Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service and the Northern Border Regional Commission in announcing assistance to help St Albans City (Northwest Healthy Roots Collaborative at Northwestern Medical Center) with revitalization strategies that boost the local economy, improve health, and protect the environment. The assistance is provided through Local Foods, Local Places (LFLP), a federal initiative that helps communities reinvest in existing neighborhoods and improve quality of life as they develop the local food economy.

Vermont Business Magazine KeyBank has announced it has ranked #36 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies list. In addition, KeyBank appeared on several specialty lists announced at an event hosted by DiversityInc in New York on May 7. The DiversityInc Top 50 list, issued yearly since 2001, recognizes the nation’s top companies for diversity and inclusion management. These companies excel in such areas as hiring, retaining and promoting women, minorities, people with disabilities, LGBT and veterans.

by Jeannette Hogan and Tom Johnson After decades of philanthropic investment in Vermont’s early care and learning system, it is gratifying to see a bill moving through the Legislature that includes significant new investments to make high-quality child care more affordable to Vermont families. H531, the child care bill, passed unanimously (133-0) in the House and $9.5M of its proposed investments were included in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s budget bill. This level of sweeping tri-partisan support for high-quality, affordable child care is unprecedented and long overdue.

Investing in our kids while they are young gives them the solid start they need to realize their potential; succeed in school, work and life; and become contributing members of society.

Vermont Business Magazine A long-time leader in Vermont continuing education, the Castleton Center for Schools continues to expand, offering an array of graduate-level courses this summer aimed at meeting the needs of K-12 educators and administrators. The summer course list includes a variety of delivery formats to accommodate educators' schedules, including on-site classes held throughout Vermont, online options, and hybrid models that combine in-person meetings and online work.

Vermont Business Magazine During a visit to Northwestern Medical Center (NMC) in St Albans today, Governor Phil Scott signed a proclamation designating May 6 – 12 as Nurses Week in Vermont to celebrate nurses’ care for their patients and contributions to their communities. The governor was joined by the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer Jill Berry Bowen, RN and Chief Nursing Officer Deanna Orfanidis, RN.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) released the following statement in response to news that the US Food and Drug Administration approved treatment for pediatric Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS), a rare neuromuscular disorder. In February, Sanders sent a letter to the CEO of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, demanding an explanation for its decision to set the price of its drug, Firdapse, at $375,000 a year.

“This week marks a victory for patients with LEMS and American taxpayers, and a blow to the greed of Big Pharma. Suffering patients used to receive life-saving medication for free from Jacobus Pharmaceuticals—until a competitor, Catalyst, bought the rights to the drug, received market exclusivity, and started charging $375,000 a year to those in desperate need.

Vermont Business Magazine A new Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at Saint Michael’s College, more practice-based than the traditional Master of Education (MEd), answers growing demands from potential undergraduates, recent college graduates, and career-changers to earn teacher licensure faster and more affordably.

Vermont Business Magazine Scott Silver of Hospitality Funding has announced plans to redevelop a historic Burlington building into a new Cambria hotel at 266 College Street, the current location of the Greater Burlington YMCA. Cambria Hotel Burlington will preserve the historic facade of the existing structure, built in 1934, and will feature 142 guest rooms. The hotel is expected to open in 2021.

Vermont Business Magazine FirstLight, an Albany-based provider of fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud, and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers in Vermont and throughout the Northeast, announced today that it has expanded its relationship with the Albany Times Union Center and facilities operator, SMG, to provide higher bandwidth solutions for its clientele.  FirstLight will provide additional high-speed, fiber-based Internet and voice services, ensuring that the center is positioned to meet the growing demands of event organizers and attendees.

Vermont Business Magazine Registration is now open for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibilities annual spring conference, titled “Champion Change in the Workplace and Marketplace.” Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) members, friends and state legislators will gather for the conference at the LEED-certified Davis Center at the University of Vermont in Burlington Wednesday May 15^th. Throughout the day, attendees will engage in their choice of 15 workshops designed to help forward-thinking professionals find new opportunities through values-led work.

Over 300 participants will enjoy a localvore lunch menu and visit with 40+ exhibitors including corporate members like Green Mountain Power and non-profits such as Change the Story Vermont. The day will conclude with a cocktail and networking reception.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce and Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan today announced that nearly $90,000 owed by Western Union to Vermonters is now available. This money is available to Vermonters who did not file a claim in an earlier class action process. The State Treasurer’s Office will work to contact any Vermonter identified in this settlement to assist them with claiming unclaimed property and provide information about how to file a claim.

Following a nationwide class action lawsuit, Western Union was required to offer refunds of unclaimed wire transfers that it had not returned to the original senders in a timely fashion. These initial refunds were made directly to Vermonters who claimed their refunds from Western Union.