Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Tree stands get hunters out of sight and smell of wary deer, but they can also get hunters into trouble.  Here are some tips from Vermont Fish and Wildlife to help stay safe and get the most out of your tree stand hunting experience.

Vermont Business Magazine On September 22, 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) announced Evernorth Rural Ventures, a subsidiary of Evernorth, was awarded a $60 million allocation of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to continue its successful economic and community development work in low-income areas. This is Evernorth Rural Ventures’ 7th award.The competition for the NMTC awards is intense. Of the 102 Community Development Entities (CDEs) that received awards this round - 48% were to national CDEs; 20% were to multi-state CDEs; and 20% of the CDEs receiving awards were rural CDEs.  Evernorth Rural Ventures is a rural, multi-state CDE. Overall, 102 CDEs were selected from an applicant pool of 197 applicants.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in introducing the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act to cancel student lunch debt nationwide.  During the height of COVID-19 in 2020, federal lawmakers made the unprecedented move of providing free lunch for every public-school student in America. This program expired last fall, but many states, including Vermont, have been rolling out their own universal free school meals programs and seen sizable results. Even schools that don’t offer free meals usually won’t turn away hungry students. Instead, they will feed them and collect payment later, leading to “school lunch debt.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today made a formal request to President Joe Biden for a Major Disaster Declaration to help communities in Addison and Rutland counties recover costs for repair of public infrastructure damage caused by rainfall and severe flooding on August 3-5, 2023. If granted, a federal Major Disaster Declaration unlocks Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance Program funding to reimburse municipalities for 75% of funds already spent on things like debris removal, road and public building repairs, and staff overtime responding to and cleaning up after the storm. Federal assessors identified more than $1.2 million in program eligible costs incurred by public entities, exceeding the minimum needed for the state to request a declaration.

Vermont Business Magazine State Treasurer Mike Pieciak will host “From Idea to Investment: Capital Strategies for Vermont Entrepreneurs,” a panel discussion featuring the SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to explore pathways for Vermont's small businesses and startups to access capital. The event will take place at Hula in Burlington on Wednesday, October 11 from 3:30 to 5:00 pm followed by a networking hour.The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation advocates for solutions to address challenges faced by small businesses and their investors raising and deploying capital, from early-stage startups to small public companies. 

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain Housing Trust announced today that it has received a $20 million donation – the largest in its nearly 40 years of operations – from philanthropist and writer MacKenzie Scott through her philanthropic fund, Yield Giving. The gift will be used to advance CHT’s mission to support the people of northwest Vermont and strengthen their communities through the development and stewardship of permanently affordable homes and related community assets. CHT primarily serves the northwestern three counties of Vermont. It owns or manages more than 2,500 affordable apartments and over 100 shelter beds or motel rooms, stewards 675 shared equity homes to keep them affordable forever and provides a variety of programs that range from affordable lending to financial literacy to community building and resident services. As a real estate developer, CHT has over 500 homes in its development pipeline.

Vermont Business Magazine Starting Saturday, September 30, small business owners and entrepreneurs in Vermont can apply for a new round of grant funding from the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). This latest round of funding is made possible by a $249,000 grant from the US Small Business Administration (SBA). Vermont STEP helps small businesses overcome obstacles to exporting by providing grants to cover costs associated with entering and expanding into international markets.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Art Council announces the 22 recipients of its most sought-after award, the Creation Grant, which supports Vermont artists in creating new work. Two recipients were People’s Choice Creation Grantees, a new process involving the public’s vote. Among this year’s winning proposals are works that span visual arts, literary arts, dance, music, film, and multidisciplinary fields, including a video rumination on living with chronic pain; a public art project exploring the concept of home; films about a Vermont dairy farmer and a wildlife rehabilitator; and an immersive experience with multisensory storytelling elements. A record 225 applications were received for this highly competitive award, with a total of more than $1 million requested in funding. 

Vermont Business Magazine A public facing mural will soon adorn the exterior facade of Village Center Apartments in the heart of downtown Morrisville, spearheaded by nonprofit collaborators River Arts and Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP.) “With each of LHP’s affordable housing developments, we strive to contribute vital housing resources as well as vibrant spaces to our communities. This mural along with Village Center Apartments’ steel dragon sculpture are examples of that practice in action,” says LHP’s Advancement & Communications Director Kerrie Lohr.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced the signing of a contract with CoreCivic to house individuals in DOC custody at Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility (TCCF) in Tutwiler, Mississippi. CoreCivic was the lone bidder for the contract. Incarcerated individuals in Vermont custody have been held at the facility since 2018, with 126 individuals currently residing at TCCF. The contract provides adult male incarcerated individuals with housing, treatment, and rights in accordance with American Correctional Association (ACA) standards. The agreement lays out a two-year term with two additional one-year extensions. The contract sets a maximum allowable cost of $21,463,095 for up to 300 beds if needed

Vermont Business Magazine Last week, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Board of Commissioners awarded Vermont State Affordable Housing Tax Credits for homeownership development projects across the state. Once sold to investors, the credits will yield nearly $3 million in equity for downpayment assistance for newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated single-family homes as well as energy-efficient manufactured homes. Additionally, Commissioners awarded more than $8.5 million as part of the Missing Middle-Income Homeownership Development Program, which will create 180 homes across the state. Combined, these investments will support the construction or substantial rehabilitation of at least 254 homes. 

The Vermont State Police is warning the public about recent scam calls in which the caller pretends to be a VSP commander or trooper. Reports to the state police indicate the imposter tells the recipient of the call that he or she is subject to a pending legal matter. If leaving a message, the scammer provides a number for the recipient to call back. These calls are not originating with the Vermont State Police. If anyone receives such a call, they should hang up or not call back at the number provided, and instead telephone their local VSP barracks to confirm the authenticity of the message.