by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine For Burlington, July 29, 2022, was a red-letter day. The Queen City witnessed - and celebrated - the return of regularly scheduled intercity passenger rail service after a 69-year hiatus, as Amtrak extended its geographic reach for the first time since 2017. The launch brought the national passenger rail provider's Ethan Allen Express train 67 miles north of its previous northern terminus, Rutland. The daily train's southern terminus is New York City's Penn Station. The daily service will traverse the 308 miles between there and Burlington Union Station in just over seven and a half hours, leaving southbound at 10:10 am and arriving back in Burlington at 9:55 pm. The newly served stops also include Middlebury and Ferrisburgh-Vergennes.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Department of Health identified a positive case of human monkeypox virus infection, or hMPXV, in Vermont. The patient, an adult from Franklin County, is at home recovering under the supervision of their physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center, in coordination with the Vermont Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Confirmatory testing is being performed at the CDC. At UVM Medical Center, a multidisciplinary team has been coordinating preparedness for Monkeypox, and will continue to work with the Vermont Department of Health and CDC.

Vermont’s Department of Public Safety has announced a new public safety initiative, called SURVIVERMONT. This program is a community caretaking initiative created to educate and empower Vermonters with actions they can take to protect themselves and family members if they are confronted with an active shooter or violent threat situation. Supported by a grant from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, SURVIVERMONT combines three easy-to-remember concepts from established federal public safety programs: See Something, Say Something; Run, Hide and Fight; and Stop the Bleed. They've also added more sessions.

​Vermont Business Magazine Casella Waste Systems, Inc of Rutland reported its financial results on Thursday, which show a strong second quarter. The company raised its revenue, net income, Adjusted EBITDA, net cash provided by operating activities, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow guidance ranges for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. And for the first time in Casella's history, consolidated revenues surpassed $1.0 billion for the 12 months ended June 30, 2022.

Vermont Auditor of Accounts Vermont policymakers have grappled for years with how to tackle the state’s persistent homelessness challenge. Prior to the pandemic, Vermont’s Point-in-Time (PIT) Count – an annual one-day snapshot of persons experiencing homelessness – hovered around 1,100 people, but the number increased significantly during the pandemic. We conclude that Vermont has spent more than $455 million in the last six years, with $300 million of that just in the last two. Throughout that time period, 200-300 households per night were typically housed in state-funded motel rooms. By April 2021, more than a year into the pandemic, there were more than 2,000 households staying in a motel or hotel funded by the GA Emergency Housing program. While these investments benefited the many Vermonters who received shelter, services, financial support, and/or new housing, it is not clear that there is a unified vision of what a steady state system to address homelessness should look like.