Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Nowhere on Earth is free from plastic pollution these days, from the highest mountaintops to the deepest ocean canyons. The problem gets worse each year and seems to peak during the holiday season when household trash rates in the U.S. increase by 25 percent or more. Much of that trash is plastic waste that will be around for centuries since plastic doesn’t break down naturally in the environment. The report, titled, “’Tis the Season for Less Plastic” provides examples of problem plastics, from throwaway cameras to individually wrapped potatoes, and black plastic kitchen utensils contaminated with dangerous flame retardants to track pants made with at least 14 different chemicals and compounds on the Vermont Health Department’s list of Chemicals of High Concern to Children. 

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont (UVM) has reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with its full-time faculty union, United Academics. The agreement is subject to approval by the UVM Board of Trustees and ratification by the union’s membership. Specific terms of the tentative four-year agreement will be released after the approval and ratification process is completed.

Vermont Business Magazine More than 300 Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream workers at the St. Albans and Waterbury production facilities, who are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 371, ratified their first union contract by an overwhelming majority vote. Most notably, the three-year contract allows workers to enter into the union’s health insurance plan, which includes medical, prescription, dental, and optical coverage and a cost savings of up to $8,000 a year in weekly premiums alone. The contract also guarantees 14 percent wage increases over the next three years, with a 16 percent pay raise between now and April 27, and a move towards a hybrid eight and 12 hour shift pattern, giving members more flexibility to balance the needs of their families with the needs of the plant.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas released the second November Vermont 2024 Candidates and Campaign Finance. This report continues the Secretary of State’s ongoing efforts to improve transparency for campaign finance reporting during the 2024 campaign season. This report reflects candidate filings as of the most recent filing deadline on November 19. 

Vermont Business Magazine After a successful first round of funding, OneCare Vermont has introduced eleven new waivers, building on the six projects funded earlier this year. Following the receipt of additional strong applications, OneCare decided to extend funding to these eleven new initiatives. In total, OneCare allocated $343,000 in 2024 to support delivery system projects designed to advance quality improvement goals. These waivers are focused on enhancing access to mental health care, reducing hospital readmissions, increasing preventive care, and improving overall healthcare accessibility for Vermonters. OneCare, as an accountable care organization participating in Vermont’s All-Payer Model, has been provided waivers to make it easier for the health care providers who work with OneCare to deliver high quality care to Vermonters.   

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) led a bipartisan group of 39 Senators in calling on Senate leaders to protect access to Medicare services by ensuring health care providers who treat Medicare patients are adequately compensated for the care they deliver. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing a rule to cut payments to Medicare-serving physicians by 2.8% in 2025. This would represent the fifth consecutive year that reimbursement rates were reduced.   

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new proposal that would expand coverage of anti-obesity medications for Americans with Medicare and Medicaid: “The good news is that HHS recognizes that vitally important anti-obesity medicines like Wegovy and Zepbound should be made available to all Americans, regardless of income. The bad news is that unless Medicare demands that Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly substantially reduce the prices for these anti-obesity drugs, Medicare premiums for all seniors would skyrocket. If this proposal is to be financially responsible for seniors and taxpayers, Medicare and Medicaid cannot pay up to 10-15 times more for these drugs than they cost in Europe and other major countries. We cannot allow Medicare and Medicaid to simply be a cash cow for Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.”

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced his appointment of Zoie Saunders to serve as permanent education secretary after serving as interim secretary since April 30, 2024. Saunders, in her six months as interim secretary, has traveled around the state with her team as part of the Agency’s “Listen and Learn” tour, to understand educational needs at the local level. These listening sessions are designed to inform the Agency of Education’s efforts to support the short-term and long-term educational needs to improve student outcomes. At his press conference two weeks ago, Scott acknowledged that he would again appoint Saunders and that he was "confident" that the Senate this time would confirm her.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Medical Society released a statement today emphasizing the importance of confirming qualified experts to positions that provide oversight of the nation’s most important health care-related agencies cannot be overstated. "We must utilize established science and champion medical and scientific advancement, refute disproven and dangerous conspiracy theories, and stop the spread of misinformation. The Vermont Medical Society, American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, American College of Physicians Vermont Chapter, Vermont Academy of Family Physicians, Vermont Ophthalmological Society, Vermont Psychiatric Association, Vermont Society of Anesthesiologists have a singular goal of improving the health and wellbeing of all patients. Using our collective voice we urge that all appointees support the basic tenants of humanity, backed by decades of science."

Vermont Business Magazine The 112 Vermont psychiatrists who are members of the Vermont Psychiatric Association and practice in all corners of the State strongly oppose the impending closure of the in-patient psychiatric unit at Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC). The anticipated impacts of cutting these services should be of grave concern to all Vermonters, particularly given the devastating impacts it will have on the most vulnerable members of our community — individuals experiencing mental health crises and their families.  We have been advocating for years that Vermont has too few psychiatric beds to serve the needs of our patients.  Public health research[i] indicates that an optimal level of mental health services requires at least 35 inpatient psychiatric beds per 100,000 population. Vermont only has 18 beds per 100,000, and some of these are restricted to certain kinds of admissions, falling woefully short of the recommended minimum.   To eliminate more beds is taking our State in exactly the wrong direction.

by Bromley President & GM Josh Witkin Bill Cairns had been GM of this great mountain for over 10 years, and last season was his last as Bromley’s chief steward. He’s left me that responsibility which weighs heavily on my shoulders now. One of his many legacies was building an incredible snowmaking operation. The importance of giving our guests the best possible snow conditions was paramount to Bill. A very valuable pearl of wisdom from him is that if we are patient, if we create the base that we normally do, our ski season will have the Bromley snow that our guests expect. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine For the week ending November 16, 2024, the Vermont Department of Health reported that the number of COVID-19 cases fell again while hospitalizations also fell. There was only one fatality last week. Hospitalizations and general "syndromic" cases decreased to under 5 cases statewide for the week. The number of reported COVID cases fell from 146 to 69 to now 44. Cases had been falling in April and May and were as low as 31 at the beginning of May, before rising at the end of summer through the early part of the fall. Along with the case numbers, wastewater monitoring also has shown a decrease in levels of virus. The pandemic death total stands at 1,228.