Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A ledger documenting the everyday activities of a Black woman living in a segregated neighborhood in Shreveport, Louisiana after World War II is driving research by the woman’s granddaughter – an academic fellow at Saint Michael’s College – and giving insight into how residents of these neighborhoods used education and literacy to work toward attaining liberation. Jolivette Anderson-Douoning, the Edmundite African American Fellow in the Saint Michael’s History Department and a PhD Candidate in the Purdue University American Studies Program, has used the ledger kept by her grandmother to inform parts of her dissertation research.

Statement from Nicole Clegg, Acting CEO, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England “Planned Parenthood of Northern New England continues to offer medication abortion to our patients. We have no plans to change our protocol at the moment. The decision issued Wednesday night ignores more than a decade of scientific and medical advancements in abortion access."

Vermont Business Magazine This week, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined 240 Members of Congress, led by Senators Schumer, Murray, Sanders, Durbin, and Blumenthal and Representatives Jeffries, Clark, Pallone, Nadler, Lee, and DeGette, in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA. The brief supports the Biden Administration’s appeal of federal district court judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk’s Friday ruling that suspends the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) more than 20-year-old approval of mifepristone—threatening access to mifepristone for patients in Vermont and nationwide—as well as FDA’s congressionally-mandated authority and drug approval process.

Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) “Like many Vermonters and Americans, I’m stunned and furious by the news that a federal judge has ruled against the personal medical decisions that should be made between a patient and their doctor. This decision sets a dangerous precedent. Mifepristone is safe and effective and has been for more than two decades. What other safe and effective drugs will be removed because of political and ideological extremism? This is an assault on reproductive rights and women’s freedom.

Vermont Business Magazine The message from high school and college students about their future work expectations is loud and clear: they don’t want to work for someone else. In fact, 60% of teenagers are more interested in someday starting their own business rather than work in a traditional job, according to a new survey from Junior Achievement USA. CFES Brilliant Pathways has been hearing the same mantra from its students across the country who want advice on how to launch their own startups. In response, CFES is hosting a new webinar series “Insights from Entrepreneurs,” featuring individuals who started small, medium and large businesses in a broad range of fields.

Vermont Business Magazine The Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) has announced that the Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation, Water Quality Division has recently awarded RRPC a contract to administer water quality improvement programs to the 11 Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) in the State of Vermont. The grant is funded through the 604B program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and is intended to promote water quality planning and improvements. Last year’s 604b funding was used to identify and review more than 300 water quality improvements across the state, many of which were high priority projects. These projects were entered into the state’s database and, as a result, are now eligible to receive priority funding under Vermont Clean Water Act grants.

Vermont Business Magazine Emerge Vermont announced Wednesday that 18 of 24 women who have trained with the organization won their elections to local office during the Town Meeting Day 2023 election cycle. Fifteen of the candidates who ran are alums of the Signature Training program and eight have participated in other campaign trainings offered by Emerge Vermont. Of the 24 alums and trainees on the Town Meeting Day ballot in communities across Vermont, 18 won their elections, a 75% win rate.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Public has partnered with the award-winning PBS science series NOVA, a production of GBH, to produce and distribute multiplatform, climate-focused content as part of the series’ national Climate Across America initiative. Vermont Public is one of 10 public media stations working closely with NOVA to create, share, and amplify solutions-oriented climate content including short-form videos, audio stories, articles, e-newsletters, and social media posts. Vermont Public has produced two short digital films as part of this project. In the first, climate reporter Abagael Giles visits Panton, Vt., which hosts a community microgrid able to run exclusively on renewable power, without backup from fossil fuels. The piece is available now at vermontpublic.org and on the station’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has released the Vermont Master Angler Program 2022 Annual Report with 1,064 entries and 79 Master Angler Award recipients. Vermont’s wealth of waters and abundant fish populations provide many opportunities to experience outstanding fishing. The Vermont Master Angler Program recognizes the achievements of anglers who catch trophy-sized fish from Vermont waters and celebrates the clean water and healthy habitats that allow these fish to survive and grow to exceptional sizes. The Vermont Master Angler program is a length-based program that sets “trophy sized” benchmarks for 33 eligible fish species.