Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center today submitted a certificate of need (CON) to the Green Mountain Care Board for a multispecialty outpatient surgery center (OSC) to be located at its current Tilley Drive campus in South Burlington. The new facility will help meet the need for surgical services for an aging and growing population in the hospital’s service area. Population forecasts show that by 2030, the total population in our service area will grow by 4 to 8 percent, and the 65-plus population will grow by 30 to 60 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the House gave final approval to H. 89, known as the “Shield Bill.” The bill provides protections for patients and providers from prosecutions and investigations by states that have criminalized reproductive and gender-affirming care that is legal in Vermont. Following today’s 130-13 roll-call vote, the bill will now move to the Senate for further consideration. After passage, House Speaker Jill Krowinski, Rep. Martin LaLonde, Chair of the House Committee on Judiciary, and Rep. Taylor Small spoke on the importance of passing the bill.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported February 8, 2023, that COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations were largely unchanged over the last week. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations decreased to 48 last week (they were as low as 30 last fall). Total cases increased to 509. There were four COVID-related deaths in the last week as total fatalities in Vermont surpassed 900. This brings the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Vermont to 901, as of February 4. Of those, 712 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30.

Vermont State Police The victim in this incident, Wayne Alexander, 62, of Grand Isle, was pronounced deceased at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. An autopsy will be conducted at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington to determine the cause and manner of death. This incident appears to be an accident and is not considered suspicious at this time. The Vermont State Police is investigating after an ice fisherman fell through the ice Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, on Lake Champlain in Grand Isle.

Maple Broadband is bringing high speed future-proof fiber internet to Addison County. Service will be launching later this month in portions of Cornwall, Salisbury, and a small corner of Middlebury. We know you’re eager for faster internet, and we’re working as quickly as safety allows to complete the mainline build so we can get you connected. Fiber internet service is available at speeds of up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) upload and download.

Vermont Business Magazine At a press conference on Thursday with union leaders and rail workers, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, demanded rail companies provide their workers with at least seven paid sick days. Sanders was joined by Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) who voted for the amendment to guarantee sick days to rail workers and representatives from SMART-TD, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes, the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, and the National Association of Chemical Distributors.

by Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison I need to set the record straight regarding recent reporting about the Vermont State Police that contains significant inaccuracies and omissions, and to ensure the public fully understands the complete time line of recent events. I want to be clear: The Vermont State Police and I take all complaints regarding misconduct of state troopers, on duty or off, with the utmost seriousness. At no time did I or anyone else within the state police suggest that an investigation would not be opened; we advised only that additional information was necessary. Once that information was received, we immediately launched a formal internal investigation.

Vermont Business Magazine General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) and GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ: GFS) (GF) today announced a strategic, long-term agreement establishing a dedicated capacity corridor exclusively for GM's chip supply. Through this first-of-its-kind agreement, GF will manufacture for GM's key chip suppliers at GF's advanced semiconductor facility in upstate New York bringing a critical process to the US. GF also has a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Essex Jct, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont continued their slow decent over the last couple of weeks and are now at $3.49 per gallon. Prices are still 9 cents/g higher than a month ago but are now 4 cents/g lower than last year. The national average remains lower than the state average. According to GasBuddy, the highest price found in Vermont was $3.89/g in Island Pond and the lowest was $3.20/g in Middlebury.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is welcoming sixteen participants to the 2023 Climate Catalysts Leadership Program from a strong pool of applicants. The sixteen participants come from across the state and will focus their time on implementing projects addressing topics such as developing town climate actions; expanding outreach regarding weatherization programs; producing an educational series on local manufacturing; and making local food more equitable, affordable and accessible. The Climate Catalysts Leadership Program allows participants to take their transformative, community-scale climate economy related projects and work toward developing their concepts into reality while building peer connections, strengthening leadership skills, and receiving project development support.