Current News

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.

Vermont Business Magazine Lisa Senecal of Stowe is now Chair of the Vermont Commission on Women (VCW), an independent non-partisan state government commission dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. Senecal, elected unanimously, takes the helm from Marcia Merrill of Jericho.  Merrill steps down after ten years, leading the only entity in Vermont expressly considering broad implications of state policy and budget priorities for women in our state.  

"Like the women’s movement, VCW has evolved over our 55-year history in response to current issues,"  said VCW's director Cary Brown. "Our Chair helps to guide and steer this process, and we’ve been blessed with gifted leaders, like Marcia and Lisa, who volunteer hundreds of hours of their time in service to women of Vermont.  We celebrate and thank Marcia for her service to the women of Vermont and we welcome Lisa to this position."

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers fell again last week continuing a downward trend. Claims had spiked to nearly a 1,000 in April but are well below that peak now. Claims for the week of June 8, 2019, totaled 3125, down 93 from last week. Claims were 20 fewer than they were at this time last year.

Vermont Business Magazine On Saturday, June 15, 2019, the Vermont State Police will deploy an aggressive traffic enforcement campaign throughout Chittenden County. This is a two-phase, high-visibility initiative. Phase 1 will employ a zero tolerance “See the Violation, Write the Violation” directive as Troopers target and identify aggressive driving violations. During this phase, police will be on the lookout for drivers who engage in this risky – and potentially life-threatening – behavior, such as speeding, failing to move over, following too closely, cellphone/hands-free violations, etc. These drivers will be issued civil and/or criminal citations as appropriate.