Vermont reporters provide a roundup of ongoing local coverage of the coronavirus, a march against racial injustice in Burlington, and more for Monday, July 6.
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State reports two more cases of COVID-19
The Vermont Health Department reported two new cases of COVID-19 Monday, one in Chittenden County, the state's most populous county, and one in Essex County, which has the fewest people in the state.
The two positive tests for coronavirus came back among 327 negative tests. Over 70,000 tests have been administered in Vermont, identifying 1,251 cases of the disease.
More than 1,000 people are reported to have recovered, and 56 people have died to date.
- Amy Kolb Noyes and Elodie Reed
Sophie Zdatny named new chancellor of Vermont State Colleges
The interim chancellor of the Vermont State College System will become its next chancellor.
Sophie Xdatny has led the state college system since former Chancellor Jeb Spaulding resigned in April. He left after a failed proposal to close three state college campuses.
On Monday, the system's board of trustees voted unanimously to offer Zdatny the role.
Zdatny has been with the organization for six years. She accepted a renewable one-year contract.
- Amy Kolb Noyes
Vermont becomes first state to require private residents to compost
Vermont residents and businesses are now required to dispose of food scraps in either a backyard compost or at a commercial composting site. The new law went into effect July 1.
Dana Gunders, the executive director at ReFED, a national nonprofit organization that works to end food waste, said Vermont is leading the way in addressing the environmental consequences of food waste.
"There is no other state that has made it to the point where they're asking their residents to compost," Gunders said. "And so Vermonters are really setting a standard for the rest of the country by doing that."
Gunders said the law will also help Vermont farmers by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving water and improving soil quality.
Listen to the full conversation, as heard on Vermont Edition.
- Emily Aiken
Vermont's wedding industry calls for flexibility in federal relief
Members of Vermont's wedding industry have suffered terrible economic losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they're hoping a federal recovery program will allow them to survive until next year.
There are many businesses within this sector of the Vermont economy, including photographers, florists, bakers, event planners, rental equipment companies and hotels.
Mike Lubas is a partner in the Vermont Tent Company, in Essex Junction. He said it's been a very tough spring and summer season.
"Most businesses in this industry are faced with an 80-90% loss of revenue, with some experiencing a loss close to 100%," Lubas said. "We have seen clients postpone and cancel their events each and every day since this crisis started, and there is very little new business coming through our doors."
The Vermont Wedding Association is seeking more flexibility with federal recovery funds to help them deal with their current economic crisis.
While most wedding related businesses have experienced many cancellations this year, a number say their bookings for next year are very good.
That's why they're seeking the flexibility to use federal recovery funds to provide them with interest-free loans as a "bridge" to next season.
Lon Finkelstein, CFO of the Vermont Tent Company, said "The real question is how do we get from here to there? And I see lots of faces and everybody's shaking their heads the same way. It's like, OK, what can we do? We're not really looking for a handout, but it's an integral part of who we are and what we do."
Congressman Peter Welch said he'll work on legislation to create the loan program.
He said one way to help is to extend unemployment benefits for self-employed people and independent contractors until the end of the year.
"My orientation is to err on the side of doing too much too soon," Welch said. "I'd much rather make that mistake than doing to little too late, because if we can't get you to the other side and more and more of your businesses can't hand in there, then what's going to happen when we're better?"
The U.S. House has voted to extend these benefits, and that bill is now being considered in the Senate.
- Bob Kinzel
Over 2,000 Vermont businesses line up for COVID-19 relief grants
Vermont businesses are lining up quickly for a COVID-19 relief program that started accepting applications for grants on Monday.
Commissioner of Economic Development Joan Goldstein said more than 2,000 businesses had submitted requests for aid as of Monday afternoon.
Goldstein said the grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
She said awarding the grants based on need or merit would take too long.
"By the time we would go through each and every one and determine criteria and ranking, and then, how do you decide who's more deserving of funds than others? We thought it would get to them way too late," she said.
Goldstein said businesses need to have suffered at least a 50% revenue loss in a single month due to COVID-19 in order to qualify for the program. "We're asking for tax returns and we're asking for financial statements from one year versus the next, so that we can do that compare-contrast," Goldstein said.
Lawmakers and the governor have set aside $150 million in federal aid to support the business relief program.
Businesses are eligible for up to $50,000 each in relief grants. And they'll be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Peter Hirschfeld
Citizen science project calls for help locating lost lady beetle species
This summer, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies is enlisting citizen scientists to help search for ladybugs. Or, to be scientifically correct, lady beetles.
Fourteen of Vermont's 33 known native lady beetles haven't ben documented since the 1970s.
Biologist Spencer Hardy has already found one lost species.
"There's I think 14 species that we're considering lost, as in, they haven't been seen since the 1970s in Vermont," Hardy said. "A couple of them, like the nine-spotted, are large and relatively distinctive. Some of these other species are quite small and obscure and potentially on out list only because people haven't been looking for them."
