Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and First Lady Diana McTeague Scott today received their COVID-19 vaccinations at a clinic run by the Vermont Department of Health at Montpelier High School. Both the Governor and the First Lady received the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson.
Vermont Business Magazine Scott Giles, president and CEO, Vermont Student Assistance Corp commented today on the US Department of Education’s expanded ‘pause’ on federal student loan interest and collections for defaulted FFEL loans. On March 30, 2021, the US Department of Education (Department) announced an expansion of the pause on federal student loan interest and collections to all defaulted loans in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. This action will help more than one million additional borrowers burdened by debt during the COVID-19 emergency.
The Vermont State Police is investigating an incident in which a pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 91 southbound in the town of Hartland at about 5:50 am Monday, April 5, 2021. Investigators determined that a tractor trailer driven by Gary Starr, 66, of Jay was southbound on the interstate when it became disabled, and Starr pulled over into the breakdown lane. He had activated his four-way flashers and set up several traffic triangles behind his vehicle. For unknown reasons, Starr was walking in the southbound travel lane of I-91 when a 2013 Dodge Dart driven by Tristan Blanchard, 35, of North Springfield came around a bend in the highway and struck Starr.
Vermont Business Magazine Women Business Owners Network (WBON) announces a new annual partnership with Vermont Federal Credit Union. WBON board member, Pat Heffernan, said becoming an annual partner shows an organization is committed to supporting participation by current and aspiring women business owners in a gender-equal economy.
by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Regular weekly unemployment claims nearly doubled last week as claimants were required to refile. Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said on Friday that the pandemic hit one year ago. The annual refiling then triggered the increase. On March 28, 2020, the Labor Department reported 1,511 new weekly filings, an increase of 729. This week's filings, which are a recent high, are, however, 13,122 fewer than the same time last year.
Vermont Business Magazine The nonpartisan Campaign for Vermont on Friday released a list of bills in the Vermont Legislature that are still active. If a bill does not make crossover it will likely have to wait until next year for final passage. That being said, making the crossover deadline does not guarantee a bill will pass or that it won't change significantly before it does. So, now that that's out of the way. What bills have already made crossover you ask? Here is a breakdown (items in bold are new since the Campaign for Vermont's last update).
by Jen Kimmich I am a proud Vermonter. Born and raised in this state, my husband and I made Vermont our home because there is no place that we love more. We cherish the land, the people, even the muddy roads and drastic weather. My young parents moved here from Jersey City, NJ, where their life had been difficult. They had heard about this place called Vermont – a place with beautiful and affordable land, and even more important to them at the time, a safe place to raise their children. With very little money, two little boys, and a Volkswagen full of their belongings, they arrived in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1971; I was born the following year.
Vermont Business Magazine Technology-related employment in Vermont is poised to accelerate in 2021 and could surpass 22,600 workers by year’s end, according to CompTIA. CompTIA’s Cyberstates 2021 report shows that at the end of 2020 net tech employment in Vermont totaled 22,509 workers, 6.8% of the state’s overall workforce. The estimated median wage of $75,828 for tech workers is 71% more than the median wage for all occupations in the state. Vermont is home to more than 2,000 tech businesses and the tech sector has a direct impact of $2.6 billion on the state’s economy, 8.3% of the total.
Vermont Business Magazine Resident ownership has long been on the minds of the residents at the former Sterling View Mobile Home Park, but now that it is a reality, the new cooperative is anxious to get to work. The homeowners in Sterling View Mobile Home Park, a 55-plus community of 113 homes that sits 30 miles north of Montpelier, formed Sterling View Cooperative Community and purchased the land and infrastructure for $3.25 million on Friday afternoon from Kenneth & Martha Harvey.
Vermont Business Magazine A new federally funded Vermont Emergency Rental Assistance Program (VERAP) will launch in early April 2021 and provide aid to eligible residents of Vermont who cannot pay their rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. VERAP will be administered by the Vermont State Housing Authority (VSHA) with an online application provided by ReFrame Solutions, call center, and case management services from BPO American and a comprehensive outreach and marketing campaign by Fourteen G, all leading experts in their field.
Vermont Business Magazine Healthy Living Market and Café today announces that a combined $49,167 has been donated to food banks in each of its three communities as a result of its round-up campaign, Together We Can Help. With each Healthy Living location having chosen its own beneficiary, four organizations received a donation for the 2020 fundraising campaign. In Vermont, $24,701 will be provided to Feeding Chittenden and $18,904 to the South Burlington Food Shelf — with all of the Williston location’s donations going to Feeding Chittenden, and the South Burlington Food Shelf and Feeding Chittenden receiving a 50/50 split of the South Burlington location’s round-up proceeds. In Saratoga, the Wilton Food Pantry and the Franklin Community Center Food Shelf have each received $3,186.
Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will hold a series of virtual meetings on the American Rescue Plan (ARP) on Wednesday, April 7, and Thursday, April 8, with Vermont small businesses, municipalities, and public libraries. The ARP, the coronavirus relief package enacted in March, is bringing substantial federal funding to Vermont, including $1.3 billion in state and local aid, assistance to small businesses, and over $2 million in additional funding for public libraries. The ARP is also bringing direct aid to individuals through stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, food assistance, and critical investments in housing, health care, and education.