Current News

Vermont Hard Cider Company has launched its first advertising campaign for Woodchuck Cider. "Why Woodchuck," showcases Woodchuck's unique position as America's original hard cider, crafted at an authentic cidery, unlike many of the recent competitors who have entered the US marketplace. The campaign, developed in partnership with creative agency Smartfish Group, includes digital video with two spots launching simultaneously, "Promise" and "Time Travel".

The campaign also includes digital banners, terrestrial radio and digital audio. It will start testing in markets across the US this summer including Austin,Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Hartford. SwellShark handles the media strategy, planning and buying for Woodchuck.

Magic Hat Brewing Company, based in South Burlington, Vermont, recently released Electric Peel – a new, year-round grapefruit IPA bursting with bold citrus hop flavors. This new IPA is designed to send shocks of citrus hop flavors through a medium malt body amplified by grapefruit peel. The result is a delightfully hoppy ale with a bittersweet finish, boasting a whopping ABV of 6.0 percent and 65 IBUs.

Vermont Business Magazine Home sales, which lagged considerably during the winter and for much of the post-recession years in Vermont, are now well ahead of numbers from April and last May. Pending homes sales are up by double digits. Home prices, however, are increasing at a slower rate. This can be expected to grow, as the number of sales increases against a smaller inventory.

There were 661 homes sales in May in Vermont, up from 489 in April and from 616 in May 2014. The median price in May was $212,000, unchanged from April and slightly ahead of last May's $207,750. The price lag can also be seen in Vermont's "Days on Market" data, which is the highest in New England at 183.

Standing within sight of a failed retaining wall, Governor Peter Shumlin announced a $300,000 grant to replace the wall, reopen a neighborhood street and restore parking spaces behind the historic Brooks House in downtown Brattleboro. The grant was one of eight Vermont Community Development Program awards announced today totaling more than $2.8 million.

“From Lyndon in the north to Bennington in the south, communities across Vermont will use these grants to create affordable housing, expand services to their residents, restore historic buildings and plan for economic development,” Shumlin said.

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The governor was joined by Patricia Moulton, Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. She added “Today, we continue the state’s partnership with municipalities to create housing and jobs while strengthening their downtowns and village centers.”

Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Congressman David Young (R-IA) recently introduced legislation that would address the critical concern of call quality and completion in rural America, the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act. In some rural areas, nearly one in five inbound calls to land line phones are not completed or are of poor quality. This is a great inconvenience to families, but can also be catastrophic to small businesses whose customers cannot reach them. This bill would establish call quality standards and take steps to ensure Americans in rural areas are receiving all their calls.

The Lamoille County Planning Commission (LCPC) announced today that Tasha Wallis of Morrisville, an accomplished executive with leadership experience in both government and the private sector, will join the Commission as Executive Director on July 1, 2015. “Tasha has the skills, background, and experience to work effectively with our municipalities and to lead the staff in advancing the important work of the Commission.” said Dave Bergh, Chair of the LCPC Board of Directors. “This was a thorough and inclusive search process and we are delighted that Tasha will be joining the Planning Commission.”

Caleb Magoon, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors added that, “Tasha has lived in Lamoille County for almost twenty years and we are pleased to have someone with such extensive executive experience committed to this community and to the work of the Planning Commission.”

Vermonters are slightly more frustrated than patients in other states in understanding the costs of medical care, though less than half feel it is difficult to receive cost information, according to a national survey released today. The upcoming Supreme Court ruling on King v Burwell may result in more than half of Americans looking for a new healthcare provider that offers more transparent costs and billing, according to a new TransUnion Healthcare survey of insured consumers released today. If the Supreme Court rules to eliminate the subsidies, more than half (51%) of Americans will look for new providers, according to the survey.

by Mike Smith Scott versus Welch? It would be a loss for Vermont if one were elected at the expense of the other. Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, a moderate Republican, and Congressman Peter Welch, a liberal-leaning Democrat, are widely respected, trusted and, most importantly, liked by most Vermonters. They both would likely clear the field of credible opponents in their respective party primary. Both would attract voters from all political perspectives: Democrats, Republicans, independents and even Progressives.

What distinguishes these two potential gubernatorial candidates from many others is a personable style that connects with Vermonters. And yet, if these two run against each other for governor in 2016, the loser will likely fade from Vermont politics and that would be a disappointment to many.

In a new report, "The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report," Vermont ranked 21st highest for the number of injury-related deaths in the state, with a rate of 66.0 per 100,000 people. Overall, the national rate is 58.4 per 100,000. Rates in Vermont remained stable over the past four years for injury deaths, which includes drug overdoses, motor vehicle crashes, homicides and others. Overall, 17 states increased, 24 remained stable and 9 decreased. Injuries are the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1 to 44 – and are responsible for nearly 193,000 deaths per year.

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Drug overdoses have become the leading cause of injury in 36 states, including Vermont, surpassing motor vehicle-related deaths.

The John Merck Division of Science and Technology at Southern Vermont College (SVC) is pleased to announce that the 2015 graduates of the Bachelor of Science degree in Radiologic Sciences received a 100 percent pass rate on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) examination in Radiography. This was the largest graduating class from this major at SVC. In addition to the pass rate, SVC students scored high marks.

“Our students have generally been above the national grade average and the national pass rate,” according to Linda Lippacher, Program Director of Radiologic Sciences.

The New England Telehealth Consortium (NETC) has announced that it has connected the 300th healthcare facility to its network. NETC worked with FairPoint Communications, one of several vendors, to link healthcare facilities in northern New England to the network. NETC is a federally funded consortium of healthcare providers whose mandate is to create a shared network among rural and urban healthcare facilities across the region. Based in Bangor, Maine – NETC received a$24.6 million Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rural Health Care Pilot Program award to bring telemedicine to the region.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Dan Quinn, the former CEO of Rutland Mental Health Services, was pressured to resign last week because of poor management. Sources say the state asked the board of the social service agency to take “bold action” and effectively asked that Quinn leave. His resignation comes on the heels of intensified state scrutiny. Officials cite a pattern of shortcomings in the care provided by the agency that contributed to a client’s overdose, a client being sexually exploited and several others being placed in neglectful or abusive situations, according to documents obtained by VTDigger. Poor management may have also contributed to one client’s untimely death.