Current News

Vermont Business Magazine RiseVT-Addison County has awarded several grants in the region and has $19,000 more to give out in $500-$1500 grants before the end of August. One recent grant recipient is Camp Ubuntu based in Bridport—a day camp serving elementary school youth during the last week of July and the first week of August. A $1,500 grant from RiseVT will cover the cost of an experienced guide and equipment to enable campers to have both a half day of kayaking and a half day of tubing on local waterways.

Vermont Business Magazine Older is better – for forests facing climate change. That’s the upshot of new University of Vermont research that finds older forests in eastern North America are less vulnerable to climate change than younger forests, particularly for carbon storage, timber production, and biodiversity. The study found that increased forest age reduces the climate sensitivity of forest carbon, timber, and biodiversity to projected increases in temperature and precipitation. In other words, increased age helps to safeguard forests from climate change. 

Vermont Business Magazine Saint Michael’s Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Chuck Tobin today announced the June 18 opening of the 72nd summer theater season of live professional theater at Saint Michael’s Playhouse.

by Bill Schubart Vermont has no long-term, well-articulated economic development strategy nor the funding capacity to execute one. It’s not that we don’t spend money on economic development. There are many earnest people working hard to generate economic activity in Vermont, although we often confuse economic and community development; a Greensboro Pride Parade or town green replanting is not “economic development.”

Vermont Business Magazine Have you ever thought: “I hear the name TRORC a lot, but I’m not sure what they do”? You’re not the only one. Many Town Officials and partners have only experienced a small sample of what we offer the 30 towns in our Region. TRORC is the regional planning commission for east-central Vermont. We serve 30 towns, helping them with mapping, grants, plans, data, ordinances, and other projects. Most of all, we are a wealth of knowledge for our towns; we can advise on planning practice, provide you with information about statutory requirements, connect you with people around the state, help you apply for or manage various grants, and much more.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) Center for Connected Care have launched cardiology and urology care for children. Visits with these pediatric specialists are provided at the SVMC Medical Office Building in Bennington via telemedicine.

“Children with conditions that affect their hearts or urinary systems sometimes have to spend a lot more time than their peers traveling to medical appointments,” said Meghan Gunn, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician and medical director of SVMC Pediatrics. “We are excited to offer this level of specialized care conveniently, and we believe this will help to achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients and their families.”

Vermont Business Magazine BioTek Instruments continues to enhance cell biology workflows with the introduction of the Scratch Assay Starter Kit for use with their Lionheart Automated Cell Imagers and Cytation Cell Imaging Multi-Mode Readers. The Scratch Assay Starter Kit includes the AutoScratch Wound Making Tool, Scratch App software, sample packages of 24- and 96-well microplates, and cleaning reagents.

Vermont Business Magazine New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) has announced the winners of its 2019 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Scholarships. Three scholarships of $3,000 each were awarded.

Vermont Business Magazine ​Grand Jury indicts four over Jay Peak fraud; unemployment rate down again; tax revenues show strong personal and corporate results; House adjourns without minimum wage or paid leave, but passes 24-hour waiting period for gun purchases; VSCS Trustees approve smaller 1% tuition increase for fall; Burlington International Airport releases noise exposure map; St Albans made unauthorized use of TIF; AG Donovan sues Sackler family, makers of Oxycontin; and more.

Vermont Business Magazine On June 19 at 3:30 pm, 22 graduates will cross the stage at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts and shake hands with Burlington School District (BSD) Superintendent Yaw Obeng and other dignitaries. But these graduates are not the typical students you’re used to hearing about. These are graduates of Parent University, a BSD program designed to help parents be partners in the education of their children.

Vermont Business Magazine  Governor Phil Scott today signed the 2019 transportation and Department of Motor Vehicles bills to invest more than $615 million in Vermont’s transportation system and promote innovative, equitable transportation policies. Governor Scott signed both bills (H.529, An act relating to the transportation program and miscellaneous changes to laws related to transportation, and S.149, An act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws related to vehicles and the Department of Motor Vehicles) during a public ceremony at the site of the Bethel bridge project on Route 12, just south of Randolph. The existing bridge, built in 1928 and severely eroded during Tropical Storm Irene, will be replaced by a longer bridge, set for completion in October 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine Representatives of Vermont's business community today expressed serious concerns with S37, a bill addressing liabilities that companies could face for medical monitoring costs. Speakers from Associated Industries of Vermont, the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Business Roundtable, and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, called on Governor Scott to veto S37 and for the Administration, Legislature, business community, and other stakeholders to work together to develop new medical monitoring legislation that would be consistent with other states that have established medical monitoring through the courts.