Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced its phased restart plan to resume motorcycle permit and endorsement testing is under way. Testing began on Monday, June 15.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has partnered with the Department of Disabilities, Aging & Independent Living (DAIL) and Vermont State Police (VSP) to create visor cards to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing communicate with law enforcement officers if they are pulled over while driving.

Vermont Business Magazine For a second year in a row, NBT Bank has earned a spot on the Forbes World’s Best Banks list released on June 8, 2020. NBT is one of only 75 banks in the United States to be included on this list, out of the tens of thousands of financial institutions globally that are able to be considered for the recognition.

Vermont Business Magazine The Health Department reported today that there were no new cases associated with the COVID-19 outbreak that first emerged in Winooski. The total remains at 83 cases as of Monday evening. They continue to test residents and trace contacts of cases to contain the outbreak. Nearly 3,000 people have been tested to date at the Winooski and Burlington sites. There have been no deaths or hospitalizations associated with the outbreak. Statewide there were three new cases reported, with no deaths in over two weeks and only two hospitalized.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Scott on Wednesday is expected to announce new visitation guidelines for long-term care facilities (nursing homes, etc). He indicated the new guidelines were coming at his press briefing on Monday. In his State of Emergency declaration on March 13, 2020, the governor prohibited visitation into nursing homes. Two long term care facilities in Burlington witnessed early outbreaks and several deaths because of COVID-19.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Zero Gravity Craft Brewery in Burlington announced Tuesday, June 16, that it has recently reached an agreement to purchase brewing equipment and expand into the previous Magic Hat Brewing facility in South Burlington. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close July 1 and is subject to federal permitting. Magic Hat Brewing Company will shift production to FIFCO USA’s newly modernized brewery in Rochester, NY. Some Magic Hat beers, including select packages of #9, are already brewed there. As Magic Hat moves to Rochester, NY, Zero Gravity will utilize this space to expand their production and packaging capacity.

Vermont Business Magazine Cities and towns could get some financial assistance as property tax payments lag during the pandemic. Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce, working with the General Assembly, Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the Vermont Bankers Association, today announced the launch of the Municipal Emergency Statewide Education Property Tax Borrowing Program to assist municipalities as they manage their finances and cash flow needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Ryan Wall, 42, a former Quechee resident who now lives in Florida, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Rutland to 51 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge of wire fraud. Chief Judge Geoffrey Crawford also ordered that Wall serve a two-year term of supervised release following completion of his prison sentence. He also entered a preliminary order that Wall pay $470,000 in restitution to 18 victims; that order is subject to modification if additional victims file claims.

Vermont Business Magazine As Vermonters cope with an economic recession, Efficiency Vermont, VGS and Burlington Electric Department (BED) are announcing a raft of higher-than-ever incentives to help Vermonters reduce their home energy costs, make their homes healthier and more resilient into the future, and encourage investments that support the local economy.

Vermont Business Magazine Sterling College in Crafstbury Common is embracing the attributes that make it unique—small enrollment, rural location, field programs, and professional studies opportunities—and welcoming students back to campus for the Fall Semester under a creative, multifaceted plan that values both the health and welfare of its students and the integrity and quality of the Sterling experience.

Vermont Business Magazine The Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Hoosick Falls (CNR) in New York, part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), has earned deficiency-free status, the highest rating given, on a survey meant to determine ability to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and other infections to those living, recovering, and working within long-term care facilities.

Agency of Commerce & Community Development Governor Phil Scott announced Monday as expected that the state of emergency scheduled to end June 15 is being extended to July 15th. As previously announced, leisure travel to or from any county in New England or New York with less than 400 active cases of COVID-19 per one million residents can now be done without quarantine. Campgrounds in Vermont are now permitted to operate at 100% capacity