Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) on Wednesday issued the following statement on Legislative Leadership’s continued focus on untenable components of H688, Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), in advance of the upcoming legislative session. Vermonters are struggling at a level unheard of since the Great Depression. The effects of a global pandemic and economic crisis have not only taken its toll on state budgets, but more importantly, on the personal budgets of everyday Vermonters trying to make ends meet. The focus of the Legislature during our upcoming session should be to address these incredibly urgent key matters.

by Bruce Post It’s enough to make one cry. All around, in every part of our beautiful state, ecological destruction and deterioration abound. From the scandalous abomination of Jay Peak and the leaching landfill in Coventry down to the vast hole in the middle of Burlington, the popped boil of another too good to be true real estate deal. From the cyanobacteria lapping the shores of Lake Champlain to the fouling of streams, rivers and lakes by a rogues’ gallery of municipal offenders - St Albans, Burlington, Vergennes, Montpelier, Rutland, St Johnsbury.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Scott has announced plans to build child care capacity in the state as many schools return to various models of instruction. The state plans to expand slots for school-age children in home-based child care facilities, and provide reimbursement. In addition, it will create 73 regional child care hubs around the state for school-age care on non-school days. Officials expect to release more details when they become available on the Department for Children and Families website. The VDH reported today that there were three new cases of COVID-19 for a statewide total of 1,533.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that the City of Burlington has broken ground to transform the Moran Municipal Generating Station into the Moran Frame. After more than 30 years of ideas and efforts to reimagine the long-abandoned former coal plant, the Moran Frame will restore public access to this part of the waterfront, stabilize and activate a derelict site, and create an iconic Burlington landmark that alludes to the area’s industrial past. The project represents the final piece of the broader transformation of Burlington’s northern waterfront that voters endorsed on Town Meeting Day 2014.

by UVM President Suresh Garimella New England colleges and universities are admired for their ability to marshal smart minds to tackle complex problems. This capacity has been evident throughout the pandemic, as their research, teaching and commitment to public service have demonstrated what they do best—chart new paths in the face of uncertainty. Analysis by the New England Board of Higher Education, an organization supporting students and institutions in the region, indicates that 65 of New England’s colleges and universities plan to provide on-campus and in-person instruction this fall. Ninety-eight will provide a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning, while 35 will support students all virtually. Each institution’s decision was made in response to the risk factors it faces as leaders do their best to respond to the unprecedented health emergency.

Vermont Business Magazine ACCD has launched the Restart Vermont Regional Marketing and Stimulus Grant Program. The program will provide $500,000 in grants to organizations for efforts and activities related to economic recovery, consumer stimulus, marketing, or tourism projects to support businesses that have suffered economic harm due to the COVID-19. Also, AAFM will begin accepting applications on August 19th for Agriculture and Working Lands Assistance grants. A total of $8.5 million is available to help farmers, meat and poultry processors, slaughterhouses, farmers markets, agricultural food products businesses, forest products businesses, and producer associations to cover losses and expenses caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is investigating an apparent homicide that was reported Wednesday morning, August 19, 2020, in the town of Marshfield. Police received a call at 6:06 a.m. requesting emergency assistance at a home on Sunrise Drive. Responding troopers located the victim, a man in his 70s, deceased inside the house. Initial investigation indicates there is no threat to public safety.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Commerce and the Department of Taxes reported Monday that more than $103 million in Vermont Economic Recovery Grants have been awarded to more than 3,500 businesses in 22 different sectors and in all 14 counties in Vermont. There are still funds available. The total amount per business also has been expanded for both new and those who have already received a grant to a maximum of $150,000 each. The Scott Administration will also ask the Legislature to expand eligibility.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has signed onto a bipartisan letter calling on the US Department of Commerce and the US Census Bureau to restore the deadline for the 2020 US Census, which has been moved from October 31 to September 30, 2020. In addition to Governor Scott, the letter was signed by the governors of Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina, and New York.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police has released traffic-stop data from 2019, marking the fifth consecutive year the agency has published its raw numbers to continue the public discussion on how to address racial disparities in discretionary car stops. Takeaways include that racial disparities remain in who is searched and who is issued traffic tickets compared with warnings and the majority of stops and searches of motorists occur on the interstates and involve vehicles with non-Vermont registration plates.

Vermont Business Magazine Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD also said Tuesday that there has been news about colleges and universities in other parts of the country needing to halt their return to school plans because of COVID-19 cases, but Vermont is in a different situation. So far, here in Vermont where students are still in the process of returning, there are four students testing positive at Norwich, one at Vermont Technical College, and six at the University of Vermont. The VDH also reported today that statewide there were three new cases of COVID-19 for a statewide total of 1,530. Since last Friday there have been 29 new cases.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Department of Taxes today announced an increase to the maximum grant award for Economic Recovery Grants for Vermont businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in the maximum grant award is available to businesses in the lodging, retail, hospitality, arts, travel and event affiliated sectors that have continued capacity constraints.

Previously, businesses could receive up to $50,000 in grant funds. Now, businesses in eligible industries can receive up to an additional $100,000 in grant funding, for a total of $150,000 from the program. The increased maximum award is available both to new applicants to the program and to those businesses that have already received a $50,000 grant.