Current News

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine A pending deal for the merger of much of New England rail network under one owner has elicited criticism from Amtrak, Burlington-based Vermont Rail System and the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Under the proposal, which the federal Surface Transportation Board must still approve, CSX, one of the nation's biggest railroads, would acquire Pan Am Railways (PAR), which owns, wholly or in part, railroads in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as a few miles in Vermont's southwest corner.

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute The Washington Post recently tackled the question a lot of people have been talking about. The headline read: “Why America has 8.4 million unemployed when there are 10 million job openings.” What was refreshing about the Post story was that it didn’t offer the usual explanation about the mismatch between jobs and job skills, which seems to lay the blame for worker shortages on the workers.

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College announces the addition of Lisa Ventriss as Interim Dean of its Robert P. Stiller School of Business. Ventriss retired after 19 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Vermont Business Roundtable earlier this year. During her tenure, she championed the creation of the Vermont Talent Pipeline Management, which seeks to align critical industry needs with the state’s education and training providers. Ventriss came out of retirement to assume her position as Champlain’s Interim Dean at the start of this academic year.

Vermont Business Magazine Chemotherapy is a highly effective cancer treatment, but it frequently comes with a side effect that significantly affects patients’ quality of life. Between half and three quarters of all chemotherapy patients — more than half a million Americans annually — suffer a condition called chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, or CIPN, at the end of their treatment. Many experience severe pain, sensory loss and balance issues. Care is often inadequate, especially in rural areas, where few providers have expertise in treating CIPN symptoms.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University has earned its six-year accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) for three bachelor of science programs in the David Crawford School of Engineering: civil engineering, electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering. The approval follows a yearlong self-study and outside review process, which was completed in 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, September 23rd at 5:30pm, the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce will dedicate the Chamber Memorial Park and invite the community to join. The Park, built through a donation in 2019 by Art and Kathy Whitman, replaced a dilapidated Welcome Kiosk and overgrown garden in front and on the side of the Chamber of Commerce at 100 Veterans Memorial Drive in Bennington, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Department of Corrections (Vermont DOC) is reporting one COVID-positive staff member at Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF) in Newport. This case was found in the fourth round of facility-wide outbreak testing conducted September 16; all other results were negative. Contact tracing showed no risk to other staff or the incarcerated population, and the facility is now in standard modified operations.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported 129 new cases of COVID-19 (90 Monday). While many regions of the country and world experienced a sharp increase and sharp decline of Delta variant cases in a 7-9 week window, Vermont is now into its 10th week and has shown a slower ascent and still no plateau in new cases. The VDH also reported today three more deaths, which now stand at 301 statewide. There are 48 people hospitalized (up two from yesterday) and 19 in the ICU (up five).

Vermont Business Magazine A recently published case study by researchers at the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy focused on the positive outcomes for Blue Cross members participating in an innovative program to improve treatment options for patients struggling with opioid use for musculoskeletal pain conditions.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee, on Tuesday introduced a pair of bipartisan bills aimed at improving the participation of Americans from all backgrounds in the patent system and ensuring that the public knows the true owners of patents.

Vermont Business Magazine The Montpelier Development Corporation (MDC) announces the launch of the “Montpelier Grows” grant, an exciting new program to recruit and/or support high-impact businesses to Montpelier. MDC will provide grants of significant amounts to businesses that commit to make Montpelier home, and those that plan to grow within Montpelier’s City limits. The objective of this grant program is to drive economic growth now and in the future, stimulate commerce, and enhance employment opportunities in Montpelier.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced a series of walk-in vaccination clinics that will be open at schools and other sites across Vermont this week for anyone age 12 or older. Just walk-in or visit www.healthvermont.gov/MyVaccine to make an appointment. You can also call 855-722-7878.