Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) announced the start of the statewide community engagement project to support hospital transformation. Guided by the legislature’s directive in Act 167 of 2022, this project will identify community-informed opportunities to improve the sustainability of Vermont’s health care system. In 2022, the legislature allocated funding for GMCB to review data and solicit local input to develop options that ensure Vermonters have sustained access to affordable care. Community meetings are slated to begin in the fall.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New England regional office recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Landmark College of Putney, Vermont, a global leader in educating neurodivergent students, to work together to increase national employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The five-year, non-binding agreement outlines four areas where the partners can collaborate to achieve this goal, including a neurodiversity training program for EPA supervisors, hiring managers and other staff; EPA’s participation in college fairs; and specialized workshops that advance environmental education for Landmark College students.

Vermont Business Magazine Last Saturday afternoon, more than 100 UVMMC support staff rallied, despite consistent rain, six months after winning a landslide union election for support staff at the University of Vermont Medical Center, the region's only level one trauma center. The union said they are pushing the UVMMC administration to come to terms that would create livable wages for all staff, would reduce consistent staffing challenges and improve patient care as a result.  

Vermont Business Magazine The REPLANT Act provides money for the US Forest Service to plant more than a billion trees in the next nine years. The World Economic Forum aims to help plant a trillion trees around the world by 2030. Many US cities have plans to shade their streets with millions of trees. Major government and private funding is being invested in planting trees as a powerful tool to fight climate change, protect water, clean air, and cool cities. In short, trees are hot. But new research shows a troubling bottleneck that could threaten these efforts: U.S. tree nurseries don’t grow close to enough trees—nor have the species diversity needed—to meet ambitious plans.

by Bill Schubart During my long life, I’ve chaired 13 statewide nonprofit organizations, including the former Fletcher Allen Hospital, and served as a trustee on nine others. The first was the Vermont Arts Council when I was 25 years old. I know and understand nonprofits and feel strongly about their governance and oversight responsibilities. I’ve expressed my ideas and concerns about Vermont’s 6000-odd nonprofits often.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Bar Association has just launched the “Vermont Flood Relief Legal Assistance Project.”  The project is designed to help flood victims get no-cost legal advice related to flood recovery. The VBA has recruited attorneys (and is working on recruiting more) to provide pro bono advice over the phone for up to half an hour to answer pressing questions from flood victims.  Victims with more complex issues may also be eligible for help from an attorney who has agreed to work on a low bono or pro bono basis for up to five hours.  Any payment to an attorney engaged through the low bono aspect of project will be paid through a $20,000 grant provided by the Vermont Bar Foundation. (I.e., at no cost to the client).   

Vermont Business Magazine NBT Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ: NBTB), parent of NBT Bank with branches in Vermont, has reported net income and diluted earnings per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023. Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was $30.1 million, or $0.70 per diluted common share, compared to $37.8 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2022, and $33.7 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2023.

Vermont Business Magazine The Realtors Relief Foundation (RRF), a charitable, non-profit arm of the National Association of Realtors, has awarded a $500,000 grant to the Vermont Association of Realtors (VAR) to aid Vermonters who have been impacted by recent floods. RRF funds will be made available to eligible applicants on a first-come, first-served basis to help with homeownership-related challenges. To learn more about RRF and to apply for funding, visit vermontrealtors.com/RRF. Successful applicants should receive RRF funding within four weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Economic Development has announced additional details and guidelines for the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP). This $20 million grant program is intended to help businesses and nonprofits restore, reopen, and bring their employees back to work after suffering physical damages to their property beginning on July 7, 2023, when severe storms swept into Vermont. The application portal is expected to open Thursday, August 3, but right now businesses and nonprofits can visit the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program page to learn how the program works.

Vermont State Police The Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office has informed the Vermont State Police of its preliminary determinations of the cause and manner of death of Robert Kerker, 67, of Rhinebeck, New York. The office found the cause of death was a probable drowning, and the manner of death an accident that occurred when Mr. Kerker was caught in the current of a brook while hiking the Appalachian Trail during a storm-related flooding event. 

Vermont Business Magazine In a coordinated effort, New England Federal Credit Union and VSECU have committed a quarter-million dollars in donations in response to the catastrophic flooding that has devastated downtowns and upended the lives of thousands of Vermont residents. The grants are targeting direct support for vulnerable families and individuals, and downtown and village centers that have been impacted by the flooding.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc (NASDAQ: ISUN), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50-years of experience accelerating the adoption of innovative electrical technologies, on Monday announced that preliminary revenue for the second quarter of 2023 ended June 30, 2023, was approximately a record $25 million, an increase of over 50% from the $16.5 million reported for the second quarter of 2022. The year-over-year increase reflects effective execution of the company’s strategy, with sustained strength in its commercial and industrial division, which has been performing robustly in 2023 responding to increased customer demand.