Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Airbnb, the world’s leading community driven hospitality company, announced today that its Vermont host community earned a combined $15.1 million in supplemental income while welcoming approximately 69,800 guest arrivals to the State for the five biggest guest arrival weekends in 2019, including Columbus Day Weekend, President’s Day and Valentine’s Day Weekend, and the holiday season.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, the Vermont House advanced the proposal of a constitutional amendment to clarify the prohibition on slavery and indentured servitude (PR.2) on a vote of 145-0. The proposal of amendment passed the Senate in April and in May, the House held a public hearing on the proposal as part of the process to consider an amendment to the constitution. Chapter I, Article 1 of the Vermont Constitution is historically significant in that it is the source of the anti-slavery provision that made the Vermont Constitution of 1777 the first state constitution to outlaw slavery; however, the proposed amendment would eliminate part of this article and replace it with the statement, “slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited,” as the current article does not protect those under the age of 21.

Vermont Business Magazine Bennington College has been awarded a four-year $290,000 grant from the New York-based The Endeavor Foundation to launch The Endeavor Foundation Environmental Changemaker Fellowship Program, which includes funded internships for Bennington students to work in nonprofits with a focus on environmental justice. The fellowship will start with a pilot cohort to be selected in Summer 2020, and launch formally in January 2021 over Field Work Term, the College’s annual six week internship experience.

by Shawn Shouldice Small businesses face a critical list of legislative proposals this session that would raise costs and impose burdensome mandates that hinder their ability to operate. Vermont’s demographics have continued to erode over the past decade - aging population, declining enrollment, stagnant revenues and nearly $87 million of additional General Fund Budget pressures over FY’20, but getting much attention are proposals that put even more strain on the cost of doing business - require employers to allow workers time off for up to 12 weeks of family leave, a significantly higher minimum wage, and costly proposals intended to address climate change.

Vermont Business Magazine Renovations will begin this month to create a new Women’s Health Center at Gifford with a grand opening slated for September. The center will house Gifford’s OB-GYN and Midwifery services and providers in an improved location directly adjacent to Gifford’s renowned Birthing Center. Once housed within the medical center, OB-GYN team members and patients will be closer to other Gifford services and providers, easing patient access and improving upon continuity of care. The center will be 5,700 square feet – 1,240 square feet larger than the current OB-GYN and Midwifery space – and include a new designated Procedure Room, Ultrasound Room, Phlebotomy Room and Lab in addition to provider offices and midwife on-call space.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) Lead Respiratory Therapist Heather Nelson presented at the NVRH Auxiliary’s bi-monthly meeting on January, 10, 2020. Nelson discussed the NVRH Respiratory Department’s Green Initiative, an initiative that educates respiratory therapists and provides patients with color-coded thermometers as a way to stay on top of their COPD and asthma.

Color-coded thermometer notifies patients of their current breathing status. This one indicates "green" which is good.

by US Attorney Christina E Nolan, et al In 2017, almost 50,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. It’s a sad reality that New England as a whole has been particularly hard hit by opioids. In fact, per capita, of the 12 states across the country with the most opioid overdose fatalities, all six of our states make the list. Much of that is due to illicitly produced fentanyl. To maintain and build upon a recent decline in opioid overdose deaths nationwide, law enforceme [Anchor] nt must have all the necessary tools at their disposal. One such tool is the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) 2018 order making all fentanyl-related drugs illegal in the United States. Unfortunately, that order was temporary and will expire in just a few weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine The Northeast Kingdom Young Professionals Network (NEK YPN) recently received a $3000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation's Northeast Kingdom Fund. The grant will help further NEK YPN’s mission of supporting young professionals both socially and professionally by expanding outreach efforts and promoting a new Welcome Wagon Program.

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine Kingsbury Companies, LLC, a Middlesex construction firm founded in 2005, saw a big leap in revenues in 2019, as good fortune pushed gross income from 2018's $18.3 million to an estimated $32.0 million, measured on a calendar-year basis. By way of explanation, CEO Travis Kingsbury points to "a couple of larger projects that we landed," and to the acquisition of Johnson's D Tatro Construction. The diversified enterprise has seen revenues grow 106% since 2014.

Vermont Business Magazine Marathon Health LLC is a Winooski workplace health and wellness services for midsize and large employers: primary care, coaching, and disease management. The Vermont 100+ with full stories, industry rankings and growth charts can be found in the January 2020 issue of Vermont Business Magazine.

Vermont Business Magazine For The Biome, the Vermont-based wellness and skincare company launched last year by Paul and Barbi Schulick, has announced a partnership with the JHCapital family office of Jim Crook and Allison Maino. With over 35 years of leadership experience and a strong track record of growing companies in Vermont and beyond, Crook is the former CEO of IDX Systems Corporation and plays lead governance roles in Aspenti Health, DealerPolicy, RCxRules, MediRevv and Greensea Systems, among others.

The Schulicks are the acclaimed natural products industry leaders who originally founded the iconic New Chapter supplement company in 1982, which was acquired by Procter & Gamble seven years ago. They left P&G last year to launch their latest venture, For The Biome, which they are positioning to impact the wellness/skincare space in the same way that New Chapter led the natural products industry.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to its growing medical device business, advanced contract manufacturing and injection molding company GW Plastics, Inc. has completed the latest expansion of its Royalton, Vermont Manufacturing and Technology Center. GW Plastics has added a 30,000 ft² expansion to accommodate the growth of its thermoplastic injection molding and medical device contract assembly business.