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Bennington College Prison Education Initiative awarded $40,000 Cabrini Foundation

Wed, 02/24/2021 - 4:52pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Bennington College’s Prison Education Initiative (PEI) has been awarded a grant of $40,000 from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. Now in its sixth year, PEI brings Bennington College faculty to Great Meadow Correctional Facility, a maximum-security men’s prison in Comstock, NY, to provide a quality liberal arts education to incarcerated students. This grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation will allow PEI to serve more students while expanding its course offerings and increasing student services and academic support.

GMP microgrid in Panton will keep the lights on during outages

Wed, 02/24/2021 - 3:29pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power (GMP) will break ground this spring on a cutting-edge utility microgrid in Panton, Vermont, pioneering a new way to keep the power on for residents, farms and municipal buildings in the town center during power outages. A microgrid is essentially a smaller grid that can operate independently, disconnecting from the larger grid during outages. Panton is the perfect place for this innovative work because it leverages GMP’s existing 4.9-megawatt solar facility with utility-scale batteries already up and running in the town. This project is unique because GMP is believed to be the first utility in the country to island a distribution circuit using inverter-based sources with no reliance on fossil fuel generation backup.

ACCD: Gathering, travel, PPP guidance, 65+ vaccine sign up Monday, webinar Wednesday

Wed, 02/24/2021 - 1:10pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Tuesday announced an update to the state’s policy on gatherings, as the new travel quarantine policy (announced on February 19th) went into effect. Effective today, people who are fully vaccinated may travel to Vermont and return from out-of-state travel without quarantine restrictions, once 14 days have passed from when they received their final dose. Additionally, people who meet this vaccination criteria may now gather with one other household at a time. Also, ACCD will hold its weekly webinar, in partnership with the Department of Health and the Vermont Retailers and Grocers’ Association, to answer questions and offer business updates on Wednesday, February 24th at 3 pm.

M&T to acquire People's United Bank in $7.6 billion deal

Wed, 02/24/2021 - 12:14pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Buffalo-based M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) and Connecticut-based People’s United Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: PBCT) announced Monday that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which M&T will acquire People’s United in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.6 billion. It will create the 11th largest banking institution in the nation. People's acquired Burlington-based Chittenden Bank, now People's United Bank, in a $1.9 billion deal announced in 2007.

Burlington City Council unanimously passes CityPlace agreement

Wed, 02/24/2021 - 10:33am -- tim

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine In a special meeting Tuesday night called by Mayor Miro Weinberger, the Burlington City Council voted unanimously to resolve litigation and execute the newly negotiated Amended and Restated (A&R) Development Agreement with the Developer of CityPlace Burlington. This is the next step in reconnecting St Paul and Pine streets and then rebuilding the demolished central section of the downtown mall and refurbishing the existing buildings. It requires developer Devonwood Investors to reconnect the streets at their expense that were cut off 40 years ago when the mall was first built.

PC's $321 million water supply program increases Atlanta’s emergency water reserve

Wed, 02/24/2021 - 4:58am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine PC Construction in South Burlington and its joint venture partner, HJ Russell, have completed a major, five-year water supply program project that has helped the City of Atlanta secure a water contingency plan for the first time in its history. The $321 million construction management-at-risk project – which is the largest water supply project the State of Georgia has ever undertaken – will provide the City with a reliable supply of drinking water for the next 100 years, increasing the emergency raw water reserve from three days to more than 30 days. 

Union Mutual partners with Flo Tech for Smart Home water security program

Wed, 02/24/2021 - 3:26am -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Union Mutual and Flo Technologies, the leader in smart home water loss prevention recently announced a partnership to provide qualifying customers with a discounted Flo by Moen Smart Water Shutoff and professional installation by a verified Moen Plumbing Network professional. The Flo by Moen Smart Water Shutoff attaches to a home’s main water line to prevent water damage and water loss by proactively detecting micro-leaks and other vulnerabilities anywhere in a home’s water supply.

VDH COVID-19 update: New rules for gathering, travel and signing up to get vaccinated

Tue, 02/23/2021 - 6:07pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced an update to the state’s policy on gatherings, travel policy and those 65 and older can sign up to get vaccinated starting Monday. Effective today, people who are fully vaccinated may now gather with one other household at time. A new travel quarantine policy (announced February 19) also began today. People who are fully vaccinated may travel to Vermont and return from out of state travel without quarantine restrictions. Fully vaccinated means 14 days have passed since your final dose. Beginning on March 1, Vermonters age 65 and older will be able to make their appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Court rules Newport store must comply with governor's executive order

Tue, 02/23/2021 - 5:55pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Orleans Superior Court, Judge Mary Miles Teachout presiding, today granted the State’s motion for a temporary restraining order, ordering HNR Desautels LLC, currently believed to be doing business as Derby Port Press, and its owner, Andre “Michael” Desautels, to stop violating Governor Scott’s Executive Order and Addenda. Attorney General TJ Donovan filed a civil lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the Newport business from violating Governor Scott’s Executive Order and Addenda. In its complaint, the State of Vermont alleged that the Defendants were in violation of Governor Scott’s orders by working in the presence of others without wearing required cloth face coverings.

Vaccination sign up for people 65 and older begins Monday

Tue, 02/23/2021 - 5:48pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine Beginning on March 1, Vermonters age 65 and older will be able to make their appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Vermonters 65 years old and above will be able to make an appointment online at healthvermont.gov/MyVaccine starting at 8:15 am on Monday. Anyone who has previously been eligible to receive a vaccine continues to be eligible and can make their appointments now. If you are in the 65-69 age group, please do not call to make an appointment until March 1.

PAI: Wages fall short of workers’ basic needs

Tue, 02/23/2021 - 5:40pm -- tim

by Julie Lowell, Public Assets Institute How much income does a person need to live? The Joint Fiscal Office’s January release of its biennial Vermont Basic Needs Budgets and Livable Wage report answers this question. Unfortunately, it reminds us that not all Vermonters are able to meet their basic needs. In 2020 livable income levels for full-time workers ranged from nearly $13 an hour for people without children in rural Vermont to nearly $42 an hour for a single parent with two children in the Burlington area – about $27,000 and $87,000 a year respectively. The report details the cost of basic needs for seven Vermont household configurations, adjusting expenses based on household size and type: one or two parents, children, urban or rural. Needs include food, housing, transportation, childcare, health care and other costs.

Labor Dept mailing out new 1099-G tax forms to unemployment claimants

Tue, 02/23/2021 - 5:33pm -- tim

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) is finalizing validation efforts this week and working with the Department of Buildings and General Services to print and mail new 1099-G tax forms by the beginning of next week to all 2020 unemployment insurance claimants. This is a result of the processing issue that occurred on January 29, 2021, when a series of incorrect 1099-G tax forms were sent to unemployment insurance claimants from the Department of Labor. On February 1, 2021, the Department began receiving reports that some 1099-G documents contained information for different claimants. The Department of Labor immediately stopped all 1099-G mailing efforts, launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the processing issue, notified claimants and recalled all VDOL 1099-Gs, and began a plan to reissue new 1099-Gs to all 2020 claimants.

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