Vermont Business Magazine State reports strong tax revenue results for March; Unemployment rate falls two-tenths to 2.7 percent in March; Bill Stenger gets 18 months for role in AnC Vermont EB-5 case; Quiros gets five years, fined over $8 million, for EB-5 fraud; DFR Commissioner Mike Pieciak to step down in May; GMCB cuts hospital rate request; Inaugural Vermont State University president named; and more.
Vermont Business Magazine The Tenth Annual Veterans Summit will be held on Northern Vermont University’s Lyndon Campus on Wednesday, June 3, and veterans, military families, and all who care about veteran's issues are invited to attend. Sebastian Junger, bestselling author, will be the keynote speaker for this year’s event. Junger is the author of Tribe, about soldiers’ struggles adjusting to life back home, and War, about American soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. His documentary Restrepo — which he shot, directed, and produced with photojournalist Tim Hetherington — won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar the following year.
Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids is marching towards summer with the release of a specialty pilsner as refreshing as the season itself. Scrag Mountain Pils Salt & Lime, a salt and lime infused Czech-style pilsner, is now available for a limited time at retailers throughout Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 403 cases of COVID-19 for Thursday (587 Wednesday). Cases have edged up in recent weeks, especially in Bennington and Rutland counties. Hospitalizations were up to 75 earlier this week, fell to 52 and are now at 69 statewide. VDH also reported today no additional deaths from the virus. The total death toll is 648 lives lost. There are nine reported deaths in May so far. There were 18 deaths in April, which surpassed March's total (17).
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Legislature finalized the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget this week. Notably, the bill includes $60.4 million designated for the Vermont State Colleges System: $45.5 million in the system’s annual appropriation and $14.9 million in one-time funding. This historic investment in the system and in the thousands of Vermonters served by the institutions each year is particularly notable, as the state boosted the annual allocation to the VSC by $10 million.
Vermont Business Magazine Nationally recognized fundraiser and advancement leader Monica Delisa was named president and chief executive officer of the University of Vermont Foundation today by the foundation’s Board of Trustees. The appointment follows a competitive national search that attracted experienced industry leaders from across the country. When she assumes leadership of the foundation on June 1, Delisa will guide and inspire approximately 80 staff members dedicated to leveraging connections with alumni and friends to continue and build on UVM’s success as a premier public research university.
Saint Michael's College Some 409 undergraduates and 73 graduate students are expected to participate as “walkers” in the Commencement ceremony. The Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2022 will be Dan Misleh, founder of the Catholic Climate Covenant -- a partnership of 20 national Catholic organizations engaged in a serious and sustained conversation about climate change, focused on promotion of the common good, protection of the poor, and the exercise of prudence. The Commencement for the Class of 2022 will be held on Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 10 a.m. in an outdoor ceremony (rain or shine) on the Saint Michael’s College campus.
Vermont State Police On May 12, 2022 at approximately 2023 hours The Vermont State Police were notified of an untimely death by the Rochester Fire Department. The fire department discovered a deceased male in the woods while they were extinguishing a wildland fire on Jones Mountain Road in Rochester. Scene examination revealed that the deceased was located in the woods approximately 200 yards east of a homestead. It appears the deceased had been attempting to suppress the fire by himself. There is no indication that the fire was the result of direct human involvement and does not appear to be a criminal event.
Vermont Business Magazine Employees of Centerpoint School-Northeastern Family Institute Vermont today voted 14-0 to unionize, the latest organizing victory in a wave of unionization efforts in Vermont and throughout the country. The new union – the Centerpoint Education Association – will become part of the 13,000-member Vermont-NEA. Staff at the Community Health Centers of Burlington recently won a union, and bus drivers for the South Burlington School District voted to unionize several months ago.
Vermont Business Magazine Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) announced its strategic decision to close five health centers and expand days of operation at seven health centers to ensure the organization is sustainable and able to meet the needs of the region, patients, and staff long term. PPNNE will expand the days of operation to a minimum of four or five days per week at all other health centers and will continue to operate its Telehealth program which has grown tremendously throughout the pandemic.
Department seeks bids for comprehensive health services at the state’s six correctional facilities
Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, the Vermont Department of Corrections issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from parties seeking to provide health services to the state’s incarcerated population. This is the latest development in the Department’s continued effort to best align internal health services with the community standard of care and adapt to the changing healthcare landscape.
Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott delivered his annual adjournment address to lawmakers Thursday evening, marking the end of the 2022 legislative session and the 2021-2022 biennium. At the beginning of the session, Governor Scott outlined the once-in-a-generation opportunity before lawmakers with record surpluses and the infusion of federal recovery funds. As a result, the State will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in climate change mitigation, housing, economic development and community recovery, critical infrastructure like broadband, water, sewer and stormwater systems, and more.