Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Innovation Commons (The Commons) announces a new partnership with Microsoft for Startups (MFS), specifically designed to benefit Vermont entrepreneurs. The Commons is committed to increasing entrepreneurship and growth-stage companies in Vermont through knowledge, capital, and mentorship making this partnership a natural fit. This program will support Business to Business (B2B) companies, accelerating their growth through access to free Microsoft technology and mentorship.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Wednesday announced that the Vermont Department of Health will soon receive its third State Opioid Response (SOR) grant of $4,020,896 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Vermont now has been awarded a total of $10,140,700 from SAMHSA through SOR grants since the inception of the grant program.

This funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides flexible funding to states to support prevention, treatment and recovery efforts to combat opioid addiction.  Leahy secured this funding in the Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act of 2019. Confirmation of the grant comes one day after Leahy announced that Vermont also will receive a three-year, $9.5 million federal grant to prevent opioid-related overdoses.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bennington Regional Chamber of Commerce welcomed over 16,300 visitors to the 2019 Southern Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival, smashing the previously recorded record for the festival of 15,000. This farmers’ market-style festival is known world-wide for it’s cascading rows of 200 plus garlic vendors, kids activities, food trucks, beer & wine garden, and regional live bands. It is considered to be one of the best garlic-themed festivals in the world by Reuters.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) announced today that it will expand its parental leave policy to offer six weeks of fully paid parental leave for its employees, effective immediately.

Vermont Business Magazine The Small Business Innovation Research Road Tour is coming to the University of Vermont from 7 am to 3 pm September 16 at the Dudley H Davis Center. The SBIR Road Tour is a national outreach effort connecting entrepreneurs working on advanced technologies with Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, the country’s largest source of early stage funding.  Also known as America’s Seed Fund, the SBIR and STTR programs provide more than $3 billion annually to small businesses in a variety of technology areas.  

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland-based Casella Waste Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional vertically integrated solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of solid waste hauling and transfer assets in Albany, NY and Cheshire, MA from select subsidiaries of Republic Services, Inc. The acquired assets are expected to generate approximately $30 million of annualized revenues. 

“This acquisition is an exciting opportunity for us to extend our operations into two adjacent market areas, and will provide a great opportunity to drive further growth, operational synergies and landfill internalization,” said John W. Casella, Chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems, Inc.  “We are pleased to welcome Republic’s hardworking and dedicated employees to our team, and we are committed to maintaining the same excellent service standards for our new customers in these markets.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Copley Health Systems, Inc Board of Trustees has announced that, following a national search, Joseph “Joe” Woodin has been selected to serve as Copley Hospital’s next president and Chief Executive Officer. Woodin will take over leadership of the hospital in mid-October (exact start date currently being finalized), replacing Interim CEO Jeffrey White, who has lead the hospital since the departure of Copley’s previous president and CEO Art Mathisen in May. To those who know Vermont’s healthcare systems, Woodin is a familiar name thanks to his 17 year tenure at Gifford Health Care and Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, Vermont, where he served as president and CEO for 16 of those years. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Justice Reinvestment II Working Group, which was created by Governor Phil Scott in Executive Order 03-19, held its first meeting on August 26 to begin a data-driven approach to analyze and address challenges in the state’s adult criminal justice system. The review is part of Vermont’s participation in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, a federally funded process aimed at helping states get maximum value out of their corrections spending and reinvest in strategies that can reduce recidivism and increase public safety.

Vermont Business Magazine SaVida Health, a leader in outpatient medication-assisted treatment for opioid and alcohol addiction, is opening a new treatment center in Newport, VT on September 12th.  SaVida Health Newport joins the medical practice's Bennington and Springfield Vermont locations as the third SaVida location in Vermont and its 13th nationally.  

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced today that the Vermont Department of Health will receive a three-year, $9.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support a comprehensive statewide response to opioid-related overdoses, while strengthening Vermont’s prevention efforts.

The grant will increase the state’s ability to track and respond to overdoses, including those resulting in death; strengthen Vermont’s Prescription Drug Monitoring System, and provide overdose prevention trainings around the state, working with local communities – including libraries -- to better identify overdose risks and strengthen outreach efforts.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) led a bipartisan group of 44 lawmakers urging Congress to defund unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen in the upcoming bill to authorize Pentagon spending. The U.S.-Saudi military campaign in Yemen has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving 24 million Yemenis—80 percent of the population—in need of humanitarian assistance.