Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Scott Administration will be in Addison County on Monday, November 18 for its Capitol for a Day initiative, a 14-county tour launched by the Governor in 2018. The Administration visited all 14 counties last year and Monday’s visit to Addison will mark the 5th stop on the second round of visits. Capitol for a Day is intended to give local constituents, municipal government leaders and other partners the opportunity to connect directly with state leadership and staff.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday evening, Burliington Mayor Miro Weinberger received the 2019 Circle of Stars award at the Turning Point Center’s 10th annual Circle of Stars benefit dinner. In accepting the award, Mayor Weinberger called for a next chapter in the fight against the opioid epidemic – one focused on retaining people in medication-assisted treatment and supporting “sustained recovery.”

by Brandon Arcari, Vermont Business Magazine With the piercing fire alarm as a backdrop, local fire trucks descended on the University of Vermont campus late this morning in response to an incident in one of the STEM labs. Both STEM buildings were evacuated as a precaution. One graduate student was injured but not severely.

Vermont Business Magazine NBC5-TV Anchor Stewart Ledbetter, WLVB-FM Program Director & Morning Show Host Roland Lajoie and former WSYB/WZRT Program Director and WJJR Owner Dick Noble, will all be inducted in the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame during the 25th Anniversary Awards Banquet Saturday, December 7, 2019 at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) announced that it will join Representative Peter Welch and 165 other Members of Congress in calling for an extension of the investment tax credit for renewable energy investments, including energy storage. The Renewable Energy Extension Act will extend the current tax credit for investments in renewable energy and expand it to include energy storage.

The Investment Tax Credit has been a key driver in the growth of Vermont’s solar economy. All over the state, Vermonters have been able to switch to renewable energy because the ITC provides a 30% tax credit for the cost of a solar system. Increased demand for solar has, in turn, created thousands of local jobs for Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers fell last week but remained over 600 after a long period of very low numbers. They are also breaking a trend by being well above claims from the same time last year. Initial claims for the week of November 9, 2019, were 636, down 27 from last week but 126 more than they were at this time last year.

Vermont Business Magazine VGS announced today an ambitious and comprehensive strategy to transform the company and eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The company outlined three key strategies to achieve the near-term goal of a 30% greenhouse gas reduction in customers’ homes and businesses by 2030: doubling energy efficiency savings with a $20 million upfront investment; significantly expanding renewable natural gas for customers; and strengthening partnerships to advance projects such as district energy in Burlington and Middlebury, and a net zero home pilot program. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Kids looking at colleges this fall received welcome news today from the University of Vermont: Tuition at all levels from undergraduate to graduate and for in-state and out-of-state students will not increase next year. As part of his commitment to making UVM more accessible and affordable, President Suresh Garimella announced this morning that tuition for the academic year beginning in fall 2020 would not increase over 2019 levels.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced over $1 million in state funding awarded to five groups for innovative technologies to separate and extract phosphorus from various waste streams as part of Stage Three of the Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge (VPIC). VPIC was announced in February 2018 as an X-Prize style competition to harness creative solutions to address phosphorus pollution in Vermont. VPIC complements ongoing, essential work to install conservation measures and best management practices to reduce phosphorus losses from farms and in stormwater runoff from developed lands. These new technologies aim to make existing protections even more effective.

by Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore Garbage. Trash. Waste. Rubbish. For many, these words trigger images of cans and baskets lined with oversized plastic bags filled to the brim with – as Templeton the Rat from Charlotte’s Web would say – a veritable smorgasbord of who-knows-what. The “stuff” that comprises trash is easy to forget because it is no longer wanted or needed, but have you ever truly thought about what’s inside those garbage bags?

Vermont Business Magazine The first phase of a unified electronic health record system (EHR) across all affiliates of the University of Vermont Health Network rolled out over the weekend, a significant step that will enhance the delivery of high quality care in the region by providing instant access to a patient’s most up-to-date medical information. Hospitals participating in the first phase of the project include the University of Vermont Medical Center, Central Vermont Medical Center, Porter Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. It’s expected that the UVM Health Network’s other affiliates – Alice Hyde Medical Center, Elizabethtown Community Hospital and Home Health & Hospice – will move to Epic in the coming years.

Vermont Business Magazine Wednesday afternoon, affordable housing owners and developers, Springfield Housing Authority (SHA) and Housing Vermont (HVT) joined local elected officials, funders, and project participants to celebrate the start of redevelopment of the Woolson Block building. Renovations will return this historic property to its prominent origins and contribute to the economic vitality of downtown Springfield.