Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, between 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm, an exercise of the Vermont AMBER Alert System will be conducted by the Vermont Department of Public Safety. The exercise will test the functionality of various components of Vermont’s AMBER Alert system. Specifically, the VT-Alert system will send messages to the thousands of subscribers, the Vermont Agency of Transportation message boards will be populated with exercise information, and VT Lottery will activate their system to message their signs, tickets, and kiosks. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) will also be utilized to send test messages to TV and radio stations. As in the past, the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) will not be utilized.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) announced today he has secured nearly $30 million in federal funds in the recently passed budget to support 19 Vermont projects. The projects will improve local infrastructure and accessibility, bolster economic revitalization, preserve community landmarks, and build more affordable housing. Project recipients were nominated by Senator Welch through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process. The two largest were housing-related: $5 million for the Champlain Housing Trust for the Bay Ridge Neighborhood Development, which will create 68 permanently affordable apartments and 26 shared-equity condominiums; and $5 million for the Bennington County Industrial Corporation for Mount Anthony House, which will result in 63 new apartments, two new medical facilities and additional retail locations in downtown Bennington.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Dr. Catherine A. Cech, 64, of Arlington, Vermont, was arraigned today on one felony count of Prescription Fraud. The charge brought against Dr. Cech is the result of an investigation, including the issuance of subpoenas and interviews conducted by the Secretary of State’s Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The investigation was initiated when investigators received information alleging that Dr. Cech, a licensed dentist in the state of Vermont, had been purchasing controlled substances for personal use by using her assigned DEA registration number.

Vermont Business Magazine ABC and LOL Child Care Center and Preschool recently announced its expansion and opening of the Cabot Children’s Center, providing 15 new child care slots and four new jobs for the Cabot community. The Cabot Children’s Center, which was able to open as a result of new state funding from Act 76, the child care law passed in 2023, serves infants and toddlers up to age three out of the renovated ground floor of the Cabot Church. ABC and LOL currently operates child care, Pre-K, afterschool, and summer camp programs in St Johnsbury and Peacham, employing 65 staff and serving over 200 children.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Agency of Human Services applied on behalf of the State of Vermont for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) model. This is an important step in Vermont’s broader health care reform landscape – and allows Vermont to collaborate with the federal government to impact how Medicare, the health insurer for 21% of Vermonters, pays hospitals, supports primary care, improves health equity, and allows flexibility in how care is delivered.  

VermontBiz Governor Phil Scott on March 18 announced the death of former legislator and business and political leader Tim Hayward. Among his many accomplishments, Hayward was Governor Douglas' Chief of Staff for eight years and helped guide Richard Snelling, Jim Jeffords, Douglas and Scott, among others, through the political process. Governor Scott issued the following statement: “I join so many Vermonters in mourning the passing of our friend Tim Hayward. Tim was a true giant of quiet, selfless service, and he worked every single day to do his part and then some. He was a proud marine, legislator, and senior advisor to many." He was 82. 

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly 100 Vermont businesses from various industries completed the 2024 annual economic survey assessing the outlook of Vermont’s small- to medium-sized businesses. The survey, presented by Davis and Hodgdon CPAs and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, demonstrated that business owners are more optimistic about the U.S. economy than they are about the Vermont economy. This is the opposite of attitudes displayed in survey results from the same timeframe in 2023. When asked to identify and rank the top issues facing their business in 2024, owners ranked “finding qualified employees” as their biggest issue (37%) and property taxes second (17%). The biggest factors for those that identified staffing as a challenge for their business, included the lack of candidates, lack of housing within the state, and their inability to offer competitive wages due to limited profitability.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.29 per gallon, up 4.6 cents per gallon from last week's $3.24/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.99/g while the highest was $3.44/g, a difference of 45.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 4.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.44/g today. 

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets With sugaring season in full swing, Vermont Maple Sugar Makers throughout the state are hosting a Spring Maple Open House Weekend. On March 23rd and 24th, more than 90 sugarhouses and maple partners will open their doors for pancake breakfasts, sugar-on-snow, tours, syrup samples, and so much more! A full map and list of participating sugar makers and partners are available on the Vermont Maple webpage. Travel to a corner of Vermont you haven't been to before and join in the sweet celebration!

Vermont Business Magazine The annual ‘First Tapping’ event recognizes the importance of Vermont’s maple industry with a ceremonial tapping of a maple tree by Governor Phil Scott.  This year’s event is being held at Buck Family Maple in Washington.  Governor Scott will be joined by the Buck Family, Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts and Allison Hope from the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association.  A tour of the sugarhouse and surrounding woods will follow the event.  Helping the Governor celebrate will be Vermont sugar makers, officials and area children who will all partake in a taste of Vermont maple at the Buck Family sugar house following the tapping event March 18 at noon.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) is encouraging providers to review their financial needs in regard to the ongoing Change Healthcare system outage. DVHA is committed to offering weekly advance payments to providers for anticipated costs that would otherwise be billed through the Change Healthcare system. While this outage continues, DVHA wants to ensure that all providers are investigating whether they are affected by the Change Healthcare outage, and reaching out to their provider representatives for assistance as needed. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is the US state with the fourth-greatest rate of Irish heritage, according to a new study. As people across America prepare to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, casino sweepstake comparison site Casinos Sweeps analyzed the latest 2022 Census data on the ancestry of residents in each US state, comparing the total state-wide populations with the number of people with Irish ancestral roots. They were then ranked from top to bottom to reveal the states with the highest percentage of Irish heritage. Vermont is home to the fourth-highest rate of Irish descendants in America. The least populated state to feature among the top-performing regions, Vermont has approximately 105,520 residents of Irish descent, 16.39% of the state’s entire population.