIB tracks key votes that would positively or negatively impact our member’s ability to own and operate their business. The data is compiled and then sent to Vermont members so they can be informed about how their legislator voted before they go to the polls on Election Day.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Dr Etan Nasreddin-Longo, chair of the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Advisory Panel, along with Panel members, Executive Director of Racial Equity Xusana Davis, and Attorney General TJ Donovan urged the Legislature to take further action to address racial disparities and systemic bias in Vermont. The coalition specifically called on the Legislature to reconsider policy recommendations outlined by the Panel in their December 2019 report. These recommendations include centralizing a bias incident complaint process, significantly expanding data collection efforts, and implementing reforms to reduce racial profiling.

Vermont Business Magazine In an effort to assist with thorough testing around the recent Killington COVID-19 outbreak, the Vermont Department of Health has asked Rutland Regional to open their testing facility on Wednesday, September 2, Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4. (This testing is IN ADDITION to the Vermont Department of Health’s pop-up test clinic scheduled for Wednesday, September 2 from 9am-3pm at the Rutland Office of Local Health in the Asa Bloomer Building-registration is required.)

Vermont Business Magazine As a part of its continued efforts to support job seekers and employers, the Vermont Department of Labor has announced additional dates for its #Hiring2DayVT Virtual Job Fairs. The Department will resume its series, highlighting statewide and regional career opportunities on Thursday, September 3 at 11 am.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released the final Three Acre Stormwater General Permit (GP 3-9050) today. This permit fulfills a key requirement of Vermont’s 2015 Clean Water Act (Act 64) and achieves all Phase One milestones outlined in the Lake Champlain Phosphorus Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Accountability Framework.

by Sascha Mayer, Co-founder, CEO of Mamava As a member of Governor Scott’s Economic Mitigation and Recovery ReStart Task Force, I’ve spent the last five months working alongside volunteers to connect with businesses across the state. From manufacturing to education to hospitality and the arts (and every sector in between), we saw firsthand the extreme sacrifices businesses and institutions have made to keep Vermonters safe. With the guidance of Governor Scott and Health Department Commissioner Dr Levine, these sacrifices have paid off as Vermont continues to have the lowest rates of COVID-19 infection (and the lowest rate per capita) in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Arguing that Vermont needs a “problem solver and innovator in the lieutenant governor’s office,” and he needs a “working partner,” Governor Phil Scott today gave businessman Scott Milne his strong backing in the race for state government’s second highest office.

"Scott Milne's story as a businessman is one of resilience and the ability to overcome adversity,” said Governor Scott. “Over the past two decades, many of his competitors in the travel agency industry failed in the face of significant headwinds for the sector, including the sharp decline of travel after both 9/11 and the Great Recession; as well as the emergence of online travel options. Not only did Scott find a way to survive through these significant market disruptions, he was able to grow and build an even stronger Vermont small business, while creating even more jobs.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont will get over $6 million for airport infrastructure with Burlington International Airport (BTV) getting $6.3 million and the Newport airport getting nearly $170,000. US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced today that the Vermont grants are part of the Trump Administration awards of more than $1.2 billion in airport safety and infrastructure grants through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to 405 airports in 50 states and six US territories.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) is pleased to announce a funding opportunity to provide financial assistance to municipalities in an ongoing effort to improve the quality of water statewide. Grants funded through this program must have a transportation link. The enabling legislation that determines eligibility is as follows: “Any environmental mitigation activity, including pollution prevention and pollution abatement activities and mitigation to address stormwater management, control, and water pollution prevention or abatement related to highway construction or due to highway runoff.”

Vermont Business Magazine Friends of the Winooski River, working with local landowners Lisa and Jonathan Burr, removed a breached 100-foot long concrete dam that was posing safety hazards and causing property damage on a former summer camp in Northfield that is now The Woods Lodge, a local inn and retreat center. The crumbling structure blocked fish passage on Bull Run, a tributary to the Dog River, and its removal eliminates the last barrier to its headwaters, and opens up 26-miles of stream habitat, creating better cold-water conditions for fish, like brook trout.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is fortunate to have abundant lakes and streams we can all enjoy. Many people are turning to water-based activities like swimming and boating to practice social distancing while staying cool. We can all safely swim, fish and boat in Vermont’s lakes and ponds if we know what to look for — and what to avoid.

When spending time in and near the water, it is important to know what you’re getting into. The most common water quality concerns for swimmers are E. coli and cyanobacteria. Waterborne pathogens like E. coli can be released into the water after heavy rainfall and can make people sick. Cyanobacteria blooms, sometimes called blue-green algae, are naturally found in freshwater in the U.S. including Lake Champlain and other Vermont waters.

Some types of cyanobacteria can release natural toxins or poisons (called cyanotoxins) into the water which can be harmful to people and pets.

by Jeff Tieman, President and CEO, Vermont Association of Hospitals & Health Systems Over the past two weeks, each of our non-profit hospitals presented its budget to the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) in a first-of-its-kind virtual hearing process. I want to thank Board members and staff for their time and attention. I also want to applaud our hospital leaders who, in a time of so much uncertainty, presented carefully planned and thoughtfully delivered “recovery budgets.”