Current News
by tim
Vermont Research Newsletter More than a decade ago, Wal-Mart agreed to locate its first store in a downtown, eschewing the suburban location that can devastate main street businesses. Since then other chains have followed suit. The story of Wal-Mart’s Rutland location includes a trip to Bentonville. AR, by a group of visionary Vermonters; The trend in prime working-age population is improving, with Vermont outperforming other Northeastern states for the first time in recent years; A recent article finds that trust in the government correlates to constitution length, with higher levels of trust associated with shorter constitutions, like Vermont's.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont recently won a national award for the newly redesigned state government portal website. The dotCOMM Awards named the State of Vermont a gold winner in the government category for the new Vermont.gov.
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#BeThere Campaign Urges Our Community to Support Veterans
Vermont Business Magazine In observance of Suicide Prevention Month, White River Junction VA Medical Center is bringing awareness to its #BeThere campaign by encouraging community leaders, colleagues, and veterans’ families and friends to help prevent suicide by showing support for those who may be going through a difficult time.
Suicide is a complex national public health issue that affects communities nationwide, with more than 45,000 Americans, including more than 6,000 Veterans, dying by suicide every year. But suicide is preventable. VA is using a community-driven approach to prevent suicide and finding innovative ways to deliver support and care to all 20 million U.S. Veterans whenever and wherever they need it.
by Brandon
Vermont Business Magazine SaVida Health, a leader in outpatient medication-assisted treatment for opioid and alcohol addiction, is opening a new treatment center in Vergennes, VT on September 16th. SaVida Health Vergennes is the fourth Vermont location—joining the SaVida Health Bennington, Springfield, and Newport, VT sites.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The 14th annual Kelly Brush Ride powered by VBT Bicycling Vacations raised $705,000 for adaptive sports and ski racing safety. The ride, held on September 7 in Middlebury, Vermont, drew 940 participants, a record for the event. Funds raised support the Kelly Brush Foundation mission to inspire and empower people with spinal cord injuries to live active lives and support the foundation’s ongoing collaboration with the ski racing community to improve safety in the sport.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Quality of Life Plus (QL+), a non-profit organization headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and Norwich University’s David Crawford School of Engineering (DCSE) in Northfield, Vermont, are partnering to develop novel technical solutions to assist and improve the quality of life for injured veterans and first responders.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine US Citizenship and Immigration Services will present 15 citizenship candidates to the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont during a special naturalization ceremony at the Shelburne Museum aboard the Ticonderoga on Tuesday. Magistrate Judge John M Conroy will administer the Oath of Allegiance to the candidates, and Shelburne Museum Deputy Director Berenice Sarafzade will provide remarks to the new citizens. This ceremony is one of over 316 ceremonies that will welcome more than 34,300 new citizens at Constitution Day and Citizenship Day ceremonies across the nation between September 13 and 23.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care will offer a 12-week Qi Gong class for cancer survivors and members of their support teams. The classes are scheduled 6:30 – 7:30 pm Wednesdays, starting September 25. This section—titled “Tune-up, Tonify, and Strengthen”—is appropriate for beginners and those who are experienced in Qi Gong. The class is presented by Nate Sumner of Villari’s Martial Arts Center.
Participants will learn to increase their energy; release stress, anger, grief, and other negative emotions; cleanse their energy to achieve more well-being; find peace in the here and now; and activate their feeling of intelligence. Benefits include improved immunity, better sleep, increased energy sensitivity, greater vitality, and stress relief.
by tim
Ethan Allen Institute The week of September 20-27 has been designated by a handful of activist and lobbyist groups as a “Global Climate Strike and Week of Actions.” The objective is to encourage people to skip work and for students to skip school, go out and block traffic, picket offices and businesses, and generally disrupt people’s ability to function in their daily lives. It is a massive temper tantrum orchestrated to intimidate legislators and citizens into supporting a radical climate change agenda that an overwhelming majority of Vermonters does not support. If it did, a sympathetic legislature would have passed the agenda with its veto-proof majority.
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Health officials urge Vermonters to quit using e-cigarette products
Vermont Business Magazine The first case of vaping-associated severe respiratory illness in a Vermont resident has been confirmed by the Vermont Department of Health. Five other possible cases are currently being investigated. The Health Department first alerted health care providers on August 29, 2019, and has been collaborating with CDC, FDA, and state and local health departments on the multistate outbreak of lung disease associated with the use of e-cigarette products (devices, liquids, refill pods, cartridges).
by tim
Marlboro College announces it will pursue partnership options with other colleges
Vermont Business Magazine Marlboro College and the University of Bridgeport announced Friday that they have suspended negotiations on a potential merger due to concerns around the sustainability of a merged institution. Both institutions worked diligently on a deal that would have seen Marlboro continue to provide its distinctive teaching tradition on its Vermont campus as the Marlboro College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Bridgeport, providing new geographic and programmatic options available to students on both campuses. The two schools suspended negotiations, citing insurmountable barriers to developing a compelling financial and academic model that supported both institutional missions.
by tim
by Jenn Swain, Global Senior Sustainability Manager, Burton Burton was founded in 1977 in a barn in Londonderry, and Vermont has remained our home base since. We now have over four hundred employees working at our headquarters in Burlington and one thousand in total around the world. These roots and our shared values with the Green Mountain State are a proud part of our company culture and identity. However, Vermont has fallen behind on its existing climate commitments and CO² emissions in the state are on the rise. As a state that touts its environmental legacy and outdoor brand, it is well past time to take meaningful action on climate. Let’s live up to our legacy.
Burton pioneered the sport of snowboarding, and it remains core to our business. Climate change is a threat to this sport we love and the mountain lifestyle that we and our customers lead. Which is why the climate crisis is a priority issue for us.