Current News

Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development The Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP) application portal is closed and the Department of Economic Development is finalizing awards for grantees. If you are awaiting a second payment following the adjustment in the BEGAP award formula, it will arrive the same way the first one did – either a check in the mail or via ACH.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) stated: As the United States put forward at the United Nations, we are calling for humanitarian pauses to allow full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance for civilians and the immediate, unconditional release of all remaining hostages.” Representative Becca Balint also called for the pause: "We must reduce human suffering and preserve the lives and safety of civilians in Gaza. During this humanitarian pause Hamas must immediately release all hostages."

Vermont State Police Late Friday afternoon, Oct. 27, 2023, the Maine State Police requested that the Vermont State Police send its Underwater Recovery Team to Lewiston, Maine, to assist in ongoing search efforts for the suspect in this week’s mass shooting. The request was immediately approved by Vermont State Police Director Col. Matthew T. Birmingham. Team commander Capt. Matthew Daley and state police leadership are currently finalizing details of the deployment, including the number of troopers who will participate and the duration they will be in Maine. This request was received and processed under the New England State Police Administrators Compact.

Vermont Business Magazine Alongside her family, neighbors and a host of enthusiastic supporters, City Council President Karen Paul on Thursday announced her candidacy for Mayor of Burlington. “With a decade and a half of public service behind me, as a Councilor and now City Council President, it is with a humble heart that I announce, today, my candidacy for Mayor of Burlington,” Karen Paul told the assembled crowd on Church Street. Paul is from a prominent Burlington family has been a long-serving member of the City Council. She is frequently at Weinberger's side during press conferences and other events.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard destination in Eastern North America, and part of POWDR, announces that in partnership with Great Gulf, it will donate a total of $700,000 to the Town of Killington. The money is allocated to fund 70 acres of land in Killington on which to develop workforce housing, part of the area’s ongoing Killington Forward initiative. Killington Resort is committed to supporting the community through Play Forever, an initiative which aims to strengthen the place where we live with donations such as this one.

Vermont State Police Autopsies performed Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington have confirmed that the bodies found Wednesday in Eden are those of missing Massachusetts residents Jahim Solomon and Eric White. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death for Solomon, 21, of Pittsfield was multiple gunshot wounds to the head, and the manner of death is a homicide. The cause of death for White, 21, of Chicopee was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death is a homicide.

Vermont Business Magazine On October 26, Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Representative Balint (D-VT) introduced a resolution commemorating the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge. The resolution recognizes the importance of this protected land to biodiversity and fragile ecosystems in Vermont and the world.  Established by an Act of Congress in 1943, the Refuge is located on land sacred to the tribes of the Western Abenaki and encompasses nearly 7,000 acres of protected land in Franklin County, Vermont. 

Vermont Business Magazine A recent report from the Vermont Crime Research Group (CRG) states Risk Intervention Services (RIS) administered by the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) provide a promising model to reduce recidivism following release from incarceration. DOC launched RIS in 2016 at four of Vermont’s six correctional facilities. Services include behavioral programming, educational courses, and workforce development. Eligibility is determined by risk assessments upon intake. The study reported a three-year recidivism rate of 23% for individuals participating in RIS during 2016-2019; this is significantly lower than the 42% three-year recidivism rate of the total population released from incarceration in 2019. 

by Devon Green, VAHHS Vice President of Government Relations It’s rare if ever we hit your inbox twice in one week (Monday Newsletter), but this special VAHHS Update is worthy of its own e-mail from us at VAHHS – because it deals with an issue of huge consequence in health care: workplace violence. You’ve heard from me countless times over the past several years on the issue of workplace violence and the need for greater public awareness and policies that strengthen the supports for our health care workers. We have made some progress, but more must be done to stop this pattern of verbal assault, anger and physical violence towards caregivers.  

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) Interim President Mike Smith released his final set of recommendations which, when taken together with Optimization 2.0 released earlier this month, positions Vermont State University to achieve fiscal sustainability by Fiscal Year 2027.  Highlights of the plan include: Total administrative savings of approximately $3.1 million. A reduction of 33 full-time positions with 21 being at executive, management, or supervisory level. Shared services savings of $500-600K across the Vermont State Colleges system in Fiscal Year 2025. Savings in the health care plan of $3 million while maintaining a platinum plan for employees much like the state’s plan for its employees. Total savings will be $12 million. 

by Dan Cardi, Vice President and Corporate Security Officer, Community Bank NA They say knowledge is power, and when it comes to fraud, knowledge is powerful protection. The more you know about scams, the more likely you’ll be to spot and resist them. But where do you start? How do you know it’s a scam before it’s too late? Let’s talk fraud prevention. There are a few common types of fraud. The schemes keep evolving, but we still see variations of traditional hoaxes, like someone giving you a counterfeit check and asking you to forward the funds to them. Classic phone scams are ever present, too. We’ve all heard stories of a “grandchild” stuck overseas and needing funds urgently. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) released the following statement after noticing a privileged resolution censuring Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for her record of antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ, xenophobic, and racist rhetoric, and conspiracy theories. Today, Taylor Greene introduced a resolution to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib. “If you want to talk antisemitism, look no further than Rep. Taylor Greene. Today, I moved to censure Rep. Taylor Greene to finally get accountability for years of lies and hate."