Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) today announced the launch of the $40M Community Recovery and Revitalization Program (CRRP) application at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury. This new program, proposed by the Scott Administration and passed by the Legislature through Acts 183 and 185, is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support capital investment projects that will assist Vermont’s economic recovery effort. CRRP’s application opening comes on the heels of the Capital Investment Program (CIP), a previous program that allocated $10 million for similar types of projects, approving another round of grants including a grant to Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium.

Vermont Business Magazine On Monday night, the US Senate unanimously passed the Patents for Humanity Program Act of 2022, written and sponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), sending the bipartisan bill back to the House for final passage. This bill codifies the Patents for Humanity Program, which awards innovators for revolutionary inventions that solve humanitarian development challenges.

Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08) and Veronica Spartz (R-IN-05) are the sponsors of this bill in the House of Representatives.

Leahy and Grassley have been strong supporters of the program since its creation in 2012 by the Obama Administration. The program was boosted in 2020 through the Patents for Humanity Program Improvement Act, also authored by Leahy and Grassley.

Vermont Business Magazine The Federal Nuclear Waste Policy (FNWP) Committee of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VT NDCAP) will hold its fifth meeting of 2022 on Monday, December 5, 2022, from 12:00 Noon to 1:30 PM. As permitted by ACT 78 of the 2022 Vermont Legislature, this meeting will be conducted solely as a webcast and teleconference.

Vermont Business Magazine Usherwood Office Technology has acquired the equipment division of Reprographics of New England (Repro), of Winooski, VT, a privately-owned office technology provider. Since 1992, Reprographics of New England has been firmly rooted in the community as the complete source of business communications needs via print. Repro retains its print division under Chuck Siegel's ownership.

Vermont Business Magazine Surfshark’s new Internet Value Index (IVi) shows that Vermont has the most overpriced internet in the Northeast. The index is calculated by dividing each state’s internet speed by internet affordability. The study reveals large disparities between rural and urban states in terms of internet value, highlighting the country’s digital divide. The Northeast is the best-performing region in the country, with an internet value that's 30% higher than the U.S average. Vermont is the worst-performing state in the region with an Internet Value Index of 0.38 (48% lower than the region’s average and 34% lower than the U.S. average). Neighboring New York outranks Vermont by 42 places.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, and SHOWTIME announced the Worcester business, Mountainsong Expeditions of Worcester, Vermont, as a recipient of “Queer to Stay: An LGBTQ+ Business Preservation Initiative” to support and uplift small businesses that focus on LGBTQ+ people of color, women and the transgender community who continue to be impacted by economic setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine The VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region has been selected as a beneficiary of the Hannaford Bloomin’ 4 Good Program for the month of December. The Hannaford Bloomin’ 4 Good Program, which launched in August 2021, is an easy way for shoppers to give back. Every Bloomin’ 4 Good Bouquet with the red circle sticker sold supports a nonprofit organization local to the Hannaford in which it was purchased.

Vermont Business Magazine Throughout the month of August, the nurses of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), participated in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) RN Survey, which measures nurse job satisfaction. The results are in. SVMC’s nurses scored SVMC higher than the national average in all categories. Studies link high nurse satisfaction with improved patient outcomes.

Vermont Business Magazine After a lengthy hiatus, Gifford is re-starting its Sexual Assault/Forensic Nursing Program, also known as SANE. The team is made up of eight forensic nurses. Three are certified in adult/adolescent SANE care and five are dual-certified in both adult and pediatric SANE care. Forensic nurses specialize in caring for patients who experience health issues associated with violence. They typically see patients in an emergency room after the patient’s involvement in a violent crime, such as sexual assault, intimate partner violence or strangulation. Forensic nurses also work closely with an interdisciplinary team that includes law enforcement, advocates, and crime victim services.

by John McClaughry Searching for an arresting metaphor for the approaching legislative session, I found a compelling example, as described by contemporaneous reports. In the afternoon of May 31, 1889, 14 miles above Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the South Fork Dam gave way. In less than forty-five minutes, twenty million tons of water poured into the valley below. Roaring down the narrow path of the Little Conemaugh River, a seventy-foot wall of water, filled with huge chunks of dam, boulders and whole trees, smashed into the small towns of Mineral Point and Woodvale and swept away all traces of their existence.

Vermont Business Magazine Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC), a member of Dartmouth Health, hosted a successful charity art auction featuring work from prolific artist Deborah K. Ellis, which was originally gifted to the hospital by Ellis’ spouse, Sarwar Kashmeri. The auction, led by auctioneer Bill Smith, raised proceeds that will go toward health and wellness programs and clinical services at MAHHC. Prior to the auction, a reception was held to remember and celebrate Ellis’ life and work. It was well attended by Ellis’ and Kashmeri’s friends, family, neighbors, and associates.