Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Samara Fund, a component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, has granted $38,105 to twelve nonprofit organizations in its ninth annual competitive grant round. In addition, the Fund gave five scholarships to graduating seniors from Brattleboro, Colchester, Hinesburg, Springfield, and St Johnsbury in recognition of their advocacy and leadership in support of LGBTQ issues within their schools and communities.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the VDH is reporting 11 new cases of COVID-19. Despite being by far the largest county in the state and in the process of testing thousands of college students, Chittenden County showed no new cases. The 11 statewide cases were spread across the state with Rutland and Addison counties having three each.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development today announced that KAD Properties LLC has been approved for $51,718 in funding from the State’s Brownfield Initiative to remediate the former LW Greenwood property in East Randolph. KAD Models and Prototypes, Inc is a growing prototype manufacturing shop located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and more recently East Randolph.

“Strengthening our manufacturing sector is so important to Vermont’s economy, so we are pleased to welcome KAD to Vermont and appreciate their commitment to supporting our local workforce and education programs,” said Governor Phil Scott. “I also want to thank the state and federal partners who work to make this funding available, which supports both economic development and the environmental health of Vermont communities.”

by Kellie Campbell and Hannah Lane Policy decisions regarding education and child care are gendered. That is a fact that must not be ignored. As public schools in Vermont reopen using a variety of learning models, data signals working women stand to bear the brunt of the impacts. Women experience this from multiple sides: they continue to be primarily responsible for the majority of child-rearing and caregiving, and they make up the vast majority of Vermont’s teachers[i] and child care providers[ii]. Many educators will feel this burden doubly, balancing their careers and the needs of their students with the needs of their own children.

Vermont Business Magazine VT Leap, based in Middletown Springs, has announced that after two weeks, applications representing 76% of the available funding for the Forest Economy Stabilization Grant program (FESG) have been submitted. Applications close on September 4th, or when funding is exhausted.

Small Business Administration On August 18, the grant award maximum for the Economic Recovery Grants was increased to $150,000 total (or $100,000 more than the existing maximum). Also, Vermont has one of the lowest response rates in the country filling out the US Census. Thirty percent of Vermont households have yet to respond or be counted by an enumerator.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber has selected the Leadership Champlain Class of 2021 — the 32nd class of the Chamber’s signature program for established community leaders. Since 1989, Leadership Champlain has ensured the community’s most influential and esteemed leaders are knowledgeable about issues, well-networked and passionate about our region’s success.

Vermont Business Magazine Albany Community Trust, Inc has received $17,850 in grant funding from the State of Vermont’s Brownfield Initiative to remediate the former Albany General Store property. The presently shuttered building has a 100 plus year history of operating as a general store. The closure was necessitated by an electrical fire in 2013. The Brownfield Initiative funding will support the removal of arsenic contaminated soils. The redevelopment envisions the reopening of the general store; the footprint of which will be expanded for community space.

Vermont Access Network The Vermont House and Senate Committees on Appropriations are seeking public input on the Governor’s Recommended FY 2021 State Budget and will hold a public hearing on Thursday, August 27, 2020 from 5 pm to 6 pm and Friday, August 28, 2020 from 1 pm to 2 pm via videoconferencing. The Budget Hearings will be distributed live by Vermont’s Community Media Centers on their cable channels and streamed online.

by Richard L Page, MD, Dean of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, et al Our nation is in the midst of a debate about the risks, benefits, and methods of resumption of higher education this fall, and there are as many ways to address this question as there are universities. We are writing to provide our perspective, as leaders of Vermont’s only college of medicine, regarding plans for the resumption of classes for both the Larner College of Medicine and the University of Vermont as a whole. At Larner, we are fully invested in educating and training the very best scientists and physicians to serve Vermont and our nation. Our partnership with Vermont communities is integral to promoting the health of Vermonters and to the vitality of Larner and UVM. Our physicians and scientists have been engaged in every step of our university response to this pandemic.

Dartmouth College will bring half of its undergraduates to campus for fall term, President Philip J Hanlon '77 and Provost Joseph Helble announced Wednesday in an email to the community. Students will begin to arrive September 8. The decision comes after Helble last week announced a pause in the fall plan timing to give senior leaders a few more days to consider the experiences other institutions were having in bringing students back to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic and to listen to the opinions of students, faculty, staff, families of undergraduates, and members of the Upper Valley community.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting four new cases of COVID-19. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its testing guidance to say that people who are asymptomatic may not need to be tested, even if they “have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes unless state or local public health officials recommend you take one.” Vermont guidelines and recommendations for who should get tested are not changing at this time. The Health Department continues to recommend testing for: People with COVID-19 symptoms; people who have had close contact (within 6 feet for about 15 minutes or more) with someone who tested positive for COVID-19; people who are referred by their health care provider for testing for another reason.