Vermont Business Magazine Thirteen Vermont organizations will receive grants to support the arts, accessibility and innovation from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In addition, the Vermont Arts Council has been approved for an $807,740 NEA FY2021 partnership agreement to address arts programs, services and activities throughout Vermont.
Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Community Foundation announced that its charitable giving hit an all-time high in 2020. Powered by Vermonters who stepped up to help vulnerable neighbors during the pandemic, the Community Foundation, its fundholders, and charitable partners made $31.9 million in grants, more than 90 percent of which went directly into Vermont communities. This represents a 24 percent increase from 2019 and more than a 70 percent increase from 2018 grantmaking.
Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that J.A. DeVos & Sons, Inc of North Ferrisburgh was fined $9,000 for delivering gasoline without ensuring proper gasoline vapor recovery. In October 2019, DeVos made a fuel delivery to a gas station in downtown Montpelier. DEC personnel responded later that day to a complaint of gasoline odors inside the neighboring Capitol Plaza Hotel. When contacted about the fuel delivery, the employee indicated that they had failed to use proper vapor recovery methods while filling the gasoline storage tank.
Vermont Business Magazine As part of the state’s increasing efforts to encourage people to get their COVID-19 vaccine, the Health Department has launched a new outreach series featuring Vermonters sharing what getting vaccinated means to them. The new series can be viewed now on the department’s YouTube channel, and will be promoted widely – including on television, streaming services, radio, social media and more. These Vermonters’ words are also being featured in print ads in newspapers across the state.
Vermont Business Magazine The College's 2021 Commencement will take place this coming Thursday, May 13, on the Durick Library Lawn. Saint Michael’s is pleased to be able to celebrate its 114th Commencement in person and with guests. These plans were announced to students on April 14 as a result of changes the State of Vermont has made in its health and safety guidelines. To comply with all State health and safety guidelines, the events will be outdoors and divided into two ceremonies held at the same location, at 10 am for BA degrees and 1 pm for BS and graduate degrees..
Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today announced a settlement with Barre auto dealer Poulin Auto Sales, Inc over complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) concerning Poulin Auto’s business practices, including a deceptive direct mail advertisement. As part of the settlement, Poulin Auto agreed to change certain business practices, pay a civil penalty of $5,000 to the State of Vermont, and provide restitution to consumers totaling $15,000.
Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint "I remember the first time I learned about the Eugenics Survey of Vermont. I was a graduate student in history studying Native American land claims, and my thesis advisor found out that I was a Vermonter. She said, “You have to read Nancy Gallagher’s book, ‘Breeding Better Vermonters: The Eugenics Project in the Green Mountain State’, before you write another word.”
The Vermont State Police is continuing to investigate a shooting incident that took place early April 15, 2021, at a home on West Road in Whiting. As part of the ongoing investigation, state police are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the vehicle pictured below. It is believed the vehicle might be connected to the shooting.
Vermont Business Magazine For many companies, the concept of innovation within their walls can seem overwhelming and outside their capabilities. But innovation expert Josh Linkner maintains that any organization can be innovative if it brings the right perspective to the creative process.
"We think innovation only counts if it is a billion-dollar idea," Linkner said. But as the author and entrepreneur outlines in his latest book, Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results, it is little ideas that can yield the greatest results while serving to "democratize creativity and innovation" by involving all employees of an organization.
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Health Equity Initiative, a community partner organization managed by The Vermont Professionals of Color Network, announces a commitment to providing COVID-19 vaccination clinics for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Vermonters and their households through July 10. The clinics are being offered with support from the Vermont Department of Health and City of Burlington.
Vermont Business Magazine In a letter sent to the Agency of Education (AOE) today, the ACLU and the Disability Law Project of Vermont Legal Aid are calling for an end to funding school police with Medicaid reimbursements. With assistance from the Police Out of Schools Coalition and Neighbors for a Safer St. Albans, the groups recently learned that AOE has allowed at least two Vermont school systems – Maple Run Unified School District in St Albans and North Country Supervisory Union – to use Medicaid funds to pay for school cops, an apparent violation of state law.
Vermont Business Magazine The Champlain Valley Exposition announced today that the Champlain Valley Fair, "the ten best days of summer," is a go! Vermont’s largest annual event returns August 27, 2021 and will run through September 5, 2021, in Essex Junction.