Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Commerce & Community Development will be hosting an overview webinar for businesses interested in participating in the new Buy Local Vermont Gift Card Program on Wednesday, August 26th at 3:30pm. The program is intended to bring needed foot traffic and increase sales for local restaurants, retail stores, entertainment and performing arts venues, lodging and tourism-related businesses. Businesses can enroll to take part in the program starting today. The Buy Local Vermont Gift Card Program will launch to consumers on September 8th.

Vermont Business Magazine It has been over a month since the City sent a default notice to BTC Mall Associates – the developer of the former mall site and partnership between Brookfield and Devonwood – under the 2017 Development Agreement. The mayor said that to date, the developer has taken no actions to cure that default. In response, the City has taken the following steps in recent days: Retained the services of Downs Rachlin and Martin PLLC (DRM) to represent the City in the litigation of this matter; issued two letters on August 21 to BTC Mall Associates and Brookfield.

Vermont Business Magazine Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, said a recent report indicated that child care programs that resumed operations at a time of low community spread of coronavirus infection and followed strict protocols were successful at limiting new infections. As for colleges reopening, the governor said that they need to be firm in dismissing students that do not follow guidelines because it puts everyone in Vermont at risk, and that includes the local economy. Meanwhile, the VDH today reported seven new cases of COVID-19 statewide with hospitalizations at three and deaths unchanged at 58.

Vermont Business Magazine After repeatedly pressing the Trump Administration, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Tuesday that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has canceled its scheduled furlough of more than 13,000 dedicated public servants. The furlough was set to take effect on August 30. About 1,100 workers in Vermont, concentrated in St Albans, would have faced job loss if the threatened furloughs had been fully implemented.

Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth engineers have been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop and test a device that could be used by surgeons to detect prostate cancer still left in the body during surgery.

Currently, 6.5 to 32 percent of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy each year come out of surgery with positive surgical margins (PSMs), according to a 2014 European Urology study, meaning cancer is still left in the body, increasing the likelihood of disease recurrence. These patients often choose to undergo radiation, hormonal therapy, or chemotherapy to treat the leftover disease, which can lead to physical and/or financial hardship.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recognized 13 WIC clinics in New England and New York with Loving Support Awards of Excellence for exemplary efforts in supporting breastfeeding mothers. These awards, presented during a virtual recognition ceremony today, mark USDA’s Breastfeeding Month, celebrated each August. Four from Vermont were honored: Middlebury District Office, in Middlebury; Rutland District Office, in Rutland; St Albans District Office, in St Albans; and Burlington District Office, in Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) today announced the reopening of the Montpelier, South Burlington, and Rutland offices to the public by appointment only using a new online scheduling system. Customers can schedule appointments online beginning Thursday, August 27. The first appointment times available will be for Monday, August 31. The hours of operation for appointments at all three locations for appointments will be 8 am to 4 pm. Customers with appointments are asked to arrive ten minutes before their appointment so DMV staff can review and verify all required paperwork prior to the appointment.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer issued a non-audit report last week on the cost of health care in Vermont. He determined that the increase in health care costs was more than double the overall increase in all other goods and services over the last two decades and also was out-of-scale to neighboring states. This problem appears to stem, he said, in part from convoluted systems and powerful institutions – not from the people who provide direct health care services, who are paid relatively less than in those nearby states.

Vermont Business Magazine In time for National Breastfeeding Month this August, Walmart and Mamava announced plans to install Mamava lactation suites into more than 100 Walmart stores this year, further extending breastfeeding support to associates and customers. Mamava lactation suites, or pods, are freestanding spaces that provide a clean, comfortable and private option to breastfeed or pump. The pods are accessed through the Mamava app, which guides mom to a pod’s location. The app opens the pod and allows mom to customize lighting and airflow, as well as listen to soothing sounds. Not only that, she can leave digital notes of encouragement for other moms. The pods are free to use. Walmart is the first retailer to install Mamava pods in a store setting, offering moms another breastfeeding option.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $772,881 in grant funding to farmers, producers and small businesses in Vermont, and $919,474 to those in New Hampshire, under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Funds will be used to improve energy efficiency and create renewable-energy systems in the two states.

Vermont Business Magazine Following an extensive investigation, Fanny Allen Inpatient Rehab staff will be returning to their workspace on that campus in a phased re-entry during the weeks of October 5 and October 19. In the meantime, the space will undergo a number of upgrades, and staff will receive additional training. In April and May, 21 Inpatient Rehab staff experienced a number of symptoms, including dizziness and nausea. No patients experienced the symptoms. In the weeks following the incidents, the UVM Medical Center’s Environmental Health and Safety Team worked with an occupational health and safety consultant and the Vermont Department of Health to investigate potential causes.

Vermont Business Magazine Local communities in the Northeast Kingdom and around the world are coming together on Monday, August 31 to remember those who have died or suffered permanent injury due to drug overdose. Observed every year on August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) seeks to create better understanding of overdose, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and create change that reduces the harms associated with drug use.