Current News

Vermont Business Magazine After more than ten months of organizing, 79% of Support Staff at Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC)on Thursday voted yes (244-66) to formalize their union. Once the votes are certified, Support Staff will begin the process of bargaining their first contract with the CVMC administration. 

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth Loan Fund, a community development organization of Evernorth, has received a $10 million donation to support its efforts in financing affordable housing projects in Vermont. The donation comes from an anonymous Vermont philanthropic donor who shares Evernorth's commitment to creating vibrant, healthy communities through the development of affordable housing.  The funds are already supporting over 200 affordable homes under development in Putney, Waterbury, Berlin, West Rutland, Shelburne and Burlington. 

Public Assets Institute Vermonters have been understandably upset by the abrupt rise in their school taxes for fiscal 2025. Most of the complaints focus on the rise in spending, as does the response from policymakers. But taxpayers may also be affected by changes that make the funding system less fair. The Agency of Education presented some clear analyses last spring explaining the main reasons for the spending increase: rises in salaries and benefits in response to inflation; health insurance cost increases exceeding inflation; the expanding need for expensive mental health services for students; the loss of federal funds the schools received as part of the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). There are other reasons as well, related to fiscal decisions made in the past few years. The expenditures are critical for providing kids with a quality education. But knowing that doesn’t make the tax bumps easier to take. Even modest increases can be a problem if the costs, and who pays them, are not distributed fairly.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today announced the committee will move forward with its hearing on Steward Health Care’s disastrous bankruptcy, despite CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre’s refusal this week to comply with a bipartisan subpoena compelling his testimony. The committee will hear from patients, medical professionals, and community members whose lives have been impacted by Dr. de la Torre.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Police Department is warning the public about recent scam emails in which the sender demands money from email recipients. This week, law enforcement officials received notice from the Chittenden County State's Attorney’s Office describing suspicious emails to residents that demand money from email recipients through extortion and threats. Specifically, the scam emails demand money from recipients and threaten to expose their confidential online search history to all of their contacts if they do not comply. The scammers insinuate the recipients’ search history are pornographic, or sexual in nature. They instruct recipients to pay a fee through a Bitcoin QR code. 

Vermont Business Magazine Dr. Bruce Hamory and the team at Oliver Wyman Life Sciences will present their final report to the Green Mountain Care Board in a public board meeting on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. Oliver Wyman was contracted to develop community- and data- informed options to transform Vermont’s healthcare system. The Oliver Wyman final report includes extensive recommendations designed to ensure an affordable, equitable, accessible, and sustainable healthcare system. Oliver Wyman’s recommendations focus on issues ranging from hospital operations to housing and transportation. Community meetings across the state with the consultants this summer have indicated a health care system in crisis.

Vermont Business Magazine A Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is now open in the town of Hinesburg at the Hinesburg Town Hall. The DRC will be open Sunday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The joint DRC, a temporary facility established in partnership between Hinesburg, the state of Vermont and FEMA, will have disaster assistance specialists available to help disaster survivors apply for FEMA Individual Assistance, upload documents needed for their application and answer questions in person. There are now six DRC offices open in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced $69.1 million in awards to properties across 10 states under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) to support significant energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations in almost 2,000 homes. These Leading Edge grants and loans will increase energy and water efficiency, reduce climate pollution, generate renewable energy, reduce housing operating costs, promote the use of green building materials, and improve the quality of life for residents by making their homes more resilient to climate hazards. Vermont received $1.44 million for the Round Barn Apartments in Grand Isle.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) begins its second year by welcoming more than 1,700 new degree-seeking students in the Class of 2028 to its campuses last week and reports a strong retention of returning students as well, meeting expectations for all campuses and exceeding projections in many programs. The new class is just over 200 students stronger than the inaugural class in Fall 2023, or 14% year-over-year. Since its unification in 2023, VTSU has worked to realign programs, learning options and course offerings to meet student interest and state economic and workforce needs.

Vermont State Police Paul Lachapelle Jr., the suspect in the 2022 fatal shooting of 38-year-old Justin Gilliam in Springfield, has been returned to Vermont to face charges. Following his arrest in New Hampshire late last month, Lachapelle, 28, of Littleton, New Hampshire, waived extradition and was brought back to Vermont on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. He is currently in the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections and is jailed without bail. His arraignment on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder is pending in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in White River Junction. 

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 this week 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. The national average is down 17.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 48.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine If your privately-owned road, driveway, or bridge was damaged or destroyed by Vermont’s storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in July 9-11, 2024, FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) may be able to provide financial assistance for replacement or repairs. If you live in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans, or Washington counties, FEMA may provide funds to repair disaster-damaged privately-owned access roads, driveways, and bridges.