Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The 2021 Regional System Plan (RSP21), the biennial report that lays the foundation for long-term power-system planning in New England, was approved by the ISO New England board of directors November 1. RSP21 looks at the expected changes to New England’s power system through 2030 from factors driving grid transformation, including economic decisions of market participants, environmental goals developed to combat climate change, changing patterns of electricity use, and resource adequacy needed to maintain required reliability criteria. For Vermont, peak demand is forecast to grow due to the electrification of heating and transportation. The transmission system has sufficient capacity to serve expected future demand for the first 10 years of the 20-year planning horizon.

Vermont Business Magazine With this year's winter season officially underway, skiers and snowboarders have another reason to celebrate: Vail Resorts' 34 North American mountains have reached 85 percent renewable electricity—one big step closer to a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Through its operations, as well as by promoting collective participation, Vail Resorts is prioritizing efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Vail owns Stowe, Mount Snow and Okemo in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard destination in Eastern North America, and part of POWDR, will kick off the 2021-22 winter season at 10 am on Friday, November 5, 2021, becoming the first Eastern resort to open for skiing and snowboarding. The first turns of the season, on Friday, November 5, will be reserved exclusively for Season Pass, Express Card, Beast 365 and Ikon pass holders. The resort will open to the general public on Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 9 am.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Business Association in partnership with the City of Burlington is expanding its Downtown Safety program. The Burlington Downtown Ambassador Program will run through the holiday season and will provide critically needed services to the downtown community. Green Mountain Concert Services will provide Downtown Ambassadors from 2pm to Midnight, Wednesday through Sunday. Ambassadors will ensure visitors have an inviting, informed, and safe visit to Burlington. They will also be a resource for downtown workers, helping them get to and from their workplace safely and coordinate with Howard Center Street Outreach and BPD.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced Meagan Tuttle as the City’s next Planning Director. Meagan has served as Burlington’s Principal Planner for more than six years and brings more than a decade of planning experience to the role. Since June, she has also served as the City’s COVID-19 Response Leader, coordinating the City’s internal and external efforts to respond to the pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Schumer announced yesterday that the White House and Congressional Democrats had reached a compromise agreement on prescription drug pricing reforms to be included in the Build Back Better Act. The agreement includes a provision to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices, which is currently prohibited by law.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington High School (BHS) and Burlington Technical Center (BTC) are one step closer to having a permanent home. On Tuesday, November 2nd, the Burlington Board of School Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Superintendent Tom Flanagan’s recommendation “to select 52 Institute Road - North as the location of a newly designed Burlington High School and Burlington Technical Center and to direct the Superintendent to focus all design efforts on this location.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting today that COVID-19 cases were 198 today, up 30 from Tuesday. There also were five additional COVID-related deaths, for 374 statewide. Meanwhile, the CDC gave final approval late Tuesday for Pfizer vaccines for children 5-11 and parents could begin signing up their kids starting today for shots starting Friday.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) has scheduled two COVID-19 vaccination clinics for ages 5 – 11 on Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6 at their COVID Resource Center at 982 Mansion Drive in Bennington. The clinics are only for children. Children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Scheduled appointments are preferred, and a limited supply will be available for walk-ins. The supply of vaccine available during this first allocation is limited through the state of Vermont and federal government. A small number of doses are reserved for walk-ins. An additional allocation is expected to be available to patients starting Wednesday, November 17.

Vermont Business Magazine The Robert Larner, MD College of Medicine at The University of Vermont has been awarded continued accreditation for a full eight-year term by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for all MD degree programs in the US and Canada. The reaccreditation process is rigorous, involving 18 months of self-study organized by 12 standard areas of medical education containing 93 specific elements that are examined for compliance. At Larner, this work was accomplished by a task force and committee structure involving over 300 members of the College community. The self-study also includes a detailed survey of the medical student body, called the Independent Student Analysis, which is written and administered by the students themselves. After the self-study is submitted for review, the LCME conducts a site visit, typically over two or more days.

Vermont Business Magazine To commemorate its 30th Anniversary, Ledyard National Bank celebrated community partnerships by honoring ten local, non-profit organizations who serve the Concord, Lake Sunapee and Upper Valley regions. Participating organizations included The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, Hartford Dismas House, The Friendly Kitchen, Good Neighbor Health Clinic, Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, LISTEN, New Hampshire Children’s Trust, Twin Pines Housing, The Upper Valley Haven and West Central Behavioral Health.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan and Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes will host a free expungement tele-clinic on Friday, November 19, with appointments available from 10 am to 2 pm. Expungements wipe from your record specific convictions and dismissed charges after a certain period of time has passed. Under Vermont law, many misdemeanors, 14 different felony offenses, and all dismissed charges can be expunged. The free clinic will focus on expunging criminal charges and convictions from Franklin County and will be open to the public by telephone appointment.