ACEDC Applications for Economic Recovery Grants for Vermont small businesses are still being accepted and funds remain available. If you are a business with at least one non-owner W-2 employee that suffered a 50% or greater loss in any one month period, and you meet other eligibility criteria, you should apply. Deadlines for some grant programs are fast approaching.

Vermont Business Magazine OneCare Vermont has partnered with statewide health organizations to launch an online learning system for Vermonters and health care providers. Vermont Health Learn (VTHL) was developed in collaboration with the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont Blueprint for Health within the Department of Vermont Health Access.

by John McClaughry In this election season almost every candidate is promising to deliver “more affordable health care!” Most of them are at least subconsciously thinking  “I’ll support legislation to have the government compel somebody else to pay more of your health care costs. That ‘somebody else’ includes, variously, the taxpayers, your employer, others in your insurance pool, and the providers themselves.”

Vermont Business Magazine Any time it’s not possible to keep a 6-foot distance from others who are not part of your household, the Vermont law requires you wear a facial covering beginning August 1. This includes both indoor and outdoor public spaces and group living settings (for example, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, apartment and condo complexes). Governor Scott had been leaving it up to Vermonters to "do the right thing" and where a mask in these situations, but as cases around the nation surged in July, he is now mandating mask wearing starting on Saturday. As of today, the Vermont Department of Health is reporting two cases of COVID-19 for a statewide total of 1,402, which is the fewest cases in any state.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with a branch in Vermont, announced today record quarterly earnings for the second quarter and year-to-date 2020. Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, was $1,637,173 or $0.52 per share compared to $1,563,045 or $0.50 per share for the same period in 2019, an increase of $74,128 or 4.7%. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2020, was $3,258,112 or $1.03 per share compared to $2,870,804 or $0.91 per share for the same period in 2019, an increase of $387,308 or 13.5%.