Current News

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Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s (SVHC) Medical Matters Weekly with Dr. Trey Dobson—a weekly interactive, multiplatform medical-themed talk show—will feature Ayla Ellison, the editor-in-chief of Becker’s Hospital Review, on its September 22 program. The publication is a leading source of news for hospital executives. The show will air at 12 p.m. She will share her insights on hospital trends throughout the last year.

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​Vermont Business Magazine The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (Blue Cross) was rated among the highest commercial health insurance carrier scores in Vermont. Blue Cross was rated 4.5 out of 5 in NCQA’s Commercial Health Plan Ratings 2021.

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by John McClaughry For a moment let’s set aside a long list of national problems – crime, drugs, racism, election laws, epidemics, vaccinations, climate, and a perilous international situation – to focus on a truly critical issue lurking beyond the purview of the nightly news. To set the stage for this: the Federal government’s current debt owed to the public – before the net contributions to that debt from a pending trillion dollar infrastructure bill and as much as a $3.5 trillion dollar pending entitlement spending bill are added to the nation’s accounting – is $28.43 trillion. That is 102% of the nation’s total Gross Domestic Product, a level never approached since the final year of World War II.

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Vermont Business Magazine To commemorate its 30th Anniversary, Ledyard National Bank is celebrating community partnerships by honoring ten local non-profit organizations who serve the Concord, Lake Sunapee and Upper Valley regions. Ledyard is doing this by hosting a contest in which it will donate a total of $30,000 across these participating organizations: The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, The Hartford Dismas House, The Friendly Kitchen, The Good Neighbor Health Clinic, Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, LISTEN, New Hampshire Children’s Trust, Twin Pines, The Upper Valley Haven, and West Central Behavioral Health.

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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health today reported 90 new cases of COVID-19 (210 Sunday), as cases fell below 100 for the first time since last week's surge and reporting "glitch." The VDH also reported no new deaths, which are holding at 298 statewide. There are 46 people hospitalized (up five from yesterday) and 15 in the ICU (up three).

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United States Attorney for the District of Vermont​ The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Alexander Chase, 25, of Barre, Vermont, was sentenced today to serve 121 months in prison, followed by a 20-year term of supervised release, for child exploitation crimes, including obtaining images from a child victim and distributing them to others via email.

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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) today announced that it is now accepting grant applications for the SFY 2022 Transportation Alternatives Program. This year, funding of approximately $2.2 million is available for all eligible activities as described in the Vermont Transportation Alternatives Fall 2021 Application Guide.

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​The Vermont State Police is identifying the victim in this incident as Katherine Curley, 74, of Evergreen, Colorado. An autopsy performed at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington determined the cause of death to be drowning, and the manner of death was ruled an accident. The other individual aboard the boat at the time of the incident was William F Snow, 76, also of Evergreen, Colorado.

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Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont (UVM) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have established a joint appointment program to increase collaborative research and joint funding opportunities between UVM faculty and PNNL researchers. PNNL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory and a leading center for scientific discovery in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology and data science, and for technological innovation in sustainable energy and national security.

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Vermont Business Magazine The Walter Cerf Community Fund, a component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, has announced $52,461 in grants to 20 organizations in its 2021 competitive grants round, building on $97,000 previously granted to 24 organizations in April of this year. The competitive grants include a combination of organizations supporting youth and families, historic preservation, arts and community engagement, and education. In addition, the fund made proactive grants to longstanding grantee partners continuing to experience considerable disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the organizations receiving funding are based in Addison County and northern Rutland County.

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Vermont Business Magazine You don't have to be a barista to enjoy Ben & Jerry's newest Limited Batch flavor—a cool combination of cold brew coffee ice cream, marshmallow swirls and fudge brownies. "Change is Brewing" was created to help transform the nation's approach to public safety to one that prioritizes community needs. Change is Brewing is part of Ben & Jerry's ongoing work to advance racial justice, calling for the nation to divest from a broken criminal legal system and invest in services that help communities thrive, like mental health treatment, counseling, substance use treatment, and healthcare.

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Vermont Business Magazine The SBA Vermont District Office hosts a free webinar at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 21 and Sept. 23 about changes made to the Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan. Topics include the increase from $500,000 to $2 million, deferred payments, expansion of eligible use of funds and more. Updates made to the COVID 19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Sept. 8 increased the potential loan amount for new applicants and existing COVID 19 EIDL borrowers