Current News

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.  

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP) application portal is now open to businesses, nonprofits, landlords, and farms that suffered physical damage from flooding and severe storms in 2023 and/or 2024. $7 million is available to provide rapid relief to businesses, farms, and nonprofits that sustained physical damage from the 2024 flooding events. An additional $5 million will be available for ongoing recovery from the 2023 floods. Businesses may be eligible for both 2023 BEGAP funding as well as 2024 BEGAP funding. Separate applications must be submitted for each year's funding, for each physical location. A minimum of 40% of 2024 BEGAP funds are reserved for applications from agricultural businesses if they apply by November 15th.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has announced the keynote presentations for the 2024 Solutions Summit, Vermont's premier workforce development conference, taking place on September 25, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Burlington. This year’s event will bring together business leaders, educators, and policymakers to address the pressing challenges of the modern job market with actionable and scalable solutions. Presentations at the Solutions Summit will provide solutions-driven insights designed to harness innovative ideas and cutting-edge technology to tackle the most significant workforce issues facing Vermont businesses today. 

Vermont Center for Emerging Technology Briar Alpert was a founding member of Vermont Center for Emerging Technology’s board. In this Q&A, he spoke about his time in the Vermont public school system, his early career, and why he joined his father’s company, BioTek. In 2001, Briar became President & CEO of BioTek, which he ran until 2019 when the Winooski company was acquired by Agilent for a billion dollars. Learn about the decision to sell the family business, how Briar has since stayed busy, and why serving on VCET’s board is important to him. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Habitat for Humanity affiliates are excited to announce a groundbreaking event in the fight against Vermont's housing crisis. On Saturday, September 21st, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the first-ever wall raising ceremony will take place on the State House lawn in front of Vermont's iconic Golden Dome. The event will bring together volunteers, including elected representatives from across the state, to participate in a unique demonstration of community spirit and dedication to affordable housing. Under the guidance of Habitat for Humanity leaders, these volunteers will work in teams to build wall sections, which will then be assembled for a ceremonial wall raising.