Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) and Umbrella have announced the recipients of the NEK Prevention Center of Excellence Grant (NEK-PCE) program’s sub-awards. The awards were granted to local partners whose missions support substance misuse prevention.

Vermont Business Magazine On Thursday, June 2nd, IndieReader, one of the original review services for self, hybrid and independently published authors, announced the winners of the tenth annual IndieReader Discovery Awards for 2021. The Violin Family published by Rootstock Publishing of Montpelier, Vermont, and written by Melissa Perley of Berlin, Vermont, won in the children’s category.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Lung Association in Vermont announced that it will host its first-ever Virtual Fight For Air Climb Vermont, beginning on July 1, 2021, and lasting through September 1, 2021. The Climb will operate as a virtual-only event to support research, advocacy, and education for lung diseases, lung cancer, and COVID-19 with a fundraising goal of raising over $10,000.

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 Meghan Gunn, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), on its June 23 program. The show will air at noon, and Gunn will offer her insights about COVID-19 vaccines for children.

Vermont Business Magazine The White River Junction US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Police Department’s K9 Ripp will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Ripp’s vest will be embroidered with the sentiment “Born to Love-Trained to Serve-Loyal Always.” Delivery is expected within eight to 10 weeks.

by Rob Roper In a study released in the fall of 2020, State Auditor Doug Hoffer reported that Vermont’s healthcare costs had increased by 167% between 2000 and 2018. Keep in mind that those years saw a number of “reforms” that promised to reduce costs while increasing access and quality, including Catamount Health, Green Mountain Care (the failed attempt at single payer), and the latest debacle that is OneCare Vermont. All of these programs shared some common characteristics: they were all top-down, government centered, and bureaucratic.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer released an analysis of State spending to operate the All-Payer ACO Model, and the financial performance of the model from its inception in 2017 through 2019. When including the operating costs, OneCare’s estimated net Medicaid financial performance for those years collectively is a minus $25.6 million.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Monday called on Senate Republicans to join bipartisan negotiations on the Security Supplemental to address the fallout from the January 6 insurrection. It has been 166 days since the January 6 attack, and 32 days since the House passed an emergency supplemental. Without Senate action, the Capitol Police will run out of funding sometime in August. And without Senate action, the National Guard, which provided protection to the Capitol after the attack of January 6, will have to begin cutting training in August.

by Bill Schubart The most corrosive issue today affecting the American Dream is that so many families have had to give up on the idea of ever owning their own home. Affordable housing has all but disappeared in too many places. Yesterday, I got my semi-annual haircut and listened as my middle-aged haircutter, punctuated by scissor snips, told me of her family and the rental place they finally found through friends, far from her place of work. She and her husband must both commute and share care for their young daughter with a local in-home child-care provider. She spoke wistfully of their having abandoned in middle age their former dream of owning their own home.

by the Legislative Apportionment Board, Tom Little (Chair) The 2020 Census numbers for Vermont indicate that our little state grew by about 20,000 people over the past decade, or +2.8%. We also know that within Vermont our overall population has been migrating toward the northwest region of the state (Chittenden, Franklin and Lamoille Counties), and away from the south and east. Moreover, there is a legislative mandate to break up the six-member Chittenden senate district (currently Chittenden County minus Colchester and Huntington/Buels Gore). All of these factors point to a legislative district map in 2022 that could look very different from the ones Vermonters have used, not just since 2012, but for many decades past.

Vermont Business Magazine Bennington College President Laura Walker has announced that Dr Maurice Hall has been appointed provost of the college. He will assume this position on July 28. Currently, Dr Hall serves as the Dean and Professor for the School of the Arts and Communication at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) and Operation Lifesaver of Vermont (OLVT) report that trespassing on or near railroad tracks in Vermont has increased since the suspension of Amtrak services in March 2020. With the Amtrak trains now back in Vermont in preparation for the resumption of full service on July 19, Vermonters are reminded that it is both dangerous and illegal to trespass on railroad property.