Current News

VermontBiz Following the flooding event from July 7-12, 2023 (#VTFlood23), President Biden approved Governor Phil Scott’s request for a major disaster declaration for Vermont to assist individuals, businesses, and communities recover. The declaration covers Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham, and Winsor Counties. The counties of Addison, Bennington, Franklin, Grand Isle, and Orleans are eligible for certain limited assistance. Evaluations by FEMA and other federal and state officials continue and other areas may be added to the declaration. Also, the declaration dates remain open-ended in case further weather events occur.  

Vermont Business Magazine Orleans County has been added by FEMA to the federal Individual Assistance Disaster Declaration signed by President Joseph Biden earlier this month. The declaration now allows residents of Orleans County to apply for federal assistance for personal losses during this month’s storm and floods. Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windham, and Windsor counties were previously approved.

by Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas Vermonters have always rallied to protect and care for our friends and neighbors in a crisis. I am grateful for Governor Scott’s calm and measured response when Vermont is in crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Scott followed the science and took the appropriate steps, despite considerable opposition, to keep Vermonters safe and to prevent a greater tragedy. Now, we need the same courage and focus as we grapple with flood recovery and take action to address the underlying forces of climate change that drove its severity. 

by John McClaughry July has been a banner month for climate crisis headlines. Washington Post: “The world is hotter than it’s been in thousands of years.” AP: “For the third time this week, Earth sets unofficial heat record.” Politico: “Scientists are freaking out about surging temperatures.” As anyone in the media business knows, headlines are apt to be more sensational than the reporters’ actual stories. The two climate scientists quoted in the Politico story, for example, offer accurate descriptions of meteorological events, but neither is close to “freaking out.”

Vermont Business Magazine Life plan community Wake Robin has been honored for its work in sustainability and environmental stewardship — a core value of its 400 residents and more than 200 staff members, including Leslie Parker, the director of environmental services. Most recently, Casella Waste Systems named Wake Robin as one of its 2023 Sustainability Leadership Award recipients, honored for the community’s integration of Casella’s zero-sort recycling, compost and municipal waste services into its 136-acre campus. Beyond this, Wake Robin has created a Green Committee and Climate Action Taskforce to identify and address new ways for the community to further its environmental activism.  

Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County Forester will visit the site of an upcoming forest management project at the Catamount Community Forest in Williston. The public is invited to join him. This project will involve managing a relatively young forest for old growth characteristics—creating the habitats and the qualities of an old growth forest centuries sooner than they would naturally occur—and will be part of a national research project studying how to manage forests in a changing climate. He will be partnering with the Vermont Land Trust to discuss how to use forest management to restore old growth characteristics to Vermont's young forests.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Small Business Administration announced today that certain Private Non- Profit organizations in Vermont that do not provide critical services of a governmental nature may be eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loans for damages from severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that began on July 7. Eligible PNP organizations in the following Vermont counties may apply: Bennington, Orange, and Washington. Examples of eligible non-critical PNP organizations include, but are not limited to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges. PNP organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. The interest rate is 2.375 percent, with terms up to 30 years.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's youngest residents are helping to unravel the intricate process of brain development during the crucial early years of life. In 2021, University of Vermont neuroscientists received a $5.5 million National Institute of Health (NIH) grant to support the Phase II segment of the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, joining a select group of investigators leading this groundbreaking national initiative. The HBCD Study, the largest long-term study of early brain and child development in the United States, aims to comprehensively collect data on brain development from birth through early childhood, shedding light on the factors that shape a young person's life trajectory.

Vermont Business Magazine The House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and the Senate Committee on Economic Development is meeting virtually and at the Statehouse on Thursday, July 27th, from 9 am to 4 pm, to discuss flood recovery and relief with local business owners, economic development leaders and the Administration.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) announces a $2.5 million gift from the Maverick Lloyd Foundation. To recognize this transformational gift, VLGS will change the name of its Vermont School for the Environment to the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment. The funds will further VLGS’s overall non-profit mission to expand its world-renowned environmental law and master’s degree programs. The Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment offers specialized master's degrees in environmental policy, building on the long history of environmental law expertise at VLGS. Degrees at the School offer a transformative educational experience, putting issues of climate change and environmental justice at the forefront. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Public has announced a new partnership with the Burlington-based nonprofit Good News Garage to administer its vehicle donation program. The program will support public media in Vermont and could provide necessary transportation to families in the state. Donating a vehicle is easy, free, and secure. After picking up a donated vehicle, Good News Garage will inspect it. If it is in usable condition, it will be donated to a Vermont family in need through Good News Garage. If the vehicle is sold at auction instead, proceeds from the sale will be split between Vermont Public and Good News Garage. Donors qualify for free towing or pick-up and generous tax deductions, up to the vehicle’s fair market value.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that Federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are now available to Vermonters in Caledonia and Orange counties in addition to the six counties first announced on July 20, 2023. Under DUA program guidance, individuals in the updated counties listed above have until Monday, August 25, 2023, to file a claim. If additional counties are added to the disaster declaration, a new press release will be issued with a new deadline to file. The first payable benefit week has been identified as July 9 – 15, 2023. Under the federal disaster declaration, individuals living, working, or scheduled to work in these counties may be eligible for DUA. This includes independent contractors, those who are self-employed, and agricultural workers.