Current News

​Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont for Reproductive Liberty Campaign announced that more than 1,300 individuals, businesses, and organizations have endorsed the Reproductive Liberty Amendment to date. The list of endorsers is now available on the campaign’s website. The Reproductive Liberty Amendment is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would protect every Vermonter’s right to make their own reproductive decisions. The amendment would ensure that individual Vermonters can choose for themselves whether and when to become pregnant, use temporary or permanent birth control, or seek abortion care—regardless of any future attempts by politicians to limit access to reproductive health care services.

Vermont Business Magazine Mack Molding, a leading custom plastics molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services, is growing and so are the molding departments at its Arlington, Vermont, Headquarters and the Company’s Inman, SC, facility with the addition of five new injection molding presses. With the addition of robots and infrastructure Mack has invested more than $5.5 million for the fleet expansion. The new presses will enhance the company’s ability to serve customers – including new work – in the medical, heavy truck, sport utility/recreational vehicle and industrial sectors.

Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, New Hampshire’s largest private employer and the state’s only academic health-care system, is changing its name to Dartmouth Health, officials announced Tuesday. Dartmouth Health has more than 13,000 employees and includes DHMC; more than 24 Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics around the region; the Dartmouth Cancer Center; Dartmouth Health Children’s; Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon, N.H.; Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, N.H.; New London Hospital in New London, N.H.; Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in Windsor, Vt.; and Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Air National Guard will conduct night flying on Wednesday, April 13 and Thursday, April 14 with two takeoff and landing periods scheduled between 3 pm and 10 pm. There are no scheduled morning flights. Airmen of the 158th Fighter Wing conduct training in day and night time conditions to accomplish federal training requirements and sustain the skills necessary to accomplish the variety of missions assigned to the Air Force's cornerstone fighter, the F-35.

Vermont Business Magazine Mack Prototype, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mack Molding Co. focused on complex prototyping and low-volume manufacturing, has announced significant capital investments to build upon the Company’s additive manufacturing capabilities. With the addition of Carbon CLIP DLS, HP Multi Jet Fusion and Formlabs SLA machines to its existing fused deposition modeling (FDM) offering, Mack Prototype has bolstered its ability to meet customers’ prototyping needs, including rapidly scaling into production, whether in-house or through Mack Molding’s large production footprint. Between equipment, software and infrastructure, the Company has invested approximately $750,000 in the business.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today is reporting 157 cases of COVID-19 for Monday (100 Sunday). The VDH reported three additional deaths on Friday for 623 statewide. COVID-related fatalities in March (17) were the fewest since last July (2). One of the newly reported fatalities is attributed to a March case, but the other two are the first fatalities noted in April. Hospitalizations today were 35 (up 7). The record was 122 on January 19. Health officials have focused on this as a key indicator. They had been running over 100 in early February but fell off dramatically since before the recent increase.

Vermont Business Magazine Vernal Biosciences, a Colchester-based mRNA and lipid nanoparticle process (LNP) development and manufacturing organization, has been awarded a $99,475 grant from the Vermont Training Program (VTP). Vernal will utilize the VTP grant to train new and existing hires on essential process-specific techniques and equipment necessary for the production of mRNA and LNP-mRNA, both of which are now used in the development of cutting-edge medicines such as vaccines, gene therapy, cancer therapies, and more. Training will include on-site laboratory and classroom training as well as vendor-specific training on high-tech laboratory equipment.

Proclaims April 11-15 Community Development Week

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott has signed a proclamation declaring April 11-15 Community Development Week. The designation and proclamation focus on the success and impact of the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which funds housing and economic development projects and public services in communities across the state.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont has a federal grant to support the expansion of community-based mobile crisis intervention services. This funding provides an opportunity to build on Vermont’s mobile crisis system of care to meet the needs of people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. The Agency of Human Services (AHS) wants to hear your thoughts about and experiences with mobile crisis services. Your input is vital in helping Vermont improve services. On behalf of AHS, Health Management Associates (HMA) is conducting this survey. It takes about 15 minutes to complete.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) will distribute a total of $65,000 in mini-monies this month to 13 Vermont schools/districts for a variety of special projects. The mini-monies program is a part of the Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP) and the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA). Funded (in part) through a grant with the US Small Business Administration, the CNPP uses a “hub and spoke” model, with the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) as the hub, and VPA as one of nine spoke organizations that create collective impact throughout the state for targeted populations including BIPOC, rural, veterans, and women.

​by Martine Larocque Gulick It’s a known secret to those who work in education that there are haves and have nots in Vermont’s education system, and it’s clear that some districts have more resources to spare than others. As someone who has worked in Vermont school districts with relatively low needs and lives in a district with high needs, I was baffled by the discrepancies I saw in funding between various districts.

by Meg Hansen The Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) requires Vermont to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by specific amounts by 2025, 2030, and 2050. Failure to meet these mandatory targets would allow any person to sue the state, at taxpayers' expense, for non-compliance. The GWSA appointed a 23-member Vermont Climate Council to create an action plan. If the CHS is enacted, Vermont will become the first state in the nation to regulate all fossil-based home heating fuels. An unelected 3-member Public Utilities Commission (PUC) – not the Legislature – will craft the details and administer the program.