Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas released the August Vermont 2024 Candidates and Campaign Finance. This report is intended to improve transparency for campaign finance reporting during the 2024 campaign season. The August report reflects candidate filings as of the most recent filing deadline on August 1. The new report is provided as a snapshot of campaign finance filings as of August 7 at 8am, in the wake of the August 1 filing deadline. The Secretary of State’s Office plans to provide new reports for each reporting cycle after future deadlines (September 1, October 1, October 15, November 1, November 19, and December 15). 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) announced the recipient of the Vermont Community Leadership Award at its 2024 Vermont Community Leadership Summit on August 6 at the Vermont State University Randolph Campus where over 450 attendees gathered for the day-long event. The Vermont Community Leadership Award is presented each year to celebrate Vermonters who exemplify “dedication, integrity and honorable service to community and to rural Vermont,” and who have had a “transformational” effect on their communities. VCRD presents the award to highlight the work of community heroes who epitomize the best spirit of local community service, who volunteer their time, and who have made their community better. This year, the Vermont Community Leadership Award is being presented to Charlie Hancock of Montgomery, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich Technologies, the parent company of subsidiaries Norwich Solar (EPC), RunTime Solar (O&M) and NorwichEV, is pleased to announce further diversification of operations for strategic growth and greater impact in the renewable energy sector, providing service under the new Breakaway Renewables company brand. Historically the company had focused on vertical integration, working as the EPC contractor primarily on projects that it has Developed in-house. This new division strengthens the opportunities for the company to develop renewable projects for other companies' portfolios. Since Norwich Technologies founding in 2011, it has successfully developed and installed over a hundred solar projects throughout Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. 

Vermont Business Magazine The story of Greenland keeps getting greener—and scarier. A new study provides the first direct evidence that the center—not just the edges—of Greenland’s ice sheet melted away in the recent geological past and the now-ice-covered island was then home to a green, tundra landscape. A team of UVM scientists and others re-examined a few inches of sediment from the bottom of a two-mile-deep ice core extracted at the very center of Greenland in 1993—and held for 30 years in a Colorado storage facility. They were amazed to discover soil that contained willow wood, insect parts, fungi, and a poppy seed in pristine condition.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) has welcomed fifteen participants to the 2024 Climate Catalysts Leadership Program from a strong pool of applicants. The 2024 participants from across the state will focus their time on the implementation of a local climate or energy project such as bringing community members together to determine the best use for a historic town hall, expanding wetlands for flood mitigation and ecosystem health, improving walking and biking options in a rural town, and more. The Climate Catalysts Leadership Program allows participants to take their transformative, community-scale climate economy related projects to the next level by developing their concepts into reality while building peer connections, strengthening leadership skills, and receiving project development support. 

Vermont Business Magazine As health care organizations across the country struggle to integrate nutrition-based practices into clinical services, or choose to forego the effort entirely, a small group of clinical dietitians at UVM Medical Center, led by a chef with a passion for sustainable and nutritious cuisine, have cultured a unique, evidence-based program that provides hands-on education and health-improvement resources to patients and clinicians. The Culinary Medicine Program and its innovative offerings were in the spotlight today, as Adm. Rachel Levine, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services, met with the team, toured UVM Medical Center’s rooftop garden and spent much of the day huddling with the dietitians, chefs and educators who have spent more than a decade pioneering food- and nutrition-based programs.

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center With just under two months to go, MFG Day, celebrated annually on the first Friday in October, with events continuing throughout the month and beyond, is a national grassroots movement that demonstrates the reality and future of modern manufacturing careers. Thousands of companies and educational institutions nationwide are invited to open their doors to students, parents, educators and community leaders. So where are you in your planning phase? It's not too late to join in the excitement! Check out how to plan, host and find an event for this year's MFG Day celebration!

Vermont Business Magazine For 100 years the American transportation network has largely served the needs of car drivers, and we’re now realizing the impacts of that focus: communities separated by highways, traffic congestion clogging cities, a national obesity epidemic, poor air and water quality, and limited other transportation choices available. Where do we go from here? To understand what factors may change people’s transportation behaviors in our region, the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) has created a 10-minute online survey, with the incentive of a gift card raffle for completing the survey.

Vermont Business Magazine Breeze Airways, a premium leisure low-cost carrier offering point-to-point service between underserved markets across the U.S., today announced a system-wide 35-percent off all roundtrip base fares if purchased by August 9, 2024 (11:59 pm PT), for travel from August 28, 2024, through February 4, 2025, and from April 28 through March 13, 2025, using the promo code ‘TAKEOFF’ at checkout on flybreeze.com or on the Breeze app. Vermonters have four options on Breeze to Florida from Leahy Burlington International (BTV) and one to Raleigh, NC (RDU). In Florida, Breeze flies to Tampa International Airport (TPA), Orlando International Airport (MCO), Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) and Fort Myers (RSW). Breeze flights are twice a week from BTV.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) held a comprehensive statewide healthcare community meeting to address Vermont’s pressing healthcare challenges. The meeting focused on solutions to create a sustainable and affordable healthcare system responsive to Vermont’s needs. On Monday evening, Dr. Hamory and his team presented their year-long study, highlighting the critical issues of affordability, accessibility, and sustainability in Vermont’s healthcare system and the immense challenges Vermont’s aging demographics pose to the sustainability of Vermont’s healthcare system: Based on 3.5% hospital revenue growth and 5% cost growth, in five years, nearly all Vermont hospitals will have negative operating margins; the benchmark Silver Plan premium in Vermont has risen 108% since 2018 and is the highest in the nation; Vermont’s non-profit insurance companies are facing serious financial challenges and have lost significant reserves, creating solvency concerns.   

Vermont Business Magazine Yesterday, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) was joined by Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD for a LGBTQI+ health equity community roundtable at the Vermont Pride Center in Burlington. Also on Tuesday, in conjunction with National Health Center Week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined Admiral Levine, local health care and community leaders, and flood-impacted Vermonters to discuss the impacts of climate change and flooding on physical, mental and environmental health. 

Vermont Business Magazine Rural Americans are more likely to develop chronic illnesses and die compared to their urban counterparts. Across the country, accessing care to maintain health is harder than ever. At the end of July, the three CEOs of leading rural academic health systems in the northeast told federal lawmakers that new policies, programs and payments are needed to ensure patients in rural communities are able to get the high-quality care they need, when and where they need it. Dartmouth Health, MaineHealth and University of Vermont Health Network share similar academic missions, health care service delivery models, support for research and innovation, nonprofit statuses, and deep commitments to the communities they serve. The patients in their rural communities face common challenges – growing older, suffering from chronic disease, unmet behavioral and mental health needs, and a lack of affordable housing, among others.