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Vermont Business Magazine Vermonters affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from July 29-31, 2024, may be eligible to receive FEMA Individual Assistance. If you reside in the counties of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans and were affected by the severe weather, you should apply as soon as possible. FEMA may be able to help with temporary housing, home repairs, privately-owned roads and bridges, and other disaster-related needs – and the faster you apply, the sooner you can get aid. FEMA also discusses myths versus facts for individual assistance.

Vermont Business Magazine The Fox US Open of Mountain Biking returns to Killington Resort this weekend. The annual mountain festival brings the top professional mountain bike riders to compete for one of the largest prize purses in the sport. This is the final event in the Pro Downhill Series. The largest field to date, over 650 riders are signed up to compete throughout the weekend in Downhill, Dual Slalom, Next Gen, and Adaptive racing. Top pro teams including Santa Cruz Syndicate, YT Mob, Pivot Factory Racing, Frameworks, Norco Factory, Scott Factory, Canyon Collective, Transition Factory Race team and more are scheduled to compete. Last year’s downhill champions Dakotah Norton and Nina Hoffman will be on site to defend their titles. Also included on the schedule is the fan favorite USO Best Whip, presented by Killington on Saturday evening.

Vermont Business Magazine September is National Recovery Month and a time to increase awareness surrounding mental health and substance use recovery. Each day, Burlington-based Howard Center supports people in their recoveries and welcomes new clients into treatment. With the help of Howard Center clinicians and services, recovery is possible. Many people have experienced depression, anxiety, or stress at some point. We all struggle at some time in our lives. But how do you know when it’s more than a passing phase? How do you know when you—or a loved one—may need help for a more serious mental health issue? Recognizing the signs of mental illness isn’t always easy but if you have questions, please talk with your primary care doctor or call Howard Center.

Vermont Business Magazine Final preparations for the ribbon cutting at the Hardwick Yellow Barn are now set for this Friday, September 27, 11:00am, at 323 Vermont Route 15 in Hardwick. All three tenants will be on hand to speak, as well as Anson Tebbetts, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. Participants will be able to tour the facility immediately following the celebration. The project – which consists of an extensive renovation to a well-known historic gambrel-roofed barn at the gateway to downtown Hardwick, as well as construction of a shell of new 25,000+ SF steel structure – is a $9M investment. The barn, which is now substantially complete, is occupied by Cabot Creamery, who recently celebrated the grand opening of their retail store. The new construction is nearing substantial completion and will house the Center for an Agricultural Economy’s Food Hub, as well as Jasper Hill Farm, who will use the space to consolidate ecommerce operations. Collectively, the tenants in the new construction are investing over $5 M of their own funds for fit-up.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.) on the Disaster Survivors Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Individual Assistance program and improve how FEMA helps individuals rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a disaster. The Disaster Survivors Fairness Act would provide FEMA with new authorities to increase its ability to fund disaster mitigation projects and expand support to homeowners. During the last three years, the United States has experienced 66 climate disasters with losses of a billion dollars or more.  

Statement from the Office of the Governor In May, 111 legislators voted for H.887, known as the “Yield Bill,” which sets statewide property tax rates based on a funding formula, school budget votes and several other factors (House and Senate vote count). In June, 125 legislators voted to override Governor Scott’s veto of this bill (House and Senate vote count), imposing an average property tax bill increase of 13.8%. Governor Scott has been working to prevent this type of unsustainable increase since first coming to office. He’s proposed several initiatives to allow the state to manage the Education Fund and address cost drivers like school employee healthcare, while re-investing in educational programming, all of which have been rejected by the Legislature. When vetoing their Yield Bill, Governor Scott proposed an alternative package to bring down this year’s property tax rates, while setting parameters to help slow growth and prevent significant increases next year. Since passing this historic property tax increase, many in the Legislature, and the Lt. Governor, have sought to justify their decision by providing inaccurate information and mistruths about the Governor’s proposal.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Interim Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark today released Vermont’s revenue results for August 2024. The General Fund and Education Fund exceeded their respective monthly consensus cash flow target, as adopted by the Emergency Board at its July 2024 meeting, while the Transportation Fund missed its target. The State’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts were a combined $242.6 million, exceeding the $238.2 million monthly consensus target by $4.4 million, or 1.8%, which corresponded to the August monthly portion of the annual consensus forecast.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.23 per gallon, up 0.1 cent/g from last week, down 12.9 cents from last month and down 55 cents from last year. The lowest price in the state is $2.72/g in West Brattleboro, while the highest was $3.48/g in Essex County. Windham and Bennington counties had the lowest average prices and the highest averages were in Caledonia, Lamoille and Chittenden counties. The national average gasoline prices are $3.20 per gallon, down 1 cent/g from last week, down 13.1 cents from last month and down 60.7 cents from last year.

VermontBiz Students from Red Fox Community School recently embarked on an educational adventure to Hildene, the Lincoln Family home in Manchester, Vermont. The field trip focused on an in-depth exploration of Vermont's wild turkey population, combining history, biology, and environmental studies.

"Our visit to Hildene provided students with a unique opportunity to understand the intricate relationship between wildlife and Vermont's changing landscape," said Karen O'Neill Thomson, Head of School at Red Fox Community School. "It's a perfect example of our commitment to hands-on, interdisciplinary learning."

VermontBiz The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) and Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) invite the public to participate in the first set of virtual public meetings on the topic of cap-and-invest as a strategy to reduce climate pollution. The meetings will be held on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Visit climatechange.vermont.gov/calendar to register and receive the Zoom link.

VermontBiz The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) announces the opening of applications for the fourth competitive round of the Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund.

In collaboration with VLITE, Vermont Community Foundation’s Sunflower Fund and others, VCRD is supporting innovators in developing solutions that move Vermont closer to its climate and energy goals. The first three rounds provided grants to 68 local innovators totaling over $200,000. 

VermontBiz Vermont State University (VTSU) is proud to announce that it was recently awarded a $1.8 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, along with researchers from the University of Maine, to conduct groundbreaking research on ticks and invasive plant species. 

VTSU faculty members Drs. Kristen Ross and William Landesman are co-investigators on the grant. The project, titled “Management of linked human and ecosystem health threats in the private woodland socio-environmental system” is funded through NSF’s Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems program and will provide valuable research opportunities for undergraduate students over the next five years.