Current News

Vermont Business Magazine At Governor Phil Scott’s weekly press conference on Wednesday, Interim Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders updated Vermonters on the work the Agency of Education has been engaged in to support educators across the state through their “Listen and Learn” tour, literacy successes and the Agency’s “Read Vermont” initiative, one-time grants to CTE centers, and their role in supporting schools through the budgeting process. She said several common themes emerged and include: Need for reliable, accessible, and easy to use data; Focus on expanding access to college and career readiness; Need to balance local autonomy with the desire for clearer direction from the Agency of Education to support academic outcomes; Recognize that student mental health needs reflect community needs and require integrated solutions; Issues related to housing, affordability, loss of industry/jobs also impact schools in terms of teacher recruitment and student enrollment; and More guidance is needed on short-term cost-containment strategies and how to design and measure long-term transformation for our education system.

by Ed Neuert The University of Vermont (UVM) has formally launched a new campus-wide Planetary Health Initiative that promises to build on UVM’s demonstrated strengths in research, education, and service in health and the environment. The UVM Planetary Health Initiative is based on the conviction that human well-being is inextricably linked with the health of the environment, and it explores these connections and inspires action for the benefit of both people and planet. This thematic research agenda recognizes collective work going on across the UVM, which is a member of the Planetary Health Alliance, an organization of more than 450 institutions from around the globe. Prelock announced several new programs in support of the Planetary Health Initiative. Foremost was news of $100,000 in seed grant funding in each of the next five years to support interdisciplinary research proposals.

Vermont Business Magazine As cleanup efforts continue at a major IV fluid production facility in North Carolina flooded by Hurricane Helene, University of Vermont Health Network hospitals are working to conserve IV fluids, closely monitoring supplies, and taking steps to minimize the potential impact to patients. IV fluids are an important part of many surgical procedures and are integral to delivering a variety of medications, balancing electrolytes and treating or preventing dehydration. 

by Catherine Morrissey, Community News Service Out of over 200 migrant dairy workers surveyed in Vermont this year, 77% say they have suffered an accident or injury at work and 87% make lower than the minimum wage, according to a report published recently by advocacy group Migrant Justice. Those figures are among a host of problems immigrant workers say they face on dairy farms across the state, including poor wages, unsafe working conditions, inadequate housing and discrimination. The survey, done with the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center this spring and summer, focused on 212 Spanish-speaking migrants working on farms who haven’t joined Milk with Dignity, a Migrant Justice program that commits dairy producers to providing workers with better working conditions. The group says it covers about 250 workers across 54 farms. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Nuclear Waste Policy Committee of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VT NDCAP) will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, October 21, 2024, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM.  A hybrid format will be used for this meeting.  In accordance with Vermont Open Meeting Law, the Governor Hunt House in Vernon is the available physical location for those wishing to attend this meeting in-person.

Vermont Business Magazine Following an exhilarating weekend of innovation and collaboration, a multi-disciplinary team of talented Norwich University students secured 2nd place at the Rowdy Datathon, an NSA sponsored Data Science Design Challenge. The competition was held at University of Texas San Antonio, October 5-6, 2024. Competing against eight teams, the Norwich team showcased their skills to land second in the intermediate division. The Rowdy Datathon is an annual, weekend-long event that challenges participants to solve complex data science problems. It brings together students from various disciplines to foster teamwork and innovation in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. Participants are judged on creativity, technical execution, and the potential impact of their solutions. 

Vermont Business Magazine M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) approved 1,832 7(a) program U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans in the past year and finished the SBA's 2024 fiscal year as the 10th-largest lender in the country. This marked the 16th consecutive year M&T Bank has ranked among the nation's top 10 SBA lenders. M&T has branches across Vermont. M&T Bank approved 1,832 SBA 7(a) loans for a total of $207.8 million in fiscal year 2024, which ended September 30, 2024. The average size of the bank's SBA loans in 2024 was $113,432.

Vermont Business Magazine Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Pater Welch (D-Vermont) on Thursday issued the following statements on the death of Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas. "Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a war criminal who masterminded the brutal October 7th terrorist attack that killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages, is now dead. There is now no justification for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his extremist government to continue their all-out war against the Palestinian people, which has killed 42,000 Palestinians and injured 100,000 – two-thirds of whom are women, children, and the elderly."

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that it has extended the deadline in Vermont to apply for disaster loan assistance for physical damages. Survivors in declared counties now have until Nov. 25, to apply for federal disaster loans for physical damages due to severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred July 9 – 11. On October 15, 2024, it was announced that funds for the Disaster Loan Program have been fully expended. While no new loans can be issued until Congress appropriates additional funding, we remain committed to supporting disaster survivors. Applications will continue to be accepted and processed to ensure individuals and businesses are prepared to receive assistance once funding becomes available.

Vermont Business Magazine The Curtis Fund, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation that provides educational scholarships, has appointed Lauren Philie as executive director. Philie comes to The Curtis Fund from Vermont State University, where she served as the assistant vice president of institutional advancement and alumni relations. Philie brings over thirty years of fundraising experience to The Curtis Fund, twelve of those in higher education, as well as leadership skills in community engagement.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.18 per gallon, down 1 cent per gallon from last week, down 8 cents/g from last month and down 50 cents/g from last year. The county with the lowest price in the state is Bennington with an average price of $3.03/g while the highest was Essex County at $3.32/g, as the price of gasoline was generally lower the farther south you went in Vermont. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.17/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ - UNB) has announced results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend. Consolidated net income for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was $1.3 million, or $0.29 per share, compared to $2.5 million, or $0.56 per share, for the same period in 2023, and $5.8 million, or $1.27 per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $8.2 million, or $1.82 per share for the same period in 2023. The decrease in earnings for the comparison periods was primarily due to the impact of the previously announced strategic balance sheet repositioning executed during the third quarter. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Union Bank, executed the sale of $38.8 million in book value of its lower-yielding available-for-sale debt securities for a pre-tax realized loss of $1.3 million, which was recorded in the third quarter of 2024.