Current News
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Vermont Business Magazine Saint Michael’s College faculty collaborators Melissa VanderKaay Tomasulo, PhD of neuroscience/psychology and Dagan Loisel, PhD of biology learned this week that a “small-scale research grant” of $25,000 through the Vermont Space Grant Consortium has been funded in full. The goal of the study is to identify stress-relieving countermeasures that astronauts could use during long-duration space missions to reduce stress and its ability to cause immune dysregulation, which refers to negative changes in the body's normal ability to fight off infections and disease.
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Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices has announced the addition of Jack Associates Real Estate to the network. The brokerage, headquartered in South Burlington, has served the area for 45 years and will operate as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Vermont Realty Group going forward.
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by John McClaughry A major and depressing casualty of the COVID-19 economic lockdown is the calamitous effect it is having on small business, especially retail, entertainment, and restaurant firms and the service market of electricians, plumbers, and other skilled tradespeople. Massive Federal aid spending, such as unemployment payments and the Paycheck Protection Program, provide welcome short term relief, but they won’t last forever.
On the brighter side, numerous individual and community based efforts are springing up to help small businesses stay alive. Some of these can and should survive well into the future, when the economy has struggled back to something resembling normal. Here are some creative ideas that can be put into place without any drain on tax dollars.
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Vermont Business Magazine Last Friday, Governor Phil Scott announced new guidance for the reopening of lodging establishments. Effective this Friday, May 22, lodging operations, short-term rentals, campgrounds, and marinas may accept overnight reservations from Vermont residents and those who have met the 14-day quarantine requirement.
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Vermont State Police On May 16, 2020 at approximately 1251 PM, the Middletown Springs Fire Department responded to 4000 Saw Mill Hill Road for a report of a structure fire at a remote camp. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a fully involved structure fire in the single-story camp. They noted most of the camp structure had already been consumed by the fire prior to their arrival.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber will host a webinar, “Adapting Vermont Hospitality to COVID-19” on Thursday, May 21st at 9 am to address the unique challenges the hospitality industry has faced and to discuss a path forward as the economy begins to reopen. This webinar is free, but registration will be capped at 90 people. The SBA is also offering the loan forgiveness application for PPP loans. And the State Parks are planning to reopen but under limited circumstances, at least initially.
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by Devon Green Vice President of Government Relations, VAHHS The Scott Administration and the Legislature remain busy as Vermont extends its state of emergency to June 15 while slowly reopening. Legislature spending includes spending for the Legislature to stay in session until June 19 and financial assistance for Vermont State College and University of Vermont students.
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Vermont Business Magazine Vitor Mori, a postdoctoral student in the University of Vermont’s Vermont Lung Center, has been awarded a Quantitative Biology Fellowship by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Mori was awarded the fellowship for research he is doing that allows chemotherapy to be delivered directly to lung tumors, in contrast to the conventional approach that delivers drugs systemically, which affects the whole body.
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Vermont Business Magazine Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) and Ottauquechee Health Center (OHC) are beginning to expand access to a number of medical services as the region cautiously starts to reopen following the initial peak of the COVID-19 crisis. Services with increased access include primary care visits and ophthalmology appointments, as well as a number of time-sensitive surgeries and outpatient therapies.
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Vermont Business Magazine After having announced the resumption of elective services last week, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), has earned deficiency-free status, the highest given, on a survey meant to determine ability to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and other infections to those visiting its hospital and clinics.
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Vermont Business Magazine The American Lung Association in Vermont announces today that its 6th annual LUNG FORCE Walk Burlington will be a virtual event. The virtual fundraising event kicked off March 18 and runs through June 13, 2020 with weekly interactive challenges; and culminates with a live virtual interactive celebration on Saturday, June 20 at 1 pm EST.
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Vermont Business Magazine Another 9,000 PUA claimant payments are being processed today by the Vermont Department of Labor in the amount of $15 million. Call-center volume is decreasing, and call-center staffing is increasing. Friday there were 5,400 call attempts. With an answer rate of 75%.