Current News

Senator Patrick Leahy On Monday I watched the shameful scene a block from the White House as the President of the United States ordered US Park Police, backed by the DC National Guard and following threats throughout the day, to use the US military against peaceful American protesters so he could have his photograph taken in front of St. John’s Church holding a Bible. It was an appalling, almost surreal, abuse of power that showed a flagrant disregard not only for our Constitution, but for those who have devoted their lives to defend it.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Scott and Attorney General Donovan came together Thursday to issue statements on Vermont’s peaceful protests.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine As Governor Scott continues to open up the economy, the weekly unemployment insurance claims have continued to subside. Initial and ongoing claims have now decreased every week since the peak in early April. Last week they fell at their lowest levels since that first decline. But they are also at about a post-Christmas layoff spike. Scott is expected to announce Friday when restaurants can resume indoor dining and perhaps when out-of-state visitors will be allowed to return without quarantine, which is intended to help the lodging industry.

Vermont Business Magazine Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott announced the retirement of the Department for Children and Families’ (DCF) Commissioner Ken Schatz and the appointment of Sean Brown to be the next Commissioner of DCF. Schatz will be retiring on June 26, 2020 and Brown will assume the role on June 29, 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday Chroma Technology Corp of Bellows Falls as the winner of the prestigious and highly anticipated Deane C Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award, 2019. A 100 percent employee-owned company, Chroma Technology produces optical filters for the scientific, biomedical, photonics and imaging and detection industries. The filters and mirrors that Chroma manufactures are used in microscopes, DNA sequencers and clinical diagnostic devices, among other applications.

Vermont Business Magazine Enphase Energy, Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of solar microinverters, today announced that Same Sun of Vermont has deployed Enphase microinverters on a 56.2 kWDC commercial solar system for WhistlePig Rye Whiskey, a Vermont-based craft whiskey maker. WhistlePig’s distillery is situated on a 500-acre former dairy farm in Shoreham.

Agency of Commerce & Community Development The Department of Economic Development will host a virtual town hall on Friday, June 5th at 2:00 pm to share updates about the Paycheck Protection Program. Funds are still available for businesses to access. Representatives from the SBA and local banks and credit unions will be available to answer questions.

Vermont Business Magazine While 100,000 Vermonters have filed for unemployment since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the state is doing far better than most in new claims filed by the end of May. The coronavirus pandemic has been incredibly destructive to US jobs, forcing nearly 43 million workers into unemployment since March 16. Millions of businesses closed as customers sheltered in place, forcing layoffs borne from a lack of revenue. Even though all states have now started to reopen, the employment situation continues to worsen.

This week, there were nearly 1.9 million new unemployment claims nationwide, compared to 219,000 during the same week last year. However, not all states have experienced the same levels of unemployment due to the pandemic.

Total new claims in Vermont were 1,465, down 87 from the week before but 1,060 more than. Ongoing claims were 47,781, down 4,056 from the week before but 44,376 more than last year.

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont and Champlain College students who are returning to Burlington can get tested for COVID-19 at sites on the UVM campus. The specimen collection is being done in collaboration with the Vermont Department of Health, and with the assistance of trained members of the Vermont National Guard.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is developing a new long-range management plan for the Worcester Range Management Unit and is conducting public scoping to better understand how Vermonters use and value these lands. The long-range management plan serves as a guide for land management on ANR lands, and typically lasts for 20 years. ANR conducts public scoping early in the planning process to develop a better understanding of the public’s interest in and use of state-owned lands. The public is asked to share their input through an online survey.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Public Power Supply Authority and Encore Renewable Energy announced Wednesday that construction has begun on a new solar array along Route 100 in Morrisville, on land currently utilized for corn silage. Encore is evaluating the potential for establishing pollinator-friendly wildflower groundcover to provide support for the bees, butterflies and other creatures that are critical to the overall health of our ecosystem. Lawrence Brook Solar, the second project developed under a partnership formed in 2018 between VPPSA and Encore, will be sited on property owned by Morrisville resident Jeanette Davis. The new 2.2 megawatt (MW) array will generate income for Davis while allowing her to maintain ownership of the property through the duration of the 25-year lease agreement.

Vermont Business Magazine SunCommon hosted their first ‘Climate Action Film Festival’ earlier this year to inspire local climate action among attendees, while raising money for local environmental advocacy organizations. After hosting nearly a dozen local events throughout Vermont and New York’s Hudson Valley, SunCommon raised over $8,800 through ticket donations to the events.