Current News

by Vermont Attorney General Charity R Clark The Legislature is taking up a comprehensive data privacy law – one that gives you the power to sue if your data has been mishandled in violation of that law – right in the nick of time. Facial recognition can let strangers identify us on the street. Geolocation tracking apps and spyware can map our physical location. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools create “deepfake” videos of political leaders and celebrities that are indistinguishable from reality – and have already been used to create nonconsensual pornography. Social media algorithms collect data they sell and use to addict children to their screens. Data brokers sell our information, including predictions about our interests, our personalities, and our vulnerabilities, to anyone willing to pay for it. And even companies who do prioritize data privacy are vulnerable to data security breaches and the criminal enterprises that steal what they cannot buy. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Animation Festival welcomes animator and documentary filmmaker Dustin Grella as the Keynote Speaker for the March 22-23, 2024 festival hosted by Vermont State University Lyndon in partnership with Catamount Arts. Grella’s films have screened at the Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, he’s won the Walt Disney Award at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and his film "Prayers for Peace" screened at almost two hundred festivals worldwide and won more than forty awards. His work has been commissioned by The New York Times, PBS, and MIT Media Lab, and he teaches workshops and performs magic lantern shows out of a decommissioned school bus that he converted into a Mobile Animation Lab.

Leonine Public Affairs Week five marked the beginning of February and the beginning of the countdown to Town Meeting Day and crossover. With the legislature convening on January 3, lawmakers have been in session for the maximum number of days possible for the month of January. In other years the legislature doesn’t convene until the second week, making the first month significantly shorter. This random fact was not lost on the State House regulars, and a number of people from a variety of political persuasions could be heard commenting on “how long January feels” this year. 

by Norah White, Community News Service Legislators are weighing a bill that would standardize how restorative justice programs in each county receive funding from the state and referrals from prosecutors — with the goal of increasing fair access for affected parties. “We are working to have clear standards and procedures of how (restorative justice) programs are going to be developed across the 14 counties in Vermont, which is not necessarily the case now,” said bill sponsor Rep. Karen Dolan, D-Essex Junction, who also works for the Essex Community Justice Center. As the six sponsors of the bill, H.645, see it, funding for restorative justice centers is inconsistent and disorganized. Three state entities provide centers grant money — the attorney general’s office, the Department for Children and Families and the Department of Corrections — but there is no current standard for how those bodies allocate the funds.

Vermont Business Magazine Four Vermont contemporary art organizations are teaming up for the third year in a row to award The Vermont Prize. Launched in 2022, The Vermont Prize is a collaborative initiative of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), Burlington City Arts (BCA), the Hall Art Foundation, and The Current, intended to celebrate and support outstanding visual art being made in Vermont today.

Vermont State University Leadership training is critical for organizational success. Individual contributors need help stepping into supervisory roles and learning how to motivate other adults. Our leadership training experiences provide the right setting for participants to learn more about themselves as they improve their leadership capabilities and skillset. This is the new world of work - and this is the time to empower new, emerging, and experienced leaders to learn to lead and motivate in different ways.

Vermont Business Magazine Students at Cold Hollow Career Center recently tested their financial savvy at a Financial Reality Fair presented by NorthCountry Federal Credit Union. Each participant was assigned a career and income upon which to base their choices for housing, transportation, groceries, childcare, and additional expenses such as entertainment and technology.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Bank, with branches in southern Vermont, has announced nearly $2.5 million in philanthropic investments were provided from its foundation in 2023 to support more than 500 nonprofit organizations system wide. This includes supporting Bennington County Meals Program, Bennington Museum, Inc, Rutland Community Cupboard, and the Vermont Community Foundation.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations remained relatively low last week after a long period of edging higher from last summer through early January. Cases and hospitalizations increased slightly the week. However, fatalities have not seen a related spike nor decline. Deaths reported by the Vermont Department of Health continue to average about 6 a week, for a pandemic total now of 1,112 as of January 20, 2024 (the most recent data available). Total deaths in January are 23 so far and are nearing a monthly level not seen in a full year. The VDH reported January 31, 2024, that COVID-19 hospitalizations were up 7 last week to a statewide total of 46. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Reported cases last week were 307, up 32 for the week. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the completion of a six-month public engagement and design process for the Moran FRAME that resulted in a striking new concept for the future of the now revived northern waterfront. Implementing this bold, long-term community vision would require new partnerships, philanthropic and grant support, and other financing. To support these efforts, the Administration will add amenities and infrastructure on site using already committed ARPA funds and continue the City’s partnership with Friends of the FRAME, a local non-profit organization that has supported community programming on-site throughout 2023. The mayor, CEDO, and design team will present a physical model and other design materials of the new Phase 2 concept to the public at a special event at Burlington City Arts, in the Lorraine B. Good Room on Thursday, February 8 between 3 pm and 6 pm. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) today released the following statement announcing his plan to introduce an amendment to the foreign aid supplemental package that would remove $10.1 billion in offensive weaponry funding for Netanyahu’s right-wing government. The amendment preserves funding for defensive systems that will protect Israeli civilians against incoming missile and rocket attacks. 

by Brooke Burns, Community News Service Caribou, elk, catamounts once all roamed Vermont before going extinct over the last 200 years. And experts predict many more creatures to follow suit: Vermont is set to lose 6% of its species, or 368, by 2100, says the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. A new House bill aims to stem the tide by firming up species tracking and further restricting the sale or removal of species from their habitats in Vermont. H.812 was introduced by Rep. Larry Satcowitz, D-Randolph, in a House Committee on Environment and Energy meeting Jan. 16. He feels current rules and regulations for the protection of endangered species in Vermont are not enough.