Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $22 million to the State of Vermont to reimburse the costs of providing hotel lodging and wraparound services to the homeless and other vulnerable Vermonters during the COVID-19 pandemic.The $21,969,452 Public Assistance grant, announced Tuesday, will go to the Vermont Agency of Human Services for contracting with hotels to provide non-congregate shelter to high-risk homeless people, people exposed to COVID-19 who didn’t require hospitalization, and asymptomatic high-risk individuals needing to quarantine between May and July 2022. During that time the agency utilized 90 hotels and 1,465 rooms for the non-congregate sheltering of 1,907 adults and 564 children, and contracted for wraparound services such as food and room cleaning.

Vermont Business Magazine This week, Larner College of Medicine will welcome more than 200 academic medicine educators and learners from throughout the northeastern US for the premier medical education gathering in our region. This conference is returning to the University of Vermont for the first time in 13 years, and after a delay of three years cause by the pandemic. The conference will take place April 13-15 on the UVM campus.

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $5 million to the State of Vermont to reimburse the costs of providing emergency meals for residents in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The $4,932,438 Public Assistance grant will go to the Agency of Commerce and Community Development for providing meal preparation and delivery service to high-risk populations under the state’s emergency feeding program “Vermont Everyone Eats” between March and July 2022. The Everyone Eats program came to a close on March 31, 2023. During that time the agency entered into an agreement with Southeastern Vermont Community Action, Inc. (SEVCA), which established and coordinated with state-wide subcontractors (Hubs) that oversaw restaurant engagement, production, and distribution of 416,000 meals to Vermonters experiencing food insecurity.

Vermont State Police On April 08, 2023, at approximately 7:45 pm Vermont State Police were dispatched to Parro’s Gun Shop and Police Supply, located at 601 US Route 2, Waterbury, Vermont for a report of a self-inflicted gun-shot wound. Waterbury Ambulance Service responded, along with Barre Town EMS and the male was pronounced deceased. Investigation showed a 24-year old male from California, who was temporarily living in Vermont, traveled to Parro’s and rented a firearm, purchased ammunition, and 1-hour of range time for target shooting. After approximately 40 minutes of target shooting, the male suffered an intentional self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Vermont Business Magazine Sterling College announced today the election of Dr Scott L Thomas as the next president of the Craftsbury Common-based college. Dr Thomas is currently the John P ‘Jack’ Ellbogen Dean of the College of Education for the University of Wyoming. He brings more than 25 years of teaching and leadership experience at private and public institutions. A first-generation college student, Dr Thomas has devoted his career to advancing programs and policies to expand access to quality college opportunities, ensure student success, and build diverse organizations. Dr Thomas holds a BA in Sociology and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Leadership, and Research Methods from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Importantly to Sterling, an avid surfer, Nordic skier, and outdoor adventurer, Dr. Thomas has led a life exploring and engaging with environments and cultures around the world. He understands firsthand the importance of place-based experiences, that scale matters, and has learned to hold deep respect for indigenous ways of knowing.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) has fully deployed funding through its Short-Term Forgivable Loan Program. The program, enacted by the Vermont Legislature during the 2022 session, was created to support businesses experiencing lasting economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with $19 million allocated from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. A total of 201 loans were disbursed to businesses in all of Vermont’s 14 counties. The majority were concentrated in Chittenden, Washington and Addison Counties, and in the manufacturing, agriculture, and travel and tourism/hospitality industries.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Weinberger and the Burlington Department of Business and Workforce Development announced the launch of a two-tiered, zero-interest revolving loan program, totaling $500,000, to stabilize and support the growth of Burlington’s small businesses. The funds will be available to underserved business populations who have traditionally faced barriers to accessing capital. During the 2023 fiscal year budget process, City Council approved the use of ARPA funds to launch this program with a specific interest in supporting BIPOC and women-owned Burlington businesses. The city has engaged local lending experts to assist on an underwriting committee aimed at dispersing funds in as low barrier of a manner as possible.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported April 5, 2023, that COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations increased slightly from the previous week. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations increased by 1 to 23 last week (the lowest since last fall was 22 in the previous week). Total cases rose to 265 (from 201). There were 2 COVID-related deaths in the last week for a pandemic total of 943 as of April 1 (this is the most recent update). VDH reported that March recorded 14 COVID-related deaths, the fewest since the summer of 2021. Of the total deaths to date, 749 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30 since the beginning of the pandemic.

by Betsy Bishop, President, Vermont Chamber of Commerce Today, the Vermont Chamber circulated the following message with the Vermont business community: “Your Voice Matters: Inform Legislators How $461 Million of New Taxes and Fees Would Impact You." Right now, legislators are considering a sweeping influx of new taxes and increased fees without reflecting on the long-term impacts it will have on their constituents. We are deeply concerned that Vermonters will be unable to weather the nearly half a billion in increased costs over the next two years that the Legislature is poised to pass this session. We want to be sure you understand what is being proposed.

by Bill Schubart A measure of the Vermont legislature’s commitment to Vermonters’ well-being is the extent to which it commits the money earned from licensing and taxing addictive substances and behaviors into education, prevention, treatment and recovery programs. As the legislature considers an act projected to harvest millions from online sports betting, it should also assess the damage gambling addiction will cause, what the State’s moral obligation to its citizens is, and how it might prevent or remediate that damage. As many as 10 million Americans live with a gambling addiction. The act of gambling itself is legal in most jurisdictions. 33 states have now legalized online sports betting, including 24 jurisdictions that allow online betting, which often makes it easier for people to rationalize risky gambling behaviors. Most people who have a gambling addiction don’t see it as a problem, however. For example, only 21 percent of incarcerated individuals diagnosed with a gambling addiction ever thought their gambling was a problem.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark on Monday joined a multistate coalition to challenge the decision issued by the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas that could restrict medication abortion access nationwide. The amicus brief, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, urges the court to stay pending appeal of the district court’s ruling, which if allowed to take effect would halt the over two-decades old approval from the US Food and Drug Administration of the medication abortion drug mifepristone. Attorney General Clark and the coalition of 24 attorneys general warn that revoking federal approval for mifepristone will drastically reduce access to safe abortion care and miscarriage management for millions of people across the country, endangering lives, and trampling states’ authority to protect and promote access to abortion.