Current News

VermontBiz The Vermont Community Foundation announced today that it has awarded another $1,069,338 in grants to help Vermont recover from the devastating flooding across the state last month. 

The new round of grants from the Foundation’s VT Flood Response & Recovery Fund 2023 brings the total awarded from the fund to just over $2 million in the month since it was created.   

The fund has raised $6.1 million in gifts and commitments since it was announced on July 11. That total includes $5.4 million in gifts and $700,000 in pledges.

VermontBiz Today, the Green Mountain Care Board is starting FY24 hospital budget hearings using new evidence-based tools to examine expense growth against established national and regional benchmarks. This approach will allow GMCB to evaluate how rising hospital costs should impact charges that are passed on Vermonters with commercial insurance.

“Overall, the hospital budget requests are high again this year, with only 2 of 14 hospitals meeting the two-year budget guidance for net patient revenue growth,” said Owen Foster, GMCB Chair. “With GMCB’s new data tools, we will be looking at hospitals’ expenses compared to national trends and benchmarks to identify ways to avoid any unnecessary expenses. The goal is to contain costs and limit how much Vermonters have to pay for health care while ensuring Vermonters can access the care they need.”

VermontBiz With the start of Vermont’s 2023-24 academic year just around the corner, leaders from UVM Health Network, Vermont State University and Community College of Vermont (CCV) on Wednesday welcomed more than a dozen students who will enter the University’s revitalized Respiratory Therapy Training program this year.

The students – 14 of whom will begin classes this fall, as part of the program’s first two cohorts of learners – hail from communities across Vermont and organizations throughout UVM Health Network. They heard messages of welcome and encouragement from health system and academic leaders, who gathered at the University’s Williston Campus, where the program’s classroom and hands-on clinical training spaces are located, to celebrate the revitalization of a program that had been in danger of being shuttered due to financial challenges and waning student interest.

VermontBiz The Lake Champlain Chamber, in partnership with TBW Consulting and Padgett Coaching, is pleased to announce the launch of the THRIVE Executive Program. THRIVE Executive is an intensive leadership development program designed to provide senior leaders with the tools needed to inspire and lead their team and organization, today and into the future. Registration is open until September 1, 2023. 

“We are so pleased to partner with TBW Consulting and Padgett Coaching on Thrive Executive,” said Cathy Davis, president of the Lake Champlain Chamber. “We often hear from business leaders that they want to support their employees' professional development but they also want a space to connect with other executives and focus on their growth as leaders. This program helps fill that need.” 

Vermont Business Magazine The ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain will open a new and expanded toy store in early September in downtown Burlington in collaboration with Vermont Teddy Bear. The Tinkering Turtle by ECHO and Vermont Teddy Bear, located at 210 College St., will feature a unique selection of hands-on STEM toys, pretend play, games, puzzles, books, and signature brands like Fat Brain, eeboo, Melissa & Doug. The store will include a Vermont Teddy Bear Design Studio, inviting guests to create their very own custom, one-of-a-kind classic. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Southern Vermont CUD (SoVT CUD) celebrated the region’s future during a ribbon cutting yesterday, announcing the region as Gig Community. Through a partnership with Fidium, SoVT CUD will reach universal service coverage just 13 months after receiving a grant from the Vermont Community Broadband Board in October 2022. Construction of the all-fiber network is near completion and will make multi-gigabit service available to every home and business in its 14-town service area: Arlington, Bennington, Dorset, Landgrove, Londonderry, Manchester, Peru, Pownal, Rupert, Sandgate, Shaftsbury, Sunderland, Winhall and Woodford.

Vermont Business Magazine A Disaster Recovery Center will open at 8 a.m. Aug. 9 in Jamaica (Windham County) to help Vermont residents affected by the July severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides. The joint recovery center, a temporary facility established in partnership between the town, the state of Vermont and FEMA, will help survivors apply for FEMA assistance, upload documents and answer questions in person. Regular hours for all recovery centers: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.

Vermont Business Magazine The Disaster Recovery Center in Springfield will close temporarily at 5 p.m. Aug. 10. It will reopen at 1 p.m. Aug.12; it will then continue to be open regular hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The joint recovery center, a temporary facility established in partnership between the town, the state of Vermont and FEMA, will help survivors apply for FEMA assistance, upload documents and answer questions in person.

Vermont Business Magazine The Voice for Refuge Action Fund has announced the launch of our ‘State Legislators for Welcome’ initiative with 129 state legislators representing 34 states and the District of Columbia joining for the initial launch; with more to follow in the coming months. ## members from [state] are among those who joined. Legislators who signed the pledge committed to publicly call for an increase in refugee arrivals, to support State investments in refugee resettlement and key services, and to consult with refugee and immigrant leaders in their state.  

Vermont Business Magazine Residents and businesses can bring their flood-related hazardous materials to the State of Vermont hazardous materials collection site at the former Middlesex Police Barracks at 1078 U.S. Route 2 in Middlesex through this Saturday, August 12, 2023, at 4 PM when this temporary collection facility will be shut down for good. Businesses with hazardous materials can bring up to ten 5-gallon containers of flood-related hazardous materials to the State of Vermont collection site in Middlesex, Vermont.  

Vermont Business Magazine Disaster survivors in Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties who applied for assistance from FEMA for the July severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides will receive an eligibility determination letter from FEMA in the mail or via email. It may say you are ineligible for assistance, but that is not a denial.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) issued decisions requiring Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) and MVP Health Plan, Inc. (MVP) to modify the premiums they wanted to charge individuals and small businesses for health insurance plans in 2024. In 2023, these plans covered just over 68,000 Vermonters.  The premium increases requested by BCBSVT and MVP were driven by a number of factors, including increases in hospital and prescription drug costs. During GMCB’s review of the requests, BCBSVT and MVP raised their proposed rates in response to new information.