Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College Online in Burlington has announced that Big Y Foods, Inc, one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England, has joined Champlain's truED Alliance Program. Big Y’s workforce of over 12,000 employees will now have access to over 60 degree and certificate programs offered by the regionally accredited online college at a reduced cost. Champlain’s academic programs will help Big Y employees to advance their knowledge and careers, and help the business continue its ongoing regional growth.

Glass Stopper Cherry on Top of 18-Year-Old Whiskey

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington, Vermont’s, Art District industry AO Glass, has partnered with Nationally renowned Vermont distillery WhistlePig to create an exquisite glass stopper that is now being sold with WhistlePig’s newly released, double malt rye aged in barrels for 18 years. Faced with the challenge to create a unique piece that would reflect the quality and heritage of WhistlePig product, AO Glass went on a quest to find a solution that was both classic and unique.

AO Glass salvaged an antique glass press from an historic factory in West Virginia and installed it at its Burlington glass factory –- on the same week in March that WhistlePig installed its second at its Shoreham distillery. 

Vermont Business Magazine Record numbers filled the Vergennes City Park on Saturday for Vergennes Day, enjoying great food, local musicians, and vendors & organizations lined up along every inch of the sidewalks. The Addison County Chamber of Commerce organizes this event but, as always, a great deal of the credit for its success goes to a fantastic group of volunteers, sponsors and community organizations.

Vermont Business Magazine WW Building Supply, a home improvement supply store, has recently been awarded a $250,000 loan through the Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP). The loan will contribute to the construction of a new 14,700 square foot building at 551 VT Route 30 in Newfane, VT. WW Building Supply had outgrown their current facility and were seeking options to remain in Newfane rather than moving elsewhere. WW Building Supply will build the new facility adjacent to the existing property.

by John McClaughry The 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC unleashed a rhetorically violent attack from the Left, notably including Governor Peter Shumlin and Vermont’s three members of Congress. In that case the Court overturned part of a 2002 campaign finance law known as BCRA. The Court held that “the government may not suppress political speech based on the speaker’s corporate identity.” That is, whether the citizens spoke as individuals or through a corporation, nonprofit advocacy group or labor union.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on Tuesday announced that the Preservation Trust of Vermont has been awarded a $747,000 Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program grant, administered by the National Park Service. The grant was among the largest nationwide of nine released from the new, Leahy-created program to invest in historic preservation in rural communities around the country. 

Leahy said: “Vermont’s successes again have offered a model for an important federal program to help boost economic development in rural areas across the country.  I was proud to work with the Preservation Trust of Vermont to take the vision for this program and make it a reality at the national level.  I know the Trust will help communities use these dollars to make a lasting impacts in communities across Vermont.”

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), is expanding its Healthy Hearts Support Group to include anyone living with a chronic condition.

​Vermont Business Magazine For the third year in a row, Rutland Regional Medical Center has been named as a High Performing Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for Knee Replacement. More than 4500 medical centers nationwide were evaluated in nine procedures and conditions with fewer than a third of all hospitals receiving any high performing rating.

Vermont Business Magazine A new study shows Vermont ranks Number 12 spending the most money spent on healthcare annually in the US. Vermont residents spend an average of $6,103 per year on healthcare, this is above the national average of $5,640.78. Hawaii residents spend the least at $3,626 per person; Alaskans spend the most, $7,469. As the 2020 election looms, the skyrocketing cost of healthcare will be a major issue at the ballot box. Presidential-candidate positions on the issue run the gamut from repealing the Affordable Care Act to Medicare for All. But there is no Red State-Blue State delineation in the data, as high-cost states and low-cost states appear outside of clear political designations.

Vermont Business Magazine RAD-Innovations LLC of Cornwall has introduced the RAD RaceRunner running frame. The RAD RaceRunner running frame is designed for use by individuals challenged with balance, range of motion and mobility resulting from cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, stroke, or amputation, for example. Athletes use running frames to compete in the sport of RaceRunning which is an internationally recognized disability sport. While RaceRunning is established in Europe and gaining interest in other parts of the world, its popularity has been slow to grow in North America.

Vermont Business Magazine Four generations of Vermonters came together to create a ceramic “Legacy Quilt” on display through Sept. 7 in the Gifford Gallery at Gifford Medical Center. The exhibit is free and open to the public. The quilt is part of the Legacy Arts Program presented by the Arts Bus and “is inspired by the lives of Vermont children’s parents, grandparents and great-grandparents,” said Guinevere Albert, executive director of the Arts Bus. “We engage in intergenerational learning organically grown in Vermont, partnering with a local, seasoned craftsperson whose knowledge and expertise is valued. Together, we connect hands across time to transfer wealth in artistry.”

by Don Turner This year, legislators and Governor Scott crafted a budget that is quite reasonable in the aggregate. New taxes and fees are fairly limited; important investments are made in a number of areas (from clean water to broadband deployment); and the budget growth rate is just 2.6 percent. Over the past five years, spending increases have been reasonable as well, with just 2.2 percent annual growth. This stands in contrast to the budgets of the Shumlin administration, where spending was growing faster than the underlying economy and well beyond Vermonters’ ability to pay.