Current News

Vermont Agency of Transportation On Friday, at approximately 12:21 p.m., DMV Inspectors responded to a crash involving a lawn mower and a tractor trailer on VT 110 in Tunbridge. Investigation determined that the lawn mower, operated by Islene Runningdeer, 75, of Tunbridge, drove onto the roadway and collided with the trailer portion of the tractor trailer. The tractor trailer was operated by Brigham Young, 40, of Essex, and owned by New Bern Transportation Corp. Runningdeer sustained minor, non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. DMV was assisted by Tunbridge Fire Department.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center (AHMC) and The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) are requiring all employees to resume universal masking and asking patients and visitors to voluntarily do the same, as COVID infection rates rise in communities across both Clinton and Franklin counties and both hospitals see a rise in employee infections. Universal masking – or the practice of wearing an appropriate face covering for the entirety of an individual’s visit to a hospital, medical office or healthcare facility – has been shown to reduce individuals’ risk of exposure to airborne pathogens like COVID and influenza while indoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Vermont Business Magazine Finwave Semiconductor, Inc., a leading innovator in GaN (Gallium Nitride) technology, has announced a strategic technology development and licensing agreement with GlobalFoundries (GF), the world’s leading specialty foundry with a rich history of RF leadership. This partnership merges Finwave's cutting-edge GaN-on-Si technology with GF’s U.S.-based high-volume manufacturing capabilities and long legacy of RF innovation including industry-leading RF Silicon-On-Insulator and Silicon-Germanium solutions. The collaboration will focus on optimizing and scaling Finwave's innovative enhancement-mode (E-mode) MISHEMT technology to volume production at GF’s 200mm semiconductor manufacturing facility in Essex Jct, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) is pleased to announce the selection of second round sub-grant recipients of the Region 2 Vermont Prevention Lead Organization (VPLO) grant funds. The Region 2 service area includes Addison and Rutland Counties. The sub-grants will enhance and expand prevention efforts throughout the region, for all substances and populations, from July 2024 to June 2025.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine For the week ending August 24, the Vermont Department of Health reported that the number of COVID-19 cases in Vermont continues to grow, hospitalizations are up and COVID-related deaths in August already are their highest since last winter. COVID fatalities increased by 3 in the last week and are at 1,180 since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. The weekly report also shows that hospitalizations and general "syndromic" cases have increased in the last few weeks to more than 15 people being treated at a Vermont hospital each week. At the beginning of the summer there were only about 5. June deaths were the fewest from COVID since July 2021. August is the highest since January.

Vermont Business Magazine If you have sustained damage or losses caused by severe storms, flooding, and mudslides between July 9-11, 2024, FEMA may be able to help you.  You may be eligible for financial assistance for displacement, serious needs, temporary lodging, basic home repairs, personal property losses and other uninsured disaster-related expenses. Homeowners and renters in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans, and Washington counties can apply to FEMA in several ways.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont $3.33 per gallon, down 1 cent/g from last week. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.83/g while the highest was $3.49/g, a difference of 66.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 4.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.28/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Disaster Recovery Fund has approved $1 million in grants to help flood survivors. The money went to 71 cases in seven counties providing grants ranging from $151 to the maximum VDRF grant of $25,000. The Vermont Disaster Recovery Fund, created in 2011 following Tropical Storm Irene, provides help to disaster survivors after they have exhausted other sources of assistance, such as from FEMA, homeowner and flood insurance, and grants from local and regional disaster funds. “This is just the beginning,” said Chris Graff, the VDRF chair. “We know there are many more cases coming to us, both from last year’s flood and from this year’s multiple flooding.”

Vermont Business Magazine In its eighth year supporting Vermonters in need and the vital work of the Vermont Foodbank, the Vermont Legal Community Fighting Hunger Food Drive will start Friday, September 6th, and run until Friday, September 20th. Again this year, the Attorney General’s Office is encouraging members of the legal community to collect diapers, in addition to food, to support Vermont families experiencing diaper need. For the past seven years, the Vermont Foodbank, the Vermont Bar Association (VBA), the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), and many other law offices throughout the state have joined forces to raise more than $70,000 and collect over 12,000 food items and other nonperishable items such as diapers. 

Vermont Business Magazine The public is invited to a virtual town hall on September 10 featuring information on the Mental Health Urgent Care opening this October in Burlington. With funding from the University of Vermont Medical Center and the Vermont Department of Mental Health, Howard Center, UVM Medical Center, Community Health Centers, and Pathways Vermont have come together to offer a therapeutic alternative to emergency department care – a welcoming mental health urgent care where individuals will be assessed in a timely manner and have access to supportive follow-up services, immediate peer support, and medical care in a trauma-informed, suicide-safe setting. 

Green Mountain Care Board 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 provided. Meetings are: September 4, 6, 9, 11, 13 & 18. Hospital budgets will be discussed and finalized.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) is reminding customers that they are invited to drop by GMP’s Open House on Wednesday, September 4, from 5:30-6:30 pm at GMP’s service center in Springfield. Refreshments will be served. As part of GMP’s Multi-Year Regulation Plan, GMP holds two customer Open House gatherings per year, each in a different part of the state. The Springfield event is a great way for customers to meet the GMP team, ask questions, and share ideas as GMP writes a new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Every three years, GMP is required to file an IRP with the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) which regulates Vermont utilities. The IRP will be filed in December 2024, and it is a plan to continue providing reliable, cost-effective power. It covers a wide range of topics including system resiliency, storm restoration, power supply, and innovative projects.