Current News

by John McClaughry Fifty-two years ago the Vermont General Assembly was faced with an important issue. The Gibb Commission had reported to Governor Deane Davis that Vermont was in danger of being overrun by unrestrained development, bringing a long list of challenging impacts.

The Municipal Planning and Zoning Act of 1968 had provided towns with numerous tools to use to prevent undesirable development impact. But probably two hundred or more of Vermont’s 246 towns and cities lacked any experience with those tools, and many were being overtaken by events.

Governor Davis and his Administration Secretary Richard Mallary, a former Speaker of the House, charged House Assistant Clerk Bruce Graham, attorney general James Jeffords, and Vermont Natural Resources Council attorney Jonathan Brownell with drafting legislation to deal with this problem – quickly.

Vermont Business Magazine Randy Crossman, a 63-year-old woodworker and 7th-generation Vermonter, has summited Pico Mountain 300 times in 300 days, nearing his goal to climb 365 times in 365 days. He invites the media and the public to join him at a June 18, 2022, event to celebrate his 365th climb, and possibly hike alongside him for some or all of his summit. More details will be announced soon. Crossman is an avid outdoorsman who committed to this goal to raise awareness and funds for Building Bright Futures (BBF), where his daughter Dr Morgan Crossman serves as executive director. Building Bright Futures is a nonprofit organization working to improve the well-being of young children (from prenatal to age 8) and families in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine For organizations and nonprofits dealing to survive during COVID who would like to learn from others and how they’ve faced novel ways to tell their stories and connect to community, join Vermont Independent Media’s panel discussion on Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30p on Zoom. Registration required. The event will be moderated by Joyce Marcel, journalist and president of the board of the nonprofit Friends of Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro.

Vermont Business Magazine Award-winning California-based journalist and author Richard Louv has spent his career exploring human relationships with nature and animals and how those relationships affect our health and wellbeing. At 12 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, he joins Trey Dobson, MD, on Medical Matters Weekly.

The show is produced by Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can see Medical Matters Weekly on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. The show is also available to view or download as a podcast on www.svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters.

​Vermont Business Magazine Occupational therapy patients in Wilmington, VT, and its surrounding towns, can now schedule appointments closer to home. Occupational Therapist Gabrielle Loomis, MSOT, OTR/L, has begun seeing patients at SVMC’s Deerfield Valley Campus, a primary care office providing family medicine in Wilmington, VT. Occupational therapists use a wide range of creative and customized plans to help patients of all ages develop, recover, improve, and maintain the skills needed for daily living and working.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) invites you to celebrate National Volunteer Week – which runs April 17 to April 23, 2022 – by thanking volunteers at your next scheduled appointment and purchasing tickets for the Auxiliary’s Annual Raffle in support of the NVRH Scholastic Achievement Awards. COVID-19 has impacted much of what volunteers are able to do. During the COVID-19 pandemic, NVRH paused its volunteer services. Then, after Governor Phil Scott updated his guidance to allow fully vaccinated volunteers back into hospitals in March 2021, the hospital welcomed back volunteers in April 2021. Although volunteers have still not returned to all areas of the hospital, NVRH currently has 73 active volunteers and over 150 Auxiliary members involved in multiple departments.

Parwinder Grewal Appointed at April 18, 2022, Board of Trustees Meeting

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges System announced that Parwinder Grewal has accepted the position of president at Vermont State University, effective July 1, 2022. Vermont State University will welcome its first class in fall 2023. The University, comprised of the current Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College will be the first statewide, hybrid institution in the United States.

Vermont Business Magazine Commissioner Michael S Pieciak today announced that the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) has reached an agreement with Acadia Insurance Company. Under the terms of the settlement, the company will pay an administrative penalty of $85,000 and contribute $15,000 to the Vermont Financial Services Education and Victim Restitution Special Fund. The settlement relates to the improper handling of Vermont workers’ compensation claims, including those filed by first responders for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), by Acadia’s third-party administrator WR Berkley Corporation (BerkleyNet).

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 150 cases of COVID-19 for Sunday. The VDH reported no additional deaths since April 7 for 623 statewide. April, with two to date, is on track to have the fewest COVID-related fatalities since last July. Hospitalizations have been elevated in April and today were 44 (12 higher than Friday). Serious outcomes, such as hospitalizations and deaths, are now a more accurate representation of COVID impact, as the state is highly vaccinated and home testing of cases and those results are less known because they require self-reporting.

Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids announced today that construction of the largest solar canopy in the state of Vermont is now complete at the company’s Brewery and Taproom in Waitsfield. Built by SunCommon, the structure features 495 individual solar modules (REC 375W) seated above 40 covered parking spaces and 10 level-two electric vehicle charging stations. The project, built throughout 2021 and early 2022, represents the latest investment from Lawson’s Finest Liquids in sustainable practices. With the addition of the new solar array, about 60 percent of the Waitsfield Brewery’s operations will be powered by solar energy.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and GMP today announced that public transportation in Rutland County will be cleaner with the arrival of two new all electric transit buses. The Marble Valley Regional Transit District (MVRTD) is now operating these electric buses in place of two diesel fueled buses. The buses, infrastructure upgrades, and equipment were funded through the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund with a grant of nearly $1.5 million and additional support from Green Mountain Power through clean electrification incentives designed to cut carbon and costs for all customers. With support from VTrans, Marble Valley Regional Transit District also provided funds for the e-buses.

by Devon Green Senate Appropriations beat expectations by voting the budget out on Friday, which signals that the session will go at a frenetic pace until the expected adjournment date of May 6. Meanwhile, a coalition of health care provider associations, including VAHHS, testified in House Health Care last week against S.285, a bill that provides $4.45 million to the Green Mountain Care Board and $550,000 to the Agency of Human Services to develop alternative payment models, including hospital global budgets, and lead a community process on the sustainability of the hospital and health care system.