Current News

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine Patrick J Leahy is the stuff of legend and he isn't finished yet. Passionate native Vermonter, devoted family man, land mine opponent, free-speech advocate, storyteller, defender of the US Constitution, published photographer, early Obama supporter, six-term US senator (the only Democrat Vermont has ever sent to the Senate), caster of 13,000 senatorial votes (only eight have achieved this longevity), fourth in seniority in a place where seniority really matters, highly publicized enemy of former Vice President Dick Cheney (by your enemies shall you know them), pop culture fan, and such an interesting politician that he was supported in one election by his opponent (the late, great Fred Tuttle) - you can say one thing for certain about Leahy: Vermont has elected him to lead a wonderful life.

Vermont Business Magazine Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund (PPVTAF) launched a new podcast titled Reproductively Speaking and it is available now on Spotify. Reproductively Speaking is a podcast dedicated to protecting reproductive rights in Vermont and features conversations about health care and rights. The podcast explores the experiences of real Vermonters and why reproductive freedom is important to them. Reproductively Speaking was created by PPVTAF’s Speakers Bureau, a group of committed volunteers with a presence throughout the state. Together, members of the Speakers Bureau participated in the production of the podcast by selecting the content, guests, and co-hosts.

Vermont Business Magazine iSun, Inc, a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company based in Williston with 50-years of construction experience in solar, electrical and data services, today announced results for the third quarter of 2021. YTD quarter revenue of $18.3 million, up 56% year-over-year, driven by execution against a robust Commercial and Industrial project backlog, the addition of a new Development and Professional Services revenue stream, and continued deployment of EV infrastructure.

Vermont Business Magazine Loads of insulation, doors, lighting fixtures, pressure treated lumber, wooden beams, and an antique cast iron sink are among the items being harvested for reuse from The Lodge, a building on the Bennington campus of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC). The building is slated for demolition next week to make way for a $28 million renovation and expansion to SVMC’s Emergency Department.

by John McClaughry As world leaders meet in Glasgow to seek agreement to make Earth’s climate stop changing, the news media has delivered a continual tsunami of alarming reports: “Climate change is already ravaging the world,” “climate change-induced disasters,” “climate crisis,” “climate emergency.” President Biden informed delegates at Glasgow that “there’s only a brief window” before we are confronted by “an existential threat to human existence as we know it.” The network news shows feature endless images of dead cattle, calving glaciers, confused polar bears, desperate refugees, and hurricane wreckage.

Vermont Business Magazine Mary Kate Mohlman has been named honorary chair of CVHHH’s annual fall appeal. In her letter to Central Vermonters, Mary Kate writes about how CVHHH cared for her grandfather at his home in Woodbury. She recalls the “skilled, compassionate nurses and personal care attendants” who made it possible for her grandfather to live comfortably and happily in his own home.

Vermont Business Magazine On Monday, the Vermont Community Foundation announced $150,000 in grants to expand Vermonters’ access to mental health and suicide prevention care as part of the newest recovery initiative from its VT COVID-19 Response Fund. Since it was created in March 2020, the VT COVID-19 Response Fund has distributed more than $10 million in grants to assist with basic and urgent needs for Vermont’s most vulnerable, and jumpstarting longer term recovery and resilience through the initial five recovery initiatives announced in September 2020.

House Speaker Jill Krowinski and Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint While we appreciate this step toward giving Vermonters more tools to promote public health, we are deeply disappointed that there is not a broader approach to keeping Vermonters safe and our health care system afloat.

Vermont Business Magazine With speeds 20 times faster than the national average, Fidium Fiber, a new gigabit broadband internet service from Consolidated Communications, is primed to give customers an entirely new internet experience they’ve been missing. Fidium’s symmetrical, gigabit fiber internet service comes without the hassle of data caps, contracts or required bundles, and is now available in Brattleboro, Montpelier, Rutland and numerous other towns, with new locations rolling out weekly across Vermont. Fidium is also available in select towns in Maine and New Hampshire.

Vermont Business Magazine The SBA Vermont District Office is accepting nominations for its 2022 small business awards. Previous Vermont winners include Ben and Jerry’s, Mamava and Lawson's Finest Liquids. These annual awards recognize the achievements of SBA-assisted small businesses and the contributions they have made to their communities and Vermont’s economy.

Vermont Business Magazine Residents from Bennington and North Bennington joined Governor Phil Scott, state legislators and officials, local selectboard members, and members of the public to celebrate the extension of municipal waterlines to 445 residences. The waterline extension project was in response to the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination discovered five years ago in Bennington. The local community worked with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), MSK Engineering, and state legislators to extend municipal waterlines that deliver clean water to residents with wells contaminated by PFAS.

Vermont Business Magazine According to the organizing trade union, the City of South Burlington’s two dozen school bus drivers and monitors this morning overwhelmingly voted to join the South Burlington Educators’ Association. Of the unit’s 24 eligible drivers and monitors, 23 cast votes today – all but one in favor of joining the union. After a 10-day waiting period, the bus drivers will become members of the SBEA.