Current News

Vermont Business Magazine It’s time to begin organizing the back-to-school check list - notebooks, calendars, folders, apps and online tools, oh and don’t forget your annual wellness exams and immunizations! Community Health wants to be sure that you have included health checkups and vaccinations on the list.

Vermont Business Magazine Every year since 1998, the Kraft family and the New England Patriots have been celebrating those who give their time to help others. The program was originally known as the Community Quarterback Awards and were presented to those who exemplify leadership, dedication and a commitment to improving their communities through volunteerism. Dr Raphael Landovitz received a $10,000 donation for Camp Ta-Kum-Ta in South Hero, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Jodi Henderson, RN-C, LCCE, of the Women’s and Children’s Services Department, was a the July recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).

by Julie Lowell, Public Assets Institute The federal government has allocated over $10 billion to Vermont to minimize the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. This unprecedented amount of aid—30 percent of Vermont’s 2019 total personal income—has helped Vermonters get through the pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Natural Resources Council and Center for Biological Diversity sued Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources today for refusing to require the Brandon-Leicester-Salisbury-Goshen-Pittsford Insect Control District to apply for permission to harm five threatened and endangered Vermont bat species. The Insect Control District sprays the toxic insecticides malathion and permethrin for mosquito control in the habitat of the Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, little brown bat, eastern small-footed bat and tricolored bat, all of which are protected by Vermont’s Protection of Endangered Species Act.

Vermont Business Magazine The Small Business Administration Vermont District Office is reminding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers to submit their "forgiveness" paperwork. If borrowers do not apply for forgiveness within 10 months after the last day of the covered period, then PPP loan payments are no longer deferred, and borrowers will begin making loan payments to their PPP lender.

Vermont Business Magazine As the production of single-use plastic increases, many businesses want to do their part by contributing to recycling efforts for hard to recycle items, including plastic #4 low-density polyethylene (LDPE), also known as plastic film. In 2017 alone, the United States produced 8 billion tons of LDPE. Currently, there is no curbside or pick-up recycling program for plastic film in Chittenden County, leaving the hundreds of businesses in Vermont’s densest commercial region without an option to recycle.

Vermont Business Magazine Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has named David Yoo as the company’s new Chief Information Officer. He comes to Vermont from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. “How do we encourage better patient engagement and better access to care? We can support our members through safer, more accessible, and more consistent data exchange between their health plan and their providers.”

by Bill Schubart During the Pandemic, Governor Scott has been an exemplary crisis leader. Now is the time for him to escalate his leadership and require vaccinations and public masking of all Vermonters until the delta variant spike has subsided. I can hear howls about freedom from the left and the right, but freedom is never absolute in a democracy as many would like to believe. Freedom has commensurate responsibilities to community.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets We don’t know about you but with the cancellation of fairs last year, we’re more excited than ever for this year’s Fairs and Field Days season. With the 84.7% of eligible Vermonters (and counting!) who have started the vaccine process, residents from every county are getting out and rewarding themselves with the excitement and traditions of Fairs and Field Days.

by Mike Donoghue, Correspondent, Vermont Business Magazine A defense lawyer said he plans to argue for no prison time for embattled former Jay Peak president William J Stenger after he pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to making false statements during a failed effort to build a biotechnology plant in Newport with use of EB-5 money. Stenger, 72, could face up to 5 years in prison when sentenced in US District Court, but defense lawyer Brooks McArthur said his client was victimized by two co-defendants, Ariel Quiros and William Kelly, both from Florida. McArthur called Quiros and Kelly, career con men and fraudsters and said both took advantage of Stenger, who is from Newport.

Vermont State Police On Sunday at approximately 1515 hours, an aircraft experiencing mechanical issues made an emergency landing in a field in Richmond, between I-89 and US RT 2. The aircraft made a safe, controlled landing with no injuries.