Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A Vermont high school skilled trades teacher is among 50 teachers and teacher teams from across the country who were named today as semifinalists for the 2019 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. Baxter Weed, a teacher at Cold Hollow Career Center in Enosburg Falls, and his skilled trades program, are in the running for a share of $1 million in total cash awards.

Weed, who teaches automotive technology, was chosen by an independent panel of judges from among a field of 749 skilled trades teachers who applied for the prize. The semifinalists—some competing as individuals and some as teacher teams—hail from 26 states and specialize in trades including manufacturing, welding, construction, automotive and agriculture mechanics.

Vermont Business Magazine Hazelett has been designing and manufacturing continuous casting machines for the global metal industries for 100 years. Hazelett technology is used in metal manufacturing processes worldwide to cast aluminum, copper, zinc, and lead into metal strip and bar used to create countless products. Today, over 100 Hazelett twin-belt continuous casting machines are operating in more than 24 countries. Hazelett will celebrate its century of manufacturing on Thursday at its Colchester plant.

by John Pelletier, Director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College On July 10, 2019, Fitch, a major credit agency, reduced Vermont’s bond rating. This was expected, after Moody’s, another large credit agency reduced Vermont’s bond rating in October 2018. Both rating agencies have the same concerns about Vermont and it’s economy.  As a result, future state and municipal borrowings costs will increase.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor has launched its newly designed website. The revamped site, which went live on Monday, July 8, 2019, offers users an uncluttered design and streamlined layout that is easier to navigate, and provides an overall more customer-focused experience.

Vermont Business Magazine The locally owned and operated Mt Philo Inn in Charlotte has been awarded the 2018 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. The achievement celebrates hospitality businesses that have earned great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. Certificate of Excellence recipients include accommodations, restaurants and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a quality customer experience.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Electric Department issued a peak day alert for tomorrow, July 17, as part of its Defeat the Peak program launched two summers ago, encouraging members of the Burlington community to reduce their energy usage tomorrow from 4:00-7:00pm.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life’s sixth annual Do Good Fest attracted an estimated 10,000 people on Saturday and raised $50,000 for cancer patients. With this year’s $50,000 donation, Branches of Hope, the cancer patient fund at Central Vermont Medical Center, has received a total of $185,000 in contributions from the Do Good Fest since 2014. Patients who may be out of work while undergoing cancer treatment can draw money from the fund to help cover bills and unexpected expenses.

Vermont Business Magazine Aspenti Health will now provide confirmation urine toxicology testing for Northwestern Medical Center (NMC). Northwestern Medical Center is recognized as one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States by iVantage Health Analytics and The Chartis Center for Rural Health. This type of recognition showcases Northwestern Medical Center's strength as a vital and valued community resource.

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Regional Medical Center is celebrating a milestone in the construction phase of the new Thomas W Huebner Medical Office Building, with a “topping off” event to place one of the final beams on the structure. The beam will be painted white, and available for physicians, nurses, staff, volunteers, construction teams, and community members to sign later this week.

In April, Rutland Regional Medical Center broke ground on the new 37,000 square foot, two story medical office building named for former President and CEO Thomas W. Huebner. The building will house ENT (Ears, Nose & Throat) & Audiology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and the Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic (VOC) medical practices. The projected cost of the project is $23,883,569. The building is currently on budget and scheduled for June 2020 completion.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Commissioner of Public Safety Thomas D. Anderson announced today that Commissioner Anderson will be stepping down on July 31. During Commissioner Anderson’s tenure, which began in January 2017, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been central to many of Governor Scott’s priority initiatives, including enhancing school safety, reducing supply of narcotics as part of the state’s comprehensive response to the opioid epidemic and streamlining the permitting and licensure process, while upholding public safety standards. Anderson has also focused on establishing and fostering strong relationships with federal and local law enforcement, and with Vermont’s career and volunteer firefighters and first responders.

Vermont Business Magazine ACLU of Vermont issued a statement today saying its client, Jason Ploof, has settled his lawsuit challenging a Burlington “No Trespass” ordinance that barred individuals from visiting City Hall Park if they had committed prior offenses there. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Burlington agreed to policy changes that guarantee an individual’s right to exercise constitutionally protected activities on City properties. In addition, the City agreed to work with the ACLU of Vermont and other stakeholders to draft an ordinance governing no-trespass orders. The City will also pay Ploof and his counsel $13,500.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Rebecca Holcombe became the first Democrat to announce her candidacy for Vermont governor. The former teacher, principal and Vermont Secretary of Education is seeking to use her experience as a lifelong educator "to create a Vermont that works for every Vermonter and expands opportunity to every corner of the state." She was Education Secretary under Governor Peter Shumlin and Governor Phil Scott, against whom she would run if she won the nomination. Scott has not yet announced his own candidacy, but is expected to seek a third term. Holcombe had been considered as a possible opponent. No governor has lost re-election since 1962, when Republican F Ray Keyser Jr lost to Democrat Phil Hoff.