By Anne Wallace Allen and Erin Petenko/VTDigger Reforming the state’s short-term rental regulations will be a top priority of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce in the coming legislative session. The association aims to level the playing field for members that operate traditional lodging businesses. The chamber will ask lawmakers to establish a registration system for short-term rentals such…

By Ellie French/VTDigger The Vermont Foodbank has received its largest ever donation, from MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The $9 million donation is part of a $4.2 billion burst of donations Scott announced this week in a post on Medium called “384 ways to help,” referencing the 384 organizations she’s donating…

Attorney General T.J. Donovan and a bipartisan coalition of 47 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc. on Dec. 9, alleging that the company illegally stifles competition to protect its monopoly power. The lawsuit alleges that, over the last decade, the social networking giant illegally acquired competitors in a predatory manner and cut…

A new partnership to speed economic recovery in Vermont by strengthening public and community spaces Governor Phil Scott, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Vermont Community Foundation announced $90,000 in grant funding to launch Better Places on Dec. 9, a statewide initiative that aims to speed economic recovery by creating places…

On any given night during the cold month of January, over 568,000 people experience the fear and discomfort of homelessness. While homelessness rates fell between 2007 and 2019, the problem has started to increase again. According to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in 2017, the U.S. began seeing a rise in…

To help Vermonters stay up to date on the latest Covid guidance and information, Governor Phil Scott encouraged Vermonters to register for Vermont Alert (VT-ALERT), the state’s emergency notification system. “As Covid-19 continues to be prevalent in the state, Vermonters need convenient access to the information that will help keep themselves and their neighbors safe,…

Governor Phil Scott and the Dept. of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has announced over $2.9 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awards to 10 communities in seven counties and $243,853 in CDBG CARES Act funding (CDBG-CV) awards to eight communities throughout the state. DHCD awards approximately $7 million annually in competitive grants to…

$908 billion Covid relief bill stalls over protecting companies from lawsuits By Kit Norton/VTDigger Unless Congress acts, the government will shut down Friday, Dec. 11, and Covid relief funding will expire Dec. 31. Both of Vermont’s senators are up in arms about the lack of action by Senate Republicans. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Senate…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Education property taxes could rise an average of 9% next year, mostly as a result of the pandemic-induced recession, new pension obligations and, to a lesser extent, rising school spending, Vermont’s tax commissioner said earlier this month. This prediction was laid out in the so-called Dec. 1 Letter, a document the department is required…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Castleton University, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College should all become one school, and the state should more than double its investment in the state college system, at least in the short term. Those are the key items in a long-awaited package of preliminary recommendations issued Friday, Dec. 4, by a special legislative panel.…

By Katie Jickling/VTDigger If all goes smoothly, doses of a Covid -19 vaccine could be distributed throughout Vermont this week, but likely won't be administered to anyone until next week. Doctors, state officials, and nursing home administrators are scrambling to get ready to offer the first doses, which will go to high-risk Vermonters.  Medical teams are…

Governor Phil Scott is encouraging families and businesses to help show that "Vermont Lights the Way," an effort to literally brighten communities and neighborhoods around the state by decorating homes, businesses, trees or other creative ideas to help celebrate the holidays during the pandemic. “I know how hard this pandemic has been, especially as we…

Opportunities, challenges identified for workforce development The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. released a study this week that examines postsecondary enrollment and completion patterns among Vermont students at two-year schools. This follow-up study of the Vermont high school class of 2012 examines such themes as preparedness for college, full-time versus part-time enrollment, and barriers to degree…

By Ellie French/VTDigger For 30 years, Susan Stoutes worked for Tuttle Printing and Engraving in Rutland. But in March, along with thousands of other Vermonters, she was laid off as the pandemic hammered businesses across the state. Armed with an art degree from the 1970s and 40 hours a week of newly found free time, Stoutes…

Governor Phil Scott announced on Nov. 19, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) has relaunched the state’s Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) Incentive Program with a new round of $950,000 in incentive funding available to income-qualified applicants to purchase or lease new PEVs. The program was first proposed by Governor Phil Scott in his FY2020 budget,…