Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today joined Vermont postal employees and American Postal Workers Union (APWU) members, the Montpelier Commission of Recovery and Resilience, community advocates, and postal customers to call on U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to improve rural mail service across Vermont and reopen the Montpelier Post Office. The post office has been closed for nearly 450 days following devastating flooding in Montpelier and across Vermont in July 2023.  

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine For the week ending September 21, the Vermont Department of Health reported that the number of COVID-19 cases in Vermont fell but remain at over 300 cases. Hospitalizations however saw an increase in visits. Hospitalizations and general "syndromic" cases increased to over 25 cases. The VDH reported 9 COVID-related fatalities, which is a two-week total as there was no report last week. Overall, COVID results have been increasing since the late summer. At the beginning of the summer there were only about 5 hospitalizations a week, but have been running, for the most part, at 20 or more for the past month. The number of COVID cases, which had fallen for the first time since the end of June, fell last week to 311 cases. Cases had been falling in April and May and were as low as 31 at the beginning of May. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Ultra-low fare carrier Frontier Airlines (NASDAQ: ULCC) is returning to Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) on December 20 with the launch of new nonstop service to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and to Tampa International Airport (TPA). Service to MCO will operate four times per week, and service to Tampa will operate three times per week. Frontier left BTV in 2019. The announcement was made at the Burlington airport Tuesday morning. Nic Longo, director of aviation at BTV, said competition and availability are important factors to growing the airport. While Breeze Airways also serves those destinations, the planes are typically full and across all airlines, BTV is running well ahead of capacity standards at 87 percent, he said. The US average is 79%. The airport will soon begin a $50 million enhancement to the North Terminal.

Vermont Phone-Free Schools Over 150 independent medical professionals, parents, teachers, content experts, academic researchers, legislators, and attorneys from across the country signed a letter to Congressional leadership asking for action on the US Surgeon General’s call for warning labels on social media products. Signers include author and social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt; child psychiatrist and author, Dr. Victoria Dunkley; Fairplayforkids.org founder Dr. Susan Linn, author and child and adolescent psychologist Dr. Richard Freed, attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett of the Social Media Victims Law Center, New Jersey School Nurse, Robin Cogan and state legislators from Vermont and Kansas. Signers also included members of the National Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay for Kids.

by Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski In 2016, Phil Scott was first elected as Governor and stated he was committed to making a difference in the lives of Vermonters. To this day, his website states: "He has committed to making a difference in the lives of Vermonters by growing the state’s economy, making Vermont more affordable, protecting the most vulnerable and restoring faith and trust in government." Protecting the most vulnerable and restoring faith and trust in government — a headline priority for his eight years as our state’s leader. Yet, at a time when the Governor has the ability to use the tens of millions in funds the legislature appropriated — money that could keep families, veterans, children with disabilities, and other vulnerable Vermonters sheltered — he has chosen to look the other way.

Vermont Business Magazine A panel of Saint Michael’s College faculty members and alumni working in professions grappling with the use and ethics of artificial intelligence, or AI, will speak at the College on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The panel, which will take place at 5 p.m. in the Roy Room on the 3rd floor of the Dion Student Center at the college in Colchester, is titled “Artificial Intelligence Unleashed: Navigating the Nexus of Innovation, Ethics, and Tomorrow.” The panel’s title was generated using AI.  

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) introduced the FEMA Operational Transparency Act, a new bill directing the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is spending it’s budget, and recommend ways to reduce the Agency’s bloated administrative costs. Recent reporting from Vermont Public found that FEMA’s recovery in the State is being held back in-part by outsized administrative costs. FEMA was previously required to publish administrative costs for disasters that occurred in the previous fiscal year and outline the Agency’s efforts to reduce costs. The reports are no longer required, and Congress does not have full transparency into how FEMA is spending funds on administrative fees.  

The Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) seeks input from consumers regarding their experiences and concerns related to autobody repair issues and insurance companies. Act 32 of 2023 requires DFR to solicit feedback as part of a study and report to the General Assembly regarding a number of business practices in Vermont related to automobile insurance and autobody repairs. DFR would welcome any public comments from consumers on these issues. Our study is examining several topics that include use of aftermarket parts in repairs, appraisal practices, labor rate reimbursement paid to autobody shops, sufficiency of consumer disclosures in automobile insurance contracts, the use of direct repair programs and other consumer concerns related to insurance coverage for automobile repairs.

Vermont Business Magazine A new peer-reviewed economic study released today by the nonprofit Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) reveals groundbreaking evidence that fiber-fed broadband experiences enabled by local providers in rural communities significantly boost income, entrepreneurship, and business investment. “Beyond Connectivity: The Role of Broadband in Rural Economic Growth and Resilience” compares economic data from three types of rural communities: underserved communities, communities with access to basic broadband services, and communities served by smaller fiber broadband providers offering access to experiences that go beyond fast internet. The study finds a more significant economic impact in communities that are better connected and have access to additional services that allow users to effectively leverage that connection, while comparable underserved communities experience economic stagnation.

Vermont Business Magazine If you reside in Caledonia, Essex, or Orleans County and were affected by the severe weather from July 29-31, 2024, you can receive one-on-one FEMA support when applying for disaster assistance. Simply visit one of the Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) below and a FEMA representative will guide you through the application process. DRCs are open Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Vermont Business Magazine Board Members and presenters will participate remotely through Microsoft Teams. Members of the public can attend board meetings by using the links or call-in phone numbers listed below. 

Vermont Business Magazine During National Recovery Month, Senator Welch welcomed $2 million from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention to the DREAM Project, an organization providing Vermont’s youth with peer-to-peer mentoring services which prevent high-risk behaviors such has substance misuse and abuse. The DOJ’s funding will expand DREAM’s one-to-one and group mentoring programs to soon reach over 420 young Vermonters (ages 6-17) across 30 schools and neighborhoods. High school mentors of younger youth will receive school-based instruction, aligned with Vermont’s Flexible Pathways Initiative, and receive credit and instruction benefiting graduation.