Current News

The Vermont District office of the Small Business Administration will host a webinar covering the benefits of Financial Management, Budgeting, Bookkeeping and more. Understanding the basics of financial literacy is a major key to your success as a business owner. The webinar does not require registration. Please join us on Tuesday 4/23 at 9:30 am.

Vermont Business Magazine In partnership with the Department of Mental Health, the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care (VPQHC), has been coordinating Trauma Responsive Care Trainings for staff in Vermont hospitals. In 2023, 122 Vermont hospital staff participated in the Trauma Responsive Care training program. This training is facilitated by an incredible and dynamic training team: Kristy Hommel, M.Ed; Matt Dove, NP, DUAL PMHNP, FNP Certified; and Peter Cudney, LICSW.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) honored two clinical staff recently for their commitment to exceptional patient care and teamwork. Kathleen Flemming, RN, was given the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses for her work in labor and delivery at SVMC’s Women’s and Children’s Services. Lindsay Hoyt, an LNA in SVMC’s Medical-Surgical Unit, received the hospital’s internal PETAL Award, given to staff who go above and beyond in their work. The DAISY Award is an international recognition program honoring clinical excellence and outstanding compassionate care provided by nurses. Flemming was nominated by a patient for this prestigious recognition.

Leonine Public Affairs Against the backdrop of strained state resources stemming from dwindling COVID-19 funds and the aftermath of last summer’s catastrophic flooding, the Senate Appropriations Committee labored throughout the day and into the evening on Friday to finalize the FY2025 state budget. These budgetary pressures have forced many hours of intense deliberations and tough decision-making, but on Friday evening the committee reached a unanimous decision to advance the budget to the full Senate for a vote. Once it passes the Senate, the budget will head to a committee of conference between the House and Senate where they will work to reconcile their differences. Meanwhile the House Ways and Means Committee finalized this year’s Yield Bill. Typically, this must-pass piece of legislation is prepared with little fanfare. The Yield Bill adjusts tax rates to meet educational expenses based on local school spending decisions made on Town Meeting Day. Because of the timing of Town Meeting Day, the Yield Bill is not subject to the crossover deadline. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.61 per gallon, up 19.1 cents per gallon from last week's $3.42/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.25/g while the highest was $3.79/g, a difference of 54.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 4.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.64/g today. The national average is up 10.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 1.1 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Public Assets Institute Vermont personal income grew by 5.5 percent in 2023—to $43 billion total—the fastest growth in New England and slightly faster than the U.S. as a whole. The major components—earnings, dividends, interest, rent, and transfer payments—all increased, with transfer payments seeing the strongest growth. Transfers include Social Security, unemployment, medical (including Medicaid and Medicare), and other income from government sources. Personal income does not include capital gains. Vermont saw the second-highest percentage jump in transfers, while it trailed most states in the growth of earnings, dividends, interest, and rental income. In 2020 and 2021, individual pandemic aid drove transfer payments up across the country before they came back down in 2022. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation are pleased to announce the 2024 Barn Preservation Grant awardees. This year, the program will award $350,235 to fund 20 preservation projects in eleven Vermont counties. These grants will leverage $1 million in restoration and rehabilitation efforts. The program received 28 applications this year requesting a total of $483,424 in grant funding. Historic Preservation Barn Grants awarded this year will support projects from Brattleboro to Island Pond. The iconic East Monitor Barn in Richmond will receive funding for a new slate roof, while unusual slate siding will be repaired on two agricultural structures at the Retreat Farm in Brattleboro.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Bar Association joins the American Bar Association in condemning the continued attacks on judges and other members of our judicial system. The VBA is a non-profit and non-partisan organization that is committed to robust civil discourse and the exercise of First Amendment rights – but we will not, and cannot, tolerate personal attacks on judges, court staff, and their families. Threats against, and false statements about, members of our judiciary have no place in our legal system and ultimately undermine the public’s respect for the rule of law. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, as the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Vermont Department of Public Service has been selected to receive $62,450,000 through the Solar for All grant competition to develop long-lasting solar programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed residential solar. This award is part of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to lower energy costs for families, create good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis. Solar for All Vermont’s (SAV) mission is to lower the cost of electricity for low-income and disadvantaged Vermonters through the ownership of solar arrays—maximizing greenhouse gas emission reductions and solar market development in the process. 

Vermont Business Magazine In celebration of Earth Day, Attorney General Charity Clark today announced the conclusion of the fourth annual Earth Day Essay Challenge for Vermont’s fifth and sixth graders. The annual event began in 2021 with the Attorney General’s Office inviting students to submit essays on the environment and Earth Day. This year’s essay challenge began in February and ran through mid-April. The Attorney General’s Office received 21 essays from students in different parts of Vermont, from Townshend in the southern part of the state, all the way to Charleston in the Northeast Kingdom.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) on Saturday welcomed more than 130 students from across Vermont to his second-annual Youth Chess Day. Held at Vermont State University in Randolph, the event featured a learn-to-play session for students playing chess for the first time, as well as a recreational tournament for experienced players.

Vermont Business Magazine On Earth Day, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, and US Representative Annie Kuster (D-N.H.-02) unveiled the Energizing Our Communities Act, legislation to support local communities that host Department of Energy (DOE)-supported transmission projects. The program will help build trust between local governments and transmission developers so the nation can sustainably increase transmission capacity, which is crucial to a national clean energy transition. The Energizing Our Communities Act invests revenue from certain federal Department of Energy loan programs back into communities, including tribal governments, who host transmission infrastructure. This bill aims to support national transmission grid build-out by ensuring communities see the benefits of transmission at the ground level.