It didn't take long for Hardy to find his first. "I was looking for bees on Snake Mountain in Addison County and I happened to notice a lady beetle," he said. "It ended up in my net somehow. I don't know where it came from or what it was doing, but I saw it and I recognized it as one of two small groups of beetles that are hard to identify."
The beetle ended up being a four-spotted spurleg lady beetle.
The center hopes volunteers will join Vermont Lady Beetle Atlas on the i-Naturalist app. That's where you can upload pictures of lady beetles for experts to identify.
- Amy Kolb-Noyes
Vermont City Marathon canceled for 2020
There will be no Vermont City Marathon and Relay this year.
The race, which normally takes place over Memorial Day weekend, was initially pushed to late October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But event organizers announced Monday that the run will be put off until next May.
In a statement, RunVermont, the organization that sets up the rae, said it consulted with state officials and determined that a public event that attracts thousands will not be possible in late October.
Those who had signed up for this year's race have until Aug. 23 to apply their registration fee to run in 2021 or 2022.
- Henry Epp
Vermont First Lady Joan Brower Hoff dies at 95
Vermont lost one of its first ladies last week. Shelburne resident Joan Brower Hoff, wife of Gov. Phil Hoff, passed away at the age of 95.
Phil Hoff died in 2018.
The Hoffs were married in 1948 and came to Vermont in 1950, according to her obituary. Joan is described as a full partner in her husband's three successful campaigns for governor in the 1960s, as well as his unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 1970.
Joan was an advocate for children and families and served as chair of the Vermont Board of Education in the mid-1970s.
She is survived by four daughters and their families. A memorial service will be held after COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted. Meanwhile, donations can be made in her memory to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont.
- Amy Kolb Noyes
N.H. Legislature weighs bill to support caregivers of veterans
A New Hampshire bill will help wounded veterans and their caregivers.
Co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, the bill would strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs caregiver program. The VA provides stipends and support to caregivers for wounded veterans. But Hassan said caregivers and veterans have reported being dropped from the program, often with little explanation or time to appeal the decision.
The bill would ensure all caregivers are included in veterans' medical records and require the VA to provide more context and explanation leading to a downgrade or termination decision.
- The Associated Press
Westminster children's home faces new allegations of past abuse
A children's home in Westminster is facing new allegations of abuse against children from the 1960s and 1970s.
In a statement released Friday, Stephen Harrison, executive director of Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, said he was unaware of specific allegations until he was contacted by The Brattleboro Reformer last Thursday.
A law firm that represented abuse survivors of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar is representing men and women who say they were physically and sexually abused at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children more than 40 years ago.
Harrison said there will also be an independent investigation into these allegations.
- The Associated Press
Ticklenaked Pond meets EPA goals for phosphorous reduction
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation said a Caledonia County pond that suffered many years of algae blooms is being removed from the state's impaired water list.
The state said after five years of water quality improvements, the de-listing of Ticklenaked Pond makes it the first lake or pond in Vermont to be restored to the phosphorous reduction goals mandated by the EPA.
In recent years the state has taken measures to reduce phosphorous runoff from farms and roads, which can fuel toxic algae blooms in lakes and ponds.
- The Associated Press
More from VPR: EPA Report Cites Progress On Lake Champlain Cleanup, But Activist Remains Skeptical
Telemedicine use on the rise in Vermont
The use of telemedicine services has skyrocketed in Vermont since the coronavirus pandemic emerged in March.
Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Vermont reports that in the first half of last year, 200 providers offered these services. This year, the number has grown to over 4,000.
Last year, the company had roughly 2,000 claims, this year the number is approaching 100,000.
Blue Cross President Don George says telemedicine is providing patients with good options, but he doesn't see it as a replacement for traditional medical visits.
"If telehealth better enables them to do that, then I think we want to support that choice that they make,” George said. “But if patients want to see their health care providers face to face about their particular health care needs, then we need to assure that that choice is preserved, too."
Blue Cross plans to conduct a review of all its telemedicine policies this fall.
- Bob Kinzel
Protesters march against racial injustice in Burlington
Demonstrators marched from Burlington's City Hall, through Church Street to Battery Park on Saturday afternoon to protest racial injustice.
Seven Days reports the crowd assembled in Battery Park for more than two hours of speeches by people of color.
Organizers with The Black Perspective said they asked businesses on the city's main retail street to close early in solidarity during the march.
- Sarah Ashworth
University of Vermont students can opt for remote learning
University of Vermont undergrads will have the option of learning from home for the fall 2020 semester.
In an email to students on Thursday, July 2, the university outlined new options for students, which include taking classes entirely online or returning to campus for a mix of in-person and online courses.
Students who choose to stay at home will not receive any change in tuition and fees, though they will not pay housing and meals costs. Remote students will also be able to register for one course in the summer of 2021 for free.
Those who choose to learn remotely for the fall must inform the university by July 15. All students who choose to return to campus will have to sign a pledge to follow social distancing requirements, and undergo mandatory testing for COVID-19.
- Henry Epp
