Current News

by John McClaughry In 2015, after literally more than a hundred years of intermittent trying, Vermont’s educational leadership succeeded in giving its bureaucracy the power and duty to force mergers of Vermont’s public schools into larger districts (Act 46).

After a cautious nudge in the direction of consolidation by Commissioner Richard Cate (2007), Commissioner (later the first Secretary) of Education Armando Vilaseca put his energy behind the drive that led to Act 46.

In his final appearance before the House Education Committee in 2013, Vilaseca said: “We don’t need 272 school districts.” A committee member inquired whether Vilaseca thought regionalization ought to be legislatively mandated. Vilaseca replied that school board members and superintendents told him “we’ll never do this ourselves. There has to be some sort of hammer.” 

Vermont Business Magazine Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), southeastern Vermont’s community mental-health agency, recognized two community partners at its annual meeting on November 6. Each year, the non-profit agency honors community partners who exemplify the spirit of effective collaboration in order to support the mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disability needs of the community. This year, HCRS awarded Sara Kobylenski, Strategic Consultant for the Couch Family Foundation, and the Theatre Adventure Program of New England Youth Theatre, with their James Bartley Community Partnership Award.

Vermont Business Magazine Omni Resorts and Hotels has selected PC Construction to complete an approximately $20 million renovation to the historic Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The project, which was designed by Bull Stockwell Allen, includes a 60,000-square-foot, four-story, 69-room hotel addition, complete with a guest lounge, public restrooms and a poolside grille, to the resort’s current 200-room footprint. PC Construction will also complete a conference center kitchen upgrade and extensive roof improvements featuring a new rooftop bar, patio, restrooms and landscaping.

Vermont Business Magazine The Henry P Kendall Foundation announced the University of Vermont and Norwich University, and food services provider Sodexo, as a 2019 New England Food Vision Prize award winner. The award competition is designed to encourage college and university campuses in the region to improve the health, sustainability and vitality of the region’s food system. 2019 marks the second annual round of $250,000 prizes. Food service leaders from the region’s 200 college and university campuses were invited to submit bold, collaborative, catalytic ideas to increase the amount of regionally produced food on campus menus.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of 32 Vermonters to state boards and commissions. These appointments were each made during the month of November. Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities. The Governor’s office is currently soliciting applications to fill vacancies and upcoming term expirations. All those interested in serving on a board or commission should visit the Governor’s website at http://governor.vermont.gov/boards-commissions to apply.

November appointments made by the Governor are listed below:

Governor's Emergency Preparedness Advisory Council

• Michael Leydon of Bristol

Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is ranked as one of the healthiest states, but Vermonters have one of the highest rates of marijuana use. Now that it’s legal in the state for adults 21 years or older to possess up to one ounce of cannabis, the Department of Health has launched Let’s Talk Cannabis, a web resource of science-based information aimed at increasing awareness about cannabis and how it affects our bodies, minds and health.

Vermont Business Magazine Blanche Podhajski, Ph.D., has announced that she will be leaving her position as President of the Stern Center on August 31, 2020, after 37 years of leadership. Dr. Podhajski formed the nonprofit organization in 1983 with a threefold mission to enhance learning through the provision of evaluations and direct instruction to individuals, professional learning for educators and physicians, and educational research.

Vermont Business Magazine On November 19, New Media Investment Group Inc, the owner of GateHouse media, and Gannett Company, Inc, the owner of the Burlington Free Press, announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Gannett by New Media for a combination of cash and stock. The deal was valued at about $1.38 billion when it was announced last August. While Gannett was the company acquired, the combined company will take the Gannett name and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker: GCI. Gannett is based in McLean, VA.

GateHouse Media, based in Pittsford, NY, in recent years has been gobbling up weekly and small daily newspapers mostly in the Midwest and Northeast. It owns nearly every weekly in Eastern Massachusetts under the wickedlocal.com brand. The Free Press is the only Gannett paper in Vermont. The combined company eventually expects to save upwards of $300 million a year.

Vermont Business Magazine December 3 is Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving that arose in response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This celebration of philanthropy gives people an opportunity to focus their holiday spirit on organizations doing important work in their communities. 

Vermont Business Magazine For the second year in a row, employee-owned companies in Vermont joined together to collect donations for the Vermont Food Bank. Members of Employee Owners of Vermont raised a total of $35,186 and collected a total of 5,604 pounds of food for the Vermont Food Bank in October, which is Employee Ownership Month. This was nearly double the amount collected the year before. 

USA Ski & Snowboard Association World Cup victory number 62 tasted pretty sweet for Mikaela Shiffrin after she put forth a commanding performance at the HomeLight Killington Cup Sunday in front of 11,000 fans. She won the first run by 1.13 seconds and extended her victory margin to a massive 2.29 seconds on a scrappy second run. With this victory, Mikaela continues onward with the strongest start she's had to a season in years. Considering she won a record 17 races last year, this is a notion that must have her competitors nervous. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts visited the Werner Tree Farmi n Middlebury Friday to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season with the help of Vermont’s farmers. The trees cut during this visit will decorate the Pavilion Building in Montpelier, which houses the Governor’s Office.   

Governor Scott at the Werner Tree Farm in Middlebury