Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Caledonia Spirits, the Vermont-based distiller that uses raw northern honey to make its flagship spirits Barr Hill Gin, Tom Cat Gin, and Barr Hill Vodka, announced Thursday that its popular “Bee’s Knees Week” initiative will have a new look in 2020. Held every September, Bee’s Knees Week has traditionally raised money for organizations that work to protect bees, but this year the format will be built around planting bee habitat to ensure that pollinators are able to continue playing their crucial role in our environment.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Art Council announces the 15 recipients of its most sought-after award, the Creation Grant, which supports Vermont artists in creating new work. Among this year’s winning proposals are works that span visual arts, literary arts, dance, music, circus arts, and multidisciplinary fields, including a poetry collection about growing up as a Korean American adoptee in rural Vermont; a solo dance show integrating aerial work and nonbinary, disabled identity; and several works that explore climate change.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced his proposal for an additional $133 million in economic relief and recovery, using funds from the $1.25 billion the state received from the Federal CARES Act. As with previous proposals the governor and his administration will work with the legislature to bring further relief to Vermonters and Vermont businesses.

Vermont Business Magazine A resident of Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Middlebury has tested positive for COVID-19. The facility has notified residents, family members of residents and staff of the case, which was discovered as a result of a facility-wide Phase 1 testing initiative as prescribed by the Vermont Department of Health. The resident is asymptomatic at this time and is in quarantine, as are employees who came in contact with the resident.

The Vermont Agency of Human Services also reported today a case of CVOID-19 at the Wake Robin retirement community in Shelburne.

Both facilities are going through systemwide testing, said AHS Secretary Mike Smith.

Vermont Business Magazine Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, reminded Vermonters at a press conference Friday that now — in the two weeks leading up to school reopening — is the time to do all the right things so that schools will be safe. Continue to follow health guidance and think twice about fitting in a family trip or gathering before school start, and carefully considering the risks of all your activities. Also, the VDH reported today that there were four new cases of COVID-19, three hospitalized and related deaths are holding at 58. Vermont has the fewest number of cases, the lowest per capita rate and the lowest positivity rate of any state.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today announced the completion of the investigation of alleged fraudulent conduct by Chief George Merkel of the Vergennes Police Department regarding overtime payments from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP). The Attorney General’s Office is declining to prosecute Chief Merkel for false reporting as there is no evidence to suggest that Chief Merkel acted with intent to defraud the GHSP. In reaching this decision, the Office reviewed all of the materials provided by the Vermont State Police (VSP), who conducted the investigation.

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today $42.4 million in direct assistance grants to 221 fire departments nationwide through the agency’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. Included among them are Middletown Springs in Rutland County that will get $115,000 and South Strafford in Orange County that will get $80,000. Additional phases will soon be announced by FEMA.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program includes grants to the following fire departments in Vermont:

Vermont Business Magazine Quidel Corporation, a provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, announced today that it has completed its investigation regarding a report of discordant results (False Positives) at a testing location in Manchester, Vermont, and found no testing site- or product-related issues with the Sofia 2 instrument or the Sofia SARS Antigen FIA. The Vermont Department of Health later found that only four of the 65 positive antigen results for COVID-19 tested positive using the state's subsequent PCR test. Quidel disputed the VDH's PCR results.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy on Thursday announced a significant funding increase for the Vermont-Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center. The Center, operated by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM), was originally selected as one of three regional dairy innovation centers through a competitive process in 2019. As Vice Chairman of the US Senate Appropriations Committee, Leahy secured a significant increase to the national program’s funding level in the fiscal year 2020 Agriculture Appropriations Bill which allowed the allocation for Vermont to increase from $450,000 in 2019, to more than $6.1 million in 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor reported that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for July was 8.3 percent. This reflects a decrease of one and two-tenths percentage points from the prior month’s revised estimate of 9.5 percent. The comparable United States rate in July was 10.2 percent, a decrease of nine-tenths percentage points from the revised June estimate. The Vermont unemployment rate is still higher than the worst of the Great Recession (The Vermont peaked at 6.9 percent; the US rate peaked at 10.6 percent in January 2010). The official Vermont March unemployment rate was 3.1 percent, but the April rate was 15.6 percent, the highest on record.

Vermont Business Magazine The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) announced today that Legal Services Vermont will receive a $375,970 Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant. LSC’s Pro Bono Innovation Fund is intended to encourage and expand pro bono efforts and partnerships to serve more low-income clients. Legal Services Vermont will use the grant to build a coordinated, centralized and sustainable infrastructure for statewide pro bono efforts in Vermont. It will collaborate with key stakeholders to develop and implement a robust statewide pro bono system using best practices for recruitment, flexible volunteer venues and effective data tracking to expand access to justice for low-income families in the state.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Women’s Fund, the state’s largest and first philanthropic resource dedicated to women and girls, recently announced the launch of its 100-for-100 Campaign, an initiative to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s voting rights and finance a special round of grant-making this fall. Nearly one hundred years ago to the day, the 19th Amendment of the Constitution was officially ratified thus guaranteeing American women the right to vote. Despite the landmark legislation, this privilege was not extended to women of color until 1965.