Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A refreshing way for storytellers to change the narrative is coming to Burlington on May 2. Those seeking to tell stronger, truer stories will have an opportunity to attend a candid, uplifting free workshop presented by award-winning filmmaker Jay Austin on May 2 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at Generator 40 Sears Lane, Burlington. The workshop is hosted by the Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP). Non-extractive storytelling offers business writers, videographers, journalists, authors, filmmakers, documentarians, and others a way to center their subjects’ voices in an honest, unselfish format, without casting their own implicit biases on their writing. This process results in clearer authenticity, allowing the reader or viewer to understand the real story.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO) will hold four public input sessions – May 1, 2, 14 and 15 – to share the findings and receive feedback on the public review draft of the 2024 Vermont Long-Range Transmission Plan. The Plan is required by law to identify where electric load growth over the next 20 years may drive the need for additional transmission line development or other alternatives in order ensure system reliability. This is the first long-range plan since 2015 where the need for new transmission lines have been identified as necessary to meet Vermont’s expected load growth. The 2024 Vermont Long-Range Transmission Plan examines several electricity use drivers, e.g., electric vehicle adoption, instate solar energy generation, battery storage, etc., and the potential future scenarios influenced by different rates of growth for these respective energy uses, as well as evolving state energy policy.

Vermont Business Magazine Watching wildlife is enjoyable, especially when young animals appear in the spring.  But it is best to keep your distance.  Picking up young wildlife can do more harm than good, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and it is also against the law. When people see young animals alone, they often mistakenly assume these animals are helpless or lost, in trouble or needing to be rescued.  Bringing young wildlife into a human environment often results in permanent separation from their mothers and a sad ending for the animal. Handling wildlife could also pose a threat to the people involved.  Wild animals can transmit disease and angry wildlife mothers can pose significant dangers. 

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) stressed the importance of the arts and his recently introduced bill, the Supporting Theater and the Arts to Galvanize the Economy Act (STAGE Act) of 2024 at an event held Wednesday night at Burlington’s historic Flynn Performing Arts Center. Professional nonprofit theaters, which enrich communities and bolster local economies in every state, have experienced a lagging recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Theaters have been forced to reduce staff and productions, and many have closed permanently. The STAGE Act will establish a new grant program to support the industry. The bicameral bill is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and in the House by Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01). 

Vermont Business Magazine A statewide conservation conference is set to take place on Monday, October 7, 2024, at Vermont State University in Randolph. Organized by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) in partnership with several leading conservation and environmental organizations, the goal of this all-day conference is to make space for the conservation community across Vermont to meet, share resources, and foster discussions regarding collaborative, strategic, and informed conservation work and planning. Registration opens in July. The theme of the conference is "Sowing Seeds: Conservation connections for a resilient future," emphasizing the value of collaboration and the need for immediate and impactful action to conserve 30% of our land and waters by 2030, protect an ecologically functional landscape, mitigate the effects of climate change, support healthy and resilient communities and working lands, and advance environmental justice. 

Vermont Business Magazine Marcelle Leahy, registered nurse and humanitarian, will address Champlain College on-campus undergraduates, and Lynn Dohm, Executive Director of Women in CyberSecurity (WiCys), will address Champlain College Online undergraduate and graduate students during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 11. In addition to addressing students during the ceremonies, Leahy and Dohm will receive honorary degrees, as will former Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT). Commencement exercises will kick off at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction at 10 AM for on-campus undergraduate students and 3:00 PM for Champlain College Online students receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced the death of Roy Patten, an incarcerated individual receiving palliative care at the Jack Byrne Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Roy Patten, 73, of Lebanon, New Hampshire, was lodged at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in 2014 and transferred to Southern State Correctional Facility soon after. On April 9, 2024, Mr. Patten was transported to Springfield Hospital Emergency Room after exhibiting signs of medical distress. He was transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for additional care and subsequently the Jack Byrne Center for palliative and hospice care. He passed away on April 22.

Vermont Business Magazine Maple Broadband has completed its initial build area and now offers high-speed fiber optic internet service across 143.5 miles, passing 1,647 households and businesses in portions of the towns of Cornwall, Orwell, Shoreham, Whiting, Salisbury, and Middlebury. Maple Broadband has also begun to launch service in its Phase Two build area, which consists of portions of Vergennes, Ferrisburgh, Waltham, Monkton, and New Haven.  This second build area consists of 68.0 miles and 1,468 passings. Service is now available in this area across 32.4 miles and 574 passings. The remaining Phase Two sections will be activated over the next several months.

Vermont Business Magazine Alan DeForest ’75, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Norwich University, announced the unanimous decision to elect Lieutenant General John Broadmeadow ’83, USMC (Retired), as the University’s 25th president on April 19, 2024. LtGen Broadmeadow will officially transition from his Board of Trustees position to the presidential office on May 1, 2024, which will mark the first time in more than three decades that a Norwich alumnus will lead the school as its president. Upon his promotion to LtGen, he became the highest-ranking Marine officer to ever graduate from the University. Now, he becomes the first Marine to take the mantle of president and the highest-ranking officer to be named president in Norwich University’s history. 

Vermont Business Magazine Mitch Wertlieb has been named permanent host of 'Vermont This Week,' the station has announced. His first show will be Friday, May 10 at 7 pm. Last summer, Wertlieb ended his 20-year run as local host of NPR’s 'Morning Edition' to become host and producer of Vermont Public’s daily news podcast, ‘The Frequency.’ Mitch will continue to host the daily podcast in addition to this new role. Wertlieb follows longtime 'Vermont This Week' Host Stewart Ledbetter, who stepped away from the program last spring after nearly 17 years. The program continued with a rotation of guest hosts, including Wertlieb, over the last year. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (VACCE) announces the election of Matt Harrington as the incoming Chair, effective June 2024. Harrington will succeed Betsy Bishop, who will be stepping down from her role as President of the Vermont Chamber and as the Chair of the VACCE organization. Harrington will be finishing out Bishop’s term before the next election cycle. VACCE, a nonprofit organization representing 30 chambers across Vermont, serves to unite chamber leadership in the state and enhance their professional development. Harrington, currently the executive director of the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce, brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leadership within VACCE. 

Vermont Business Magazine A New Hampshire doctor made his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in federal court in Burlington and was arraigned on charges related to his alleged involvement in conspiracies to illegally distribute controlled substances and to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, Adnan S. Khan, M.D., 48, of Grantham, New Hampshire orchestrated his alleged illegal prescribing and health care fraud conspiracies through New England Medicine and Counseling Associates (NEMCA), which operated a network of clinics located in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Through NEMCA, Khan allegedly distributed drugs to individuals outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. Khan allegedly required that patients pay cash in exchange for their prescriptions, despite many of his patients having insurance through Medicare and Vermont Medicaid. Khan allegedly prescribed the drugs knowing that at least some of his patients were abusing and diverting the drugs.