Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Subaru Motorsports USA (managed by Vermont SportsCar in Milton) driver Scott Speed topped the podium at the 2019 Americas Rallycross (ARX) season-opener at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, closing a dominant weekend with a wire-to-wire winning drive in the final race. Speed and teammate Chris Atkinson ensured an all-Subaru front row in the final by winning both of Sunday's semi-final heats, showing off the pace of their WRX STI rallycross cars and paving the way for Speed's victory in his first-ever race with Subaru.

Vermont’s Sterling College Adopts New Mission & Vision

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan told Governor Phil Scott in a letter dated today that he will investigate cases against three individuals who were arrested for brutal crimes, including murder, but whose cases were dismissed under the insanity defense by the state's attorney.

State's Attorney Sarah George declined to prosecute the cases, she announced May 31, because she concluded that the prosecution could not overcome the insanity defense each had presented in order to make a criminal conviction. The dismissals stunned the community and the governor, who then asked the attorney general to look into the cases.

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Vermont University has implemented the first of two 2019 tuition reductions, added programs and introduced a live hybrid model for its popular NVU Online division. The measures address the need for affordability and flexibility with degree and certificate programs and help Vermont advance workforce goals.  

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the Q2 of 2019 outlook results of their joint initiative, the VBR/EPR Business Conditions Survey and Index: More than three-quarters of respondents shared negative outlooks specifically with ease of hiring for available positions; meanwhile, respondents expressed a neutral outlook about the state’s overall business climate, tempering the negative outlook of the previous survey.

Vermont Business Magazine Monday, Governor Phil Scott signed S131, an act relating to the creation of an insurance “regulatory sandbox” that permits the Commissioner of Financial Regulation to grant limited-duration innovation waivers. The waivers are designed to enable companies to offer innovative or more efficient insurance products and services to Vermont consumers. With this legislation, Vermont becomes one of only two states to offer this incentive for insurance innovation.

Vermont Business Magazine Main Street Alliance of Vermont held their fifth anniversary celebration at the Alchemist Brewery on Sunday night where they presented Representative Robin Scheu of Middlebury the 2019 Legislator of the Year Award.

Vermont Business Magazine Mack Molding, a leading custom plastics molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services, announced today its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mack Prototype, is investing in five new Milacron Roboshot all-electric presses.
 

Vermont Business Magazine A LendingTree company, and one of the nation's leading online insurance marketplaces, has released a report compiled from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data to see where e-cigarette usage is most prevalent. America's youth could force the hand of insurance companies to create a clear designation on e-cigarette use. In 2018, 3.6 million middle school and high school students reported e-cigarette use. Vermont ranked 49th in the use of e-cigarettes in the QuoteWizard report. Vermont just passed a law raising the tobacco and vaping use age to 21, which will go into effect this summer.

by Janette Bombardier, PE There is a free college tuition program that still is one of the best-kept secrets in Vermont. Did you know that Vermont students interested in STEM careers can go to college AND finish their high school degree at the same time? Tuition free? As I attended the 30th graduation ceremony for the Vermont Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) at Vermont Technical College, I was amazed by the students’ accomplishments and future plans.

Vermont Business Magazine A national security firm has undertaken a new study that found Vermont ranked Number 16 as the best state for women’s rights. Security.org today released the study on The Best and Worst State for Women’s Rights using the most recent data from the US Census Bureau across four key categories: economic freedom, education, health and reproductive freedom, and political participation. Vermont ranked high in education and health, modestly high in economic factors, but low in political success, which ultimately dragged down the state's ranking. The overall rankings generally follow the Red State/Blue State social divide, with Blue States ranking higher in this study.

Vermont Business Magazine Building Bright Futures (BBF) announced today that Dr Morgan Crossman, a native Vermonter from Rutland, has joined the organization as Executive Director. Crossman holds a PhD in Social Policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, specializing in Child, Youth and Family Policy as well as Disability Policy, and a Masters in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College.