Current News

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Vermont Business Magazine Following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in late-February, US Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) submitted written questions for the record for Bureau of Prisons Director Collette Peters, continuing to push the Director on why Vermont remains one of only two states without a Residential Reentry Center (RRC) despite the support from the Vermont Congressional Delegation, federal stakeholders, and the Vermont’s legal community. In the hearing Sen. Welch reiterated his, and the Delegation’s, support for a Residential Reentry Center, and expressed his intention to continue advocating for an RRC in Vermont.

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Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), will lead the committee in a hearing this Thursday, March 14 at 10:00 a.m. ET titled “Workers Should Benefit from New Technology and Increased Productivity: The Need for a 32-Hour Work Week with No Loss in Pay.” 

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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police arrested a suspect in connection with two suspicious deaths discovered Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in the village of Orleans. Cirell Brown, 23, of Orleans is facing two counts of second-degree murder. He was held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Newport. The incident was reported at about 5:05 p.m. Tuesday at a home on Water Street. First responders discovered the bodies of a man and a woman at the residence. Based on witness statements and preliminary evidence, the victims have been identified as the residents who lived in Apartment B at 22 Water Street, Paula Broe, 61, and Steven Luisi, 65.

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Vermont Business Magazine The Community College of Vermont (CCV) has partnered with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and Microsoft to deliver a free cyber skills course for Vermonters. The course is made possible by a grant from AACC and Microsoft, and funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The one-credit class, Foundations of Information Security, will be offered in a Flex format, meaning students can participate remotely and at their own pace. Students will examine the issues of online threats, build cyber awareness, and learn personal and professional strategies for reducing vulnerabilities. 

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Vermont Business Magazine Whether or not you earned income in 2023, you may qualify for a financial boost from tax credits including the Vermont Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Each tax year, one in five people miss out on thousands of dollars in tax refunds from the government because they are unaware of these existing credits. These tax credits are designed to help compensate people in Vermont while also providing economic stimulus to our state. In the 2022 tax year, 34,000 Vermonters received an average EITC of $1,957. Combined with 3SquaresVT, Vermont’s name for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), EITC works to increase economic security and put food on the table for thousands of families throughout the state.

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Vermont Business Magazine The University of New England has announced that Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will deliver the University’s 2024 Commencement address on Saturday, May 18. UNE’s 189th Commencement Ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. Sanders is serving his third term in the Senate after winning reelection in 2018. He gained strong support during his two runs for president, coming in second in both the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries. Combined with his 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Sanders is the longest-serving independent member of Congress in U.S. history.

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Vermont Business Magazine Smokey House Center and Vermont State University were recently awarded a $995,146 grant through the Northern Border Regional Commission’s (NBRC) Forest Economy Program that will fund two exciting collaborative initiatives focused on research and innovation in the region’s forest sector. Funds to Vermont State University will support the expansion of the Forestry Accelerator program housed by Do North Coworking in Lyndonville that will help emerging companies in the forest sector bring their products to market. Smokey House Center’s 5,000-acre property will serve as a platform for piloting products and technologies developed through the innovation hub program.  

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by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Exactly four years ago today marks the first COVID-related press conference in Vermont. It was held outside the entrance to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. COVID had spread from Asia and across Europe in January 2020 and hit the Unted States later that month (though testing suggests it was already here in December 2019). The US confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on January 20, 2020, and the first death on February 6. The first case in Vermont was confirmed March 7 and the first deaths occurred on March 19, a male in White River Jct and a female in Burlington. The Vermont Department of Health was very circumspect on revealing who may have contracted COVID in order to protect personal information. That first presser at the hospital was held outside as a precaution. Information was moving fast but with much uncertainty with the spreading of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). 

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by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that COVID-19 cases fell steeply from over 200 to 112, their lowest level since early fall. In addition, hospitalizations continue to decline, and fatalities have fallen back after running about 6 a week this year. There was one fatality in this report, which is the fewest weekly number since last summer. The pandemic death total now stands at 1,132 as of March 2, 2024 (the most recent data available). Total reported deaths in January were 28, which is the highest monthly total in nearly a year, but only 15 so far for February and none so far reported in March. The VDH reported last week that COVID-19 hospitalizations were down another 5 to a statewide total of 17, which is the lowest they've been in several months.

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Vermont Business Magazine Sunny Eappen, MD, MBA, President and CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network, has been recognized by Becker's Hospital Review as a “CEO to Know” in rural health care. With a relentless pursuit of innovation to address the longstanding challenges unique to rural communities, an emphasis on teamwork and problem-solving, and a focus on always putting patients first, Dr. Eappen has led the Network forward on initiatives to preserve and improve access to care in Vermont and Northern New York. Dr. Eappen’s team has made strides in enhancing digital access and strengthening connections among rural providers and patients. The implementation of shared electronic medical records, eConsults, and digital image archiving have facilitated communication and improved patient care.

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Vermont Business Magazine The VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region offers weekly grief support groups in April and May. The groups are facilitated by Lori Rogers, Spiritual Care Coordinator at the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, and Jamie Losikoff-Kent, LCSW and Hospice Volunteer. The Manchester group will meet every Wednesday, beginning April 3 through May 29, from 1-2 pm. The Bennington group will meet every Thursday, beginning April 4 through May 30, from 4:00-5:00 pm. Group support meetings are free and open to the public. The Living with Loss Grief Support groups provides grief support to anyone in the community who has lost a loved one. Groups often allow participants to process their grief, share and receive helpful coping strategies, and create a community with others walking a similar path.

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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Business Roundtable’s Research and Education Foundation has unveiled an innovative report highlighting the pressing demand for skilled nursing professionals in the state within the next two years. According to the Vermont Department of Labor, the healthcare industry accounts for nearly 12% of Vermont’s workforce, employing more than 37,000 people as of the third quarter 2023. However, the sector has seen a decline of 1700 jobs, or approximately 4.5% compared to the same period in 2019. Nowhere is the shortage more acute than in residential care, where employment numbers have dropped by 11% since 2019. In comparison, both ambulatory (out-patient) and hospital employment numbers have decreased by 3% for the same period.