Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Union Mutual was recently honored by the Vermont Department of Health and the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports with a 2022 Governor’s Excellence in Worksite Wellness Award – GOLD Level. This is the Company’s fourth consecutive top-tier wellness honor. According to the Vermont Department of Health, the annual Worksite Wellness Awards create a standard of excellence for worksite wellness initiatives and recognize Vermont employers’ efforts to enhance productivity, bolster a healthy environment and improve employee wellbeing.

Vermont Business Magazine On April 29th, Bill Smith, Senior V.P. Chief Marketing and Retail Officer of New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU), and Sarah Ricker, Senior Community Relations Specialist, presented a check for $31,500 to Vermont Children’s Hospital. On hand to receive the check were Dr. Lewis First of the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and “Wild Bill” Sargent of WOKO. The funds were collected during the annual NEFCU Big Change Roundup.

Vermont Business Magazine Just as the rain began to fall on Thursday, April 14, Danielle Ploof, a middle school science teacher at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown, MA, stopped by Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) to spread some sunshine in the form of 50 handmade blankets for children using the Emergency Department. The blankets were made through a cooperation among Brady’s Smile, a Connecticut-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; Deborah Ploof of Blue Spruce Grange in Essex Junction, VT; and middle school students at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown, MA.

Vermont Business Magazine Amber E. Barnato, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, will be the next guest on Medical Matters Weekly at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25. The show will cover Barnato’s wide range of expertise, including public health/preventive medicine, hospice/palliative medicine, the institute’s work, health equity, and Barnato’s research regarding life support decisions families and physicians make for patients in the ICU.

Vermont River Conservancy “Vermont River Conservancy is extremely saddened by the tragic death of Cody Surprise, and our hearts go out to the young man’s family and friends. We are grateful to all who responded on the scene including Richmond Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue Team, Bolton Fire Department, and Stowe Mountain Rescue, as well as area neighbors,” says Steve Libby, Executive Director of Vermont River Conservancy.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott signed into law the following bills, passed by the General Assembly: S.122, An act relating to the required votes of presidential electors; S.127, An act relating to clarifying community supervision furlough appeals and the powers of the Corrections Monitoring Commission; S.220, An act relating to State-paid deputy sheriffs; S.254, An act relating to maintaining records of judgments and settlements paid by law enforcement agencies and a legal analysis of qualified immunity; S.287, An act relating to improving student equity by adjusting the school funding formula and providing education quality and funding oversight. "I am signing S.287...however, I believe our work in this area has just begun."

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that the Caledonia Criminal Division found probable cause for felony Medicaid Fraud charges committed by Debra Stewart, 62, of Newark, Vermont, and her son, Andrew Lavelle, 31. Stewart was arraigned today on two counts of Medicaid Fraud, while the court issued an arrest warrant for Lavelle. The charges brought against both Stewart and Lavelle are the result of an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor’s series of May Job Fest hiring events continued in Middlebury last Thursday, bringing together employers from across southwestern Vermont to highlight career opportunities. More than 50 employers, including Porter Medical Center, Danforth Pewter, Dairy Farmers of America, Casella, and more from Addison County and the local region participated in the second Job Fest event this month. The third and final Job Fest will be held tomorrow, May 24, from 11am – 2pm in Bennington.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Congressman Peter Welch joined the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) and community leaders to announce over $16 million in broadband construction grants that will bring fiber broadband speeds to residents of Bolton and several towns in the Northeast Kingdom (NEK). Standing in front of two bucket trucks installing fiber on a stretch of Stage Road in Bolton, leaders congratulated NEK Broadband (a Communications Union District (CUD)) and Waitsfield Champlain Valley Telecom (a small, family-owned telephone operator), on receiving the grants.

Vermont Business Magazine The board of the Vermont Journalism Trust, the parent organization of the online news site VTDigger.org, announced today that founder and editor Anne Galloway will be stepping down from her leadership role, but remain with the organization as it transitions to a new executive director. Galloway founded the news site in 2009 and focused on covering state government. It has since expanded its coverage from its base in Montpelier and now boasts the largest newsroom in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University will receive $4 million in federal funding to create an artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and quantum computing academic and experiential learning center. The center will develop education and training programs directed at undergraduates and engage midcareer professionals with up-skilling and continuing education. In a news release, US Senator Patrick Leahy, D-VT, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that funding for the center was included in a $167 million spending proposal for projects across the state of Vermont as part of the 2022 omnibus appropriations bill.

Vermont Business Magazine Former Governor Madeleine Kunin has endorsed Charity Clark for Attorney General. Clark, who announced her candidacy for Attorney General last week, is running as a Democrat. Clark has spent most of her career serving Vermonters, having worked in the Governor’s Office under Governor Howard Dean and the Attorney General’s Office under Attorney General Bill Sorrell and Attorney General TJ Donovan. If elected, she would be Vermont’s first woman Attorney General.