Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation gratefully accepted a $25,000 donation from the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation last week. The contribution will help fund Vision 2020, A Decade of Transformation Capital Campaign, the hospital’s largest project in more than 30 years. The funds will help enhance the emergency and cancer care services available to residents regionwide.

Vermont Business Magazine Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has elevated Margaret Pinello-White to the newly created role of Chief Administrative Officer. Growing up on a working dairy farm in Randolph Center, Pinello-White learned at an early age the value of hard work and being resourceful. She has drawn on those skills during her 14 years with the Blue Cross, working in a wide variety of roles. Starting as a human resources specialist, she has also been a worksite health and wellness coordinator, benefits manager, and most recently the director of human resources and facilities.

Vermont Business Magazine Join the SBA Vermont District Office for a virtual workshop at noon January 11 about COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan repayment. Topics include: Creating a Capital Access Financial System account; Making payments and tracking EIDL account; Q&A.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont have risen 4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.39/g today, according to GasBuddy. Prices are down 24 cents from a month ago and are up 7 cents from one year ago. The lowest price in the state is $2.99 in Brattleboro and the highest is $3.69 in Burlington. The national average price of gasoline has risen 8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.25/g today.

by Megan Sullivan, Tino Rutanhira and Kelly Stoddard Poor In the past year, local news outlets have covered recurring instances of essential housing projects being delayed by one, or a few people. Stories from Jericho, South Burlington, Middlebury, Williston, Castleton, Waterbury, Morristown, Burlington, Winooski, Hartford, Putney, and others, highlight how easy it is to obstruct housing progress in Vermont. Legislators of all parties, businesses from all industries, and communities across the state, agree that housing is the foundational challenge for Vermont right now. We can no longer allow state and local regulatory processes to be weaponized to derail housing opportunities.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont (UVM), Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC), and the Urban Institute today released the second round of findings from the Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) initiative in Vermont, one of five states participating in the voluntary five-year effort (with support from Arnold Ventures) to gather data and spur innovation to make prisons safer, more humane, and rehabilitative. Results of the 2022 PRIN survey study show continued challenges facing staff and incarcerated individuals in Springfield. Majorities of both groups pointed to understaffing, low morale, poor mental health, and lack of activities for incarcerated individuals that promote their well-being and build meaningful skills at the time the surveys were conducted in June of 2022.

Leonine Public Affairs The Vermont General Assembly convened last Wednesday for the 2023-2024 legislative biennium. For the first time since January 2020, the legislative session opened fully in-person, with families and friends accompanying newly elected lawmakers for the swearing-in ceremony.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets is now requesting applications from Vermont businesses interested in vending inside the Vermont Building at the 2023 Big E! The Vermont Building is one of six New England buildings on the Avenue of the States at the Big E, a 17-day fair and exposition that takes place each September in West Springfield, MA.

Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS It was a relief to witness a relatively smooth opening to the legislative session here in Vermont. As with anything, there were one or two bumps in the road, including a discussion about how mental health should not be differentiated from health.

by James Dwinell, Vermont Business Magazine The week before Christmas, VermontBiz conducted a remote interview with Governor Phil Scott. Correspondent James Dwinell led the discussion and was joined by VB Editor Timothy McQuiston. The interview looked forward to the new year, the upcoming legislative session and Scott’s fourth — and perhaps final — term. His inaugural speech on January 5 contained many of the themes found here. Scott did not, however, offer any hint of his future political plans.

Vermont Business Magazine The US General Services Administration (GSA) is holding a public meeting on Thursday, January 12 to discuss expansion of the Highgate border crossing that sits at the northern end of Interstate 89. As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into law last year, $169 million has been allocated to upgrade the Highgate crossing, one of New England’s busiest land ports of entry (LPOE). The LPOE is expected to see a 30 percent increase in traffic with the completion of Canada Autoroute-35 (A-35) connecting to I-89 at the international border. GSA is proposing to construct larger facilities to provide for the long term and efficient flow of current and projected traffic volumes.