Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont this week launched the CAT ECare lifesaving program, which consists of dozens of emergency stations with life-saving equipment and ongoing training opportunities for UVM employees and students. UVM has 38 publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). Under the new program, additional equipment is being purchased and the emergency stations will be branded as CAT ECare stations. New stations will be added in the coming years and each one will contain AEDs, bleeding control kits and Narcan®. Students will be trained as program instructors.

Vermont Business Magazine Since the company’s start in 2011, the mission of Norwich Technologies has been to develop clean, renewable energy solutions while supporting local job creation, increasing energy independence, reducing pollution, following socially responsible business practices, and creating a positive work experience for employees. Norwich Technologies develops, commercializes, and deploys forward-looking clean energy innovations for commercial, community, and utility customers. The largest business segment within the company is Norwich Solar, whose mission is to advance the integration and deployment of affordable solar power for regional organizations enabling them to improve their triple bottom line – financial, social and environmental.

by Cora Smith, Community News Service With mud season just beginning, experts warn that Vermonters should stay away from high-elevation trails for now to protect natural areas from erosion and further damage. “The intensity of the rain events that we get now — particularly in the summer season — has a much higher potential to do severe erosion of the trail tread,” said Keegan Tierny, director of field programs for the Green Mountain Club, a trail protection nonprofit. Climate change is increasing precipitation, and larger, more intense storms are detrimental for Vermont’s trails.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Institute of Natural Science will partner with the Vermont Council of Trout Unlimited to support the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program in schools across the state. Trout in the Classroom is an environmental education program in which students raise brook trout from eggs delivered in January by Trout Unlimited before releasing them in a local stream in late spring. VT Fish & Wildlife provides the trout eggs and offers hatchery tours. TU volunteers help teachers set up their tanks, troubleshoot water chemistry and fish health problems, and participate in fieldwork activities with students.

by King Whetstone, Regional Director, USDA-NASS, Northeastern Regional Field Office Currently the biannual Agricultural Labor Survey is underway. The survey collects information about hired labor from more than 2,000 farmers and ranchers. The survey results will be published on May 24 in the Farm Labor report available on the NASS website. In the survey, we ask producers to answer a variety of questions about hired farm labor on their operations, including total number of hired farm workers, the total hours worked, and total wages paid for the weeks of Jan. 8-14 and April 9-15. Survey participants can respond online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07) for a press conference marking the introduction of the Closing the Meal Gap Act, legislation that would boost support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the more than 40 million Americans and 70,000 Vermonters who rely on SNAP, known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT. The bill, led by Sen. Gillibrand and Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) would boost SNAP funding by 30%, expanding access to healthy nutritious foods for working families. The lawmakers were joined by representatives from Hunger Free America Blue Star Families and MAZON, among other advocacy groups.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Senate gave final approval to H.89, known as the “shield bill,” which revises Vermont’s court procedures to protect providers of abortion or gender-affirming care to patients who reside in states where such care is restricted or illegal. It also protects access to safe and effective abortion medication regardless of federal approval. The bill passed third reading on a voice vote after having passed second reading on a vote of 26-4. H.89 makes clear that interference with legally protected health care activity is against the public policy of Vermont and that access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care services are a legal right in Vermont. H.89 would protect those providing or seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care in Vermont from civil or criminal litigation arising from another state.

Vermont Business Magazine The Lake Champlain Chamber celebrated its 112th Annual Dinner on Thursday, April 13 with more than 300 attendees at the DoubleTree by Hilton. Four awards were presented to businesses and business leaders to recognize their accomplishments and contributions to our community. The Chamber also welcomed its Chair of the Board of Directors, Ashley Wainer. Chamber President Cathy Davis said of the event, “It's important to take the time to celebrate the businesses, organizations and individuals that create economic opportunity and make really positive contributions to our community. All of the award winners this year are outstanding examples of ingenuity and exceptional impact. It's our collective focus as a business community on the role we play in change that sets Vermont apart as a place to live, work, and do business."

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ - UNB), parent company of Union Bank with branches in Northern Vermont and New Hampshire, today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend. Consolidated net income for the first quarter was $3.0 million, or $0.66 per share compared to $2.5 million, or $0.55 per share, for the same period in 2022, an increase of $495 thousand, or 20.0%. Interest income was $13.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared to $9.7 million for the comparable period in 2022, an increase of $3.3 million, or 34.1%, due to a combination of higher volumes of interest earning assets and higher average yields. Interest expense was $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared to $763 thousand for the same period in 2022, an increase of $2.3 million, or 302.5%.

Vermont Business Magazine State Treasurer Mike Pieciak announced Wednesday that the application for the “10% in Vermont” program is now available on the Treasurer’s website. Additionally, a link to a webinar from earlier this week discussing the expanded program is now available on the website. Prospective applicants are encouraged to review the program details to ensure a complete application. Last week at the Bardwell House in Rutland, Pieciak announced an expansion of the program that authorizes the Treasurer to invest up to 10% of the State’s average daily cash balance for economic development in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin is the first hospital in Vermont to offer an innovative treatment for tears of the anterior cruciate ligament – one of the most common knee injuries across the U.S. The BEAR Implant is the first medical advancement to enable the body to heal its own torn ACL. JP Begly, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at UVM Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center, performed the first surgery in Vermont using this novel approach last month. The BEAR implant is a major shift from the current standard of care – a reconstruction that replaces the ACL with a graft from another part of the body.