Current News

Jillian Fisher, 20, of Burlington was crowned Miss Vermont 2019 at the Chandler Center for the Arts on Saturday evening.  Fisher is a rising senior at the University of Vermont studying Animal Science. A talented vocalist, she sang Dream On in the talent portion of the competition.
In addition to the title of Miss Vermont, Ms. Fisher earned $5000 in cash scholarships, including a $1000 Stowe Rotary scholarship, and $3900 of in-kind scholarships to Dale Carnegie of Vermont.

Governor Phil Scott today joined local, state and federal partners to announce over $2.5 million in community development grants to nine communities in nine different counties throughout Vermont.
“From Alburgh to Brattleboro, communities across our state will use these grants to build housing, improve infrastructure, support business growth, restore historic buildings and serve the needs of working families and homeless Vermonters,” said Governor Scott. “There’s no shortage of good ideas in Vermont and these grants are a great tool to bring them to life.”

Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and part of POWDR, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the National Governing Body (NGB) of Olympic ski and snowboard sports in the USA, have a two-year agreement for Vermont’s Killington Resort to host the Audi FIS Ski World Cup. Killington’s place on the 2019 World Cup calendar has been confirmed by the International Ski Federation (FIS). HomeLight will be the title sponsor for the next World Cup at Killington, which will take place November 30 - December 1, 2019, Thanksgiving weekend.

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos will be delivering a keynote address on cybersecurity at Route Fifty’s “Building a New Cyber Security Paradigm” summit in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, June 6^th.
“Defending our elections and other government systems from cyber attackers takes constant diligence, and requires continual investment in the robust defense network that keeps the bad actors out,” said Secretary Condos. “With respect to elections, voters deserve to know that when they cast their ballot, their vote is secure, and that when they give information to state and local governments, we’re doing everything in our power to ensure that information is protected.”

In 2019, OneCare Vermont (OneCare) Accountable Care Organization (ACO) anticipates awarding up to $1,000,000 in competitive grant funding, over two funding cycles, to organizations in the ACO Network and their partners, with the goal of improving the quality, cost, and experience of healthcare for Vermonters.
Sara Barry, Senior Director of Value Base Care at OneCare, shared, “Vermont has been a national leader in testing innovations in healthcare delivery and payment reform, so we’re excited to continue to push the boundaries of reform efforts through this new funding opportunity.”

Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement regarding the passing of former Vermont state Representative David Ainsworth.

“I’m saddened to hear of the passing of former state Representative David Ainsworth. David was an exceptional public servant and showed it in every regard.

“His commitment to community, family - and, of course, his farming - was unmatched. He will be deeply missed by those who knew him, and I send my condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.”

Vermont Business Magazine  Norwich University has officially launched a national search for its 24th president, partnering with Academic Search, Inc., a national executive search firm with expertise in higher education. After more than 28 years of service to Norwich University, President Richard W. Schneider will step down as president on June 1, 2020. Schneider has served as the university’s 23rd president since 1992. During his tenure, Schneider grew enrollment over 70 percent; grew the endowment by more than five times from $40 million to over $217 million; established six institutes and academic centers; and by the end of the current $100 million campaign, over 96 percent of all academic space will be completely renovated or new, among many other accomplishments. 

Vermont still ranks at the top of the Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index, meaning that it has the strongest producers and consumers of local food of any of the 50 states. But the rest of the Index has been considerably shaken up by new data derived from the recent Census of Agriculture conducted by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
The Index has been published annually since 2012 by Strolling of the Heifers, a non-profit food advocacy organization based in Brattleboro, Vermont.

In April and May, Red Cross volunteers, partners, and staff installed a total of 1,129 alarms in homes in and around Barre, VT and Keene, NH to help alert families to the presence of smoke and carbon monoxide. This was the result of coordinated “Sound the Alarm” events focused on these two communities for 2019, with day-long installation efforts held in both cities and additional installations completed the week after. A total of 828 smoke alarms, 294 CO alarms, and 7 deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) bed shaker alarms were installed in 256 homes. Almost all homes had multiple alarms installed.

The Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) is pleased to announce its leadership staff will present at the 2019 Rural LISC Seminar, an annual national conference for rural community development professionals. This year’s Seminar will be held in Monticello, New York from June 4-7 and will provide a unique forum to learn about new rural economic development opportunities; gain valuable insight on critical issues facing rural America such as the 2020 Census; develop asset building tools and organizational development strategies; and offer a networking environment for sharing knowledge with rural development colleagues from across the country. 

This week, Governor Phil Scott signed H.330, An act relating to repealing the statute of limitations for civil actions based on childhood sexual abuse, and H.511, An act relating to criminal statutes of limitations.
H.330 will eliminate the six-year statute of limitations related to childhood sexual abuse. H.511 removes the criminal statute of limitations for manslaughter and sexual exploitation of a minor and extends the limits for several other violent crimes beyond their current standard.

Vermont Business Magazine Michael I Goldberg, the Receiver for Jay Peak, Inc and related entities, announced today that, in light of his recent indictment, Bill Stenger is no longer an independent contractor of the receivership estate or Jay Peak, Inc. In the statement, Goldberg said, "The Receiver stresses that Mr. Stenger’s termination should not be interpreted as an indication that the Receiver believes that William Stenger did anything wrong and, in fact, a forensic accounting performed by the Receiver’s professionals early in the case failed to uncover any funds wrongfully diverted to Mr. Stenger. The Receiver’s decision to terminate Mr. Stenger at this time is simply based on the Receiver’s opinion that it would not be appropriate to continue to retain Mr. Stenger in light of the recent indictment.