Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Saint Michael’s College Graduate Education Program’s Remote Teaching and Learning Summer Workshop Series in August will allow educators to hear from experts in the field about innovative strategies and tools to build their capacity to teach, engage, support and assess all learners in preparation to teach remotely.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont received $181.7 million in research funding during the 2020 fiscal year, surpassing last year’s amount by $37.4 million, or 26%. The total is the largest in UVM history by a wide margin, eclipsing the previous high of $146 million set in 2010, when extra stimulus funding was available to colleges and universities for their research efforts.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Scott and the Department for Children and Families on Friday announced the launch of the Operational Relief Grant Program, funded with $12 million from the federal CARES Act. Plus the Local Government Expense Reimbursement Grant Program for Vermont municipalities is now open. Also, The 6th annual Open Farm Week is August 10 - 16. This year's offerings will focus on events appropriate for the current pandemic-related guidelines: tours, picnics, farm trails, virtual/online events.

Vermont Business Magazine Kaman Composites – Vermont, Inc (KCV), a subsidiary of Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN), announced Friday that it has entered into a new Long Term Agreement with a major engine OEM to manufacture components for both existing production and newly developed engine programs. The components will be industrialized and manufactured at Kaman’s facilities in Bennington, Vermont, with initial deliveries expected by the end of 2020. The potential value is $118 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Indulge. Restore. Repeat. This is the mantra of Lake Champlain Chocolates’ (LCC) new line, the Restorative Moments Chocolate Bar Collection. Inspired by nature and crafted from organic and fair trade certified extra-dark chocolate, the Vermont chocolatier’s line was born from the desire that chocolate should preserve and protect restorative moments, both in life and in our environment.

Vermont Business Magazine As part of its phased reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, Norwich University is welcoming the first group of students to campus on Saturday, August 8, a process that involves a highly structured intake methodology to include health screenings and COVID-19 testing. As part of the university’s phased reopening, students who need to quarantine in keeping with the State of Vermont’s guidelines will arrive on campus first; other groups will follow later. Norwich is expecting to welcome 400 to 500 students on Saturday.

Vermont Business Magazine Following the closure of the Early Learning Center at Saint Michael’ s College in June, a small group of dedicated staff, parents and community members have worked tirelessly to re-establish an independent, non-profit early childhood education center in the same building on North Campus/Fort Ethan Allen, scheduled to open August 31. Board members of the new Early Learning Center (ELC) said this week that the work has involved everything from legal incorporation with the State of Vermont, designing a website and organizing payroll administration, to coordinating open house meetings with families, writing a family handbook and cleaning the center in preparation for re-opening.

Driving Trends Result in Insurance Rate Reduction for 45,700 customers

Vermont Business Magazine Driving behaviors across the country continue to evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on current trends, State Farm® is working to reduce auto insurance rates in Vermont by 14.3%. This rate reduction will save 45,700 State Farm customers in Vermont a total of $4.2 million. This applies to current customers at policy renewal, as well as new and returning customers.

“Current State Farm driving data and claims experience show a considerable decline in miles driven and fewer accidents,” said Matt Hodson, Vice President – Agency/Sales. “As a result, we’re looking for ways to continue supporting our Connecticut customers while we monitor and adjust to trends.”

Vermont Business Magazine Saying that good quality child care is critical for Vermont, giving kids a strong foundation for their future, and supporting working families, Governor Phil Scott on Friday announced the launch of a new grant program to help mitigate operational expenses and losses for child care providers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Operational Relief Grant (ORG) program includes $12 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Funding. Governor Scott announced that Vermont has now tested more than 100,000 people for the COVID-19 virus. Of those, 1,448 have tested positive, with two new cases reported today. There have been 58 deaths, with one reported yesterday in Franklin County. Meanwhile, guidelines for high school sports could come as soon as next week. “Things will look different," Scott said, but all fall sports are expected to be back in play.

by Mike Donoghue, Correspondent, Vermont Business Magazine A proposed change of plea court hearing for the reported mastermind behind a major federal EB-5 investment fraud in the Northeast Kingdom was delayed on Friday in Burlington for one week. Ariel Quiros, the former owner of the Jay Peak Ski Resort, has signed a plea agreement that could net him more than an 8-year federal prison term. But Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W Crawford said Friday he wanted to ensure the defendant’s lawyer was clear of any conflict of interest or divided loyalty.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims continue to fall as the economy slowly reopens and with it the unemployment trust fund has added nearly $2 million since last week. After a steep decline as the economy began to reopen in April, initial unemployment claims for the last several weeks flattened, rose slightly and now are falling consistently.

Vermont Business Magazine ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation's premier property database and first property data provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), just released its second-quarter 2020 US Home Equity & Underwater Report, which shows that 15.2 million residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loans secured by those properties was 50 percent or less of their estimated market value. Vermont surpassed Hawaii for second place behind California.