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Vermont Business Magazine Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, said today that as the state continues its work to protect the health of Vermonters, and begins measured steps to restart Vermont’s economy, they will continue to keep their eyes on the growing body of data to inform decision-making. There was an increase of four new cases for a total of 816 statewide and the number of deaths associated with COVID-19 held at 38. The number of hospitalizations continues to slowly decline and is now at 24 patients positive with the coronavirus and another 25 under investigation. There were 53 such cases as of Sunday and 56 on Saturday. These numbers are below the best-scenario presented two weeks ago.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine A surprisingly strong General Fund revenue report will not stave off the impending economic and tax impacts of COVID-19 and the mitigation measures the state has imposed on businesses and workers. The corporate (+34.9 million) and personal income (+$6.5 million) taxes pushed the GF nearly $38 million ahead of projections and over $40 million for the fiscal year, despite losses in other areas.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce recently surveyed over 400 business and nonprofit chamber members to get a sense of the COVID-19 Crisis’ impact on them. Vermont Governor Phil Scott, in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, issued multiple declarations that have impacted small businesses throughout Vermont starting with an order to close all Vermont prek-12 schools and an order to have all bars and restaurants close or offer take out. This was followed by a “Stay Home Stay Safe” order that had a deep impact on businesses and the Vermont economy.

Vermont Business Magazine The NFIB Research Center released a survey today on the small business loan programs. Small business owners were asked about the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan on April 17, the day after the programs ran out of money. About 20% of submitted applications have been fully processed with funds deposited in the borrower’s account, but 80% of respondents said they are still waiting, and many do not know where they are in the application process.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) is among 36 Democratic senators, led by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich), Ranking Member of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, urging Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Trump Administration to take action to help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply and protect essential workers in the food supply chain. Leahy, a leading member of the Agriculture Committee, is a former Chairman of the panel and now is Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) also signed the letter, which they sent on Monday.

Vermont Business Magazine Adam Higginbotham has won the 2020 William E Colby Award for his book, “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster.” Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, presents the award, now in its 21st year, annually to a first solo work of fiction or nonfiction that has made a major contribution to the understanding of military history, intelligence operations, or international affairs.

Higginbotham’s narrative nonfiction and feature writing has appeared in magazines including GQ, The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine. Many of his stories have been optioned for development for film and television. “Midnight in Chernobyl” (Simon & Schuster, 2019) was named one of The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of the Year, and awarded the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

Vermont Business Magazine This weekend the Vermont State Colleges United Professionals, The VSEA Staff Federation, and the faculty assemblies of all four Vermont State Colleges overwhelmingly voted "No Confidence" in Chancellor Jeb Spaulding. These votes have been under consideration for several weeks, but Friday's announced plan to close three campuses increased their urgency.

Linda Olson, Vice President of Higher Education for AFT Vermont stated "There are many reasons for this vote of no confidence, but the most important is that Chancellor Spaulding has repeatedly made decisions without adequate consultation, without a thorough analysis of the data and without thoughtful consideration of the long-term consequences."

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Vermont Business Magazine As of Sunday, nearly 32,000 claim issues had been cleared, allowing claimants to proceed with filing a weekly claim and start collecting benefits. For the remaining eligible claimants (8,384 people) that did not have issues cleared, Governor Scott asked the Treasury to issue payments to them in the amount of $1,200. These checks were processed over the weekend and will be mailed out to claimants on Monday, April 20.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported nine more cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for a total of 812 statewide. There were no more deaths, which held at 38. The number of hospitalizations -- a key metric in the infection rate -- fell by three patients to 53. There are over 300 beds available for COVID-19 patients statewide and the surge capacity is over 800 beds.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) Board of Trustees Chair, J Churchill Hindes, announced today that Monday’s meeting of the Board will be informational in nature. The Board does not plan to vote on recent transformational changes at that time. Chancellor Jeb Spaulding recently unveiled plans in response to ongoing challenges facing the VSCS magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. His plan was to close the campuses of Northern Vermont University in Johnson and Lyndon and transfer those students to Castleton University. The plan also would close the Randolph Center campus of Vermont Technical College and transfer classes to the non-residential Williston campus.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement: “Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Vermont State College trustees faced a difficult and unsustainable financial reality: A declining enrollment and systemwide overhead costs rising much faster than tuition and taxpayers can afford. The board has been signaling for years that the system is not financially sustainable. We’ve seen many private colleges across the country close for similar reasons. Now, accelerated by the economic impacts of the pandemic, we must have some difficult discussions about how to save the state college system."

Vermont Business Magazine General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) Friday delivered the nuclear-powered attack submarine Vermont (SSN 792) to the US Navy. The future USS Vermont is the first of ten Block IV submarines. Vermont is the 19th submarine of the Virginia-class, which provides the US Navy with the capabilities required to retain undersea dominance well into the 21st century. Vermont is the first of ten Block IV Virginia-class submarines. These ships embody a US Navy and industry commitment to affordably deliver new submarines to the fleet with unmatched stealth and strike capacity.