Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued an executive order to declare a state of emergency in Vermont in response to COVID-19, commonly known as the new coronavirus. Emergency measures include limiting public gatherings to a maximum of 250 people and strict limits on visiting longterm care facilities to protect the elderly. But at least for now, the governor told a news conference Friday evening, the elementary schools will remain open.

With this executive order, the Governor can exercise his emergency powers to take important community mitigation steps to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the most vulnerable.

Vermont Business Magazine As a residential campus with a global reach, Norwich University in Northfield is closely monitoring the worldwide spread of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its potential impact in Northfield and in locations where our students are studying away and abroad. Due to concerns over the spread of the virus, Norwich University is canceling or rescheduling many campus-based and university-sponsored events as well as all athletics contests. Norwich is also moving to teaching the remainder of all classes online.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott will hold a press conference today (Friday March 13) at 5:30 p.m. to provide update on Vermont’s response to COVID-19 and announce additional mitigation measures. The press conference will be livestreamed by Vermont PBS at vermontpbs.org/live/ and aired live on television on WCAX, Local 44 and WPTZ.

Vermont Business Magazine After careful consideration regarding the health and safety of everyone at the Best Places to Work awards ceremony, VBM has made the difficult decision to reschedule the ceremony to June 2020. We will let you all know the exact date soon. Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented situation. We are very disappointed but we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today. We will continue to monitor the situation and pay close attention to public health advisories in the coming months and will post any further updates.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont General Assembly will suspend the 2020 legislative session for one week, at which time the Joint Rules Committee, composed of bipartisan leadership of both chambers, will reassess based on public health information. This suspension is out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of the statewide public health as well as concern for staff, legislators, press, and public given the prevalence of COVID-19.

Champlain College Effective March 23, all Burlington campus courses will be conducted through remote instruction. Remote instruction means that students will participate in courses online from home, except for hardship circumstances approved by the Dean of Students. Remote instruction will be in effect for at least three weeks, and students and faculty should expect that a longer period of remote instruction is likely. Review of circumstances will be ongoing, and I will update the community on the status of remote instruction the morning of Monday, April 6.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger on Thursday, shared the following update with the public about the city’s response to the coronavirus. Read the Mayor’s previous updates about the coronavirus, and find additional information, on the city website.

by David Coates, KPMG Managing Partner (Retired) Vermont’s $4.6 billion liability for the state workers and teachers pensions and retiree health care benefits (OPEB) increased by $171 million for this past year ended June 30, 2019, and over 110 percent since 2008. This increase was despite continued assurances by policymakers that they had a plan to pay off these obligations over the next 20 years. Certainly, there is no evidence to date to corroborate the state’s claim, without some combination of increasing taxes, reducing benefits or cutting existing programs, which the state has been reluctant to do.

Vermont Business Magazine As of yet, there has been little impact on jobs from the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Vermont or nationally. Weekly unemployment claims (which lag the actual economy by several days), surprisingly fell in Vermont and across the US last week after rising in consecutive prior weeks. Initial claims for the week of March 7, 2020, were 446, down 417, to the lowest level this year. Claims were 16 more than they were at this time last year. Stocks cratered Thursday but are rebounding early Friday as the Fed is putting $1.5 trillion into short-term financing and Congress and the White House have apparently reached a deal on a new stimulus package.

by Timothy Dean, Geisel School of Medicine The Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine will be awarded a 5-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a study led by Catherine Stanger, PhD, to test the effectiveness of innovative behavioral intervention tools in helping to improve the health of high-risk patients who suffer from Type 1 diabetes—a condition which is difficult and expensive to manage.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Board of School Commissioners announced this evening that Tom Flanagan will be the next Superintendent of the Burlington School District. On Thursday, March 12, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Flanagan to the position.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Leaders of the University of Vermont Medical Center met with the news media Thursday afternoon to update the public on the current status of the first Burlington-area patient to have received a presumptive positive test for novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. He is the second in Vermont. The first was in Bennington less than a week ago. The new information the hospital relayed was that there are two more patients at UVMMC that are being monitored with possible COVID-19, that the visitor protocol has changed to allow for only two visitors for each patient, and that the unnamed patient now being treated is in intensive care in an isolation unit and is in critical condition.