Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Imerys Talc America, Inc, along with Imerys Talc Vermont, Inc and Imerys Talc Canada, Inc, on February 13 initiated voluntary Chapter 11 cases in Delaware. The filing companies said in a press release that they reached this decision after evaluating a range of strategies to safeguard their long-term business interests and address their historic talc-related liabilities in the United States. As previously reported, Johnson & Johnson has been embroiled in lawsuits related to asbestos being found in talc-related products. A jury in Missouri last July ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women who said asbestos in talc caused their ovarian cancer. The verdict is on appeal. Both Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier Imerys say the claims are without merit.

Vermont Business Magazine Healthy Living Market & Cafe today announces plans to open a new location in Williston, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine GPMS of Cornwall, Vermont, has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Bell for GPMS' Foresight MX predictive health monitoring system on Bell 407 helicopter models. The agreement allows Bell to leverage the industry's first true predictive health management system for helicopters and rotating industrial equipment to enhance the safety, and reduce operating costs and unscheduled maintenance events for helicopter operators.

Foresight MX is a compact, lightweight system that is simple to install even where space constraints exist. Distributed as the Bell 407 HUMS and available exclusively through Aeronautical Accessories, a Bell Brand, the GPMS solution provides innovative signal filtering technology and prognostic algorithms which enhance reporting accuracy.  The cloud-based interface provides intuitive, actionable information that enables immediate ROI by reducing operating cost and unscheduled downtime.

Vermont Business Magazine The Senate Committee on Committees has appointed Lisa Ryan of Rutland to serve on the Vermont Commission on Women. Lisa Ryan is the Program Manager of the Rutland County Community Justice Center at BROC Community Action, where she provides restorative justice practices, including Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) and Restorative Circles, to the offender population. This work involves addressing crime and conflict through dispute resolution, training community volunteers, and overseeing reentry and reparative programs.

Lisa Ryan, Vermont Commission on Women photo.

Vermont Business Magazine A new heart health screening will soon be available to local patients at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC). It will allow people to see their risk of a heart-related health event before symptoms arise.

Vermont Business Magazine Do you have a love for physical fitness and for philanthropy? Set your passions up on a date at the 2019 Point to Point, powered by VSECU. The cycling and running event was created in 2002 to raise funds and awareness for the Vermont Foodbank’s mission to end the growing problem of hunger in Vermont. One in four Vermonters are not sure where their next meal is coming from and, according to the Vermont Foodbank, the majority of those people are Vermont’s most vulnerable residents: children and seniors. Over the years, this event has become the Foodbank’s largest fundraiser, bringing in well over $100,000 annually to support their efforts. 

Vermont Business Magazine With an eye towards improving care for individuals with chronic illness, reducing repeat hospitalizations and improving patient outcomes, the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region recently upgraded their in-home telehealth technology so that patients utilizing the system can get a check-up every day in the comfort of their homes. Telehealth provides daily nursing support in addition to regularly scheduled home visits. The new monitors from Resideo (formerly Honeywell), a leading life care solution provider that creates advanced remote monitoring solutions that help improve patient lives with better clinical outcomes and reduced cost.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Association of Insurance Professionals together with the Champlain Valley Association of Insurance Professionals held a joint meeting in November 2018.  This evening dinner event has been a long standing tradition between the two associations. They were honored to share the evening with the Commissioner of Insurance, Michael Pieciak, who addressed trending insurance concerns in the State of Vermont.  

Vermont Business Magazine The latest small business economic outlook survey, presented by Davis and Hodgdon Associates CPAs and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, revealed that business owners’ attitude about the Vermont economy has become increasing more ambivalent over the last four years, while optimism in the US has generally improved over the same timeframe. However, both in Vermont and the US, optimism has declined since last summer and more so in the US over the last year.

Over 100 Vermont businesses from diverse industries completed the latest semi-annual economic survey in January regarding the outlook of Vermont’s small- to medium-sized businesses. 64 percent of those business owners who responded have fewer than 25 employees. 

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain College (GMC) recently announced that it would cease operations at the end of this academic year, and Marlboro College has expressed a desire to support its students. While GMC established an agreement with Arizona-based Prescott College as a preferred teach-out partner, Marlboro is one of three Vermont colleges that also has a teach-out agreement with GMC.

“We would warmly welcome GMC students who came to Vermont to study in the unique natural backdrop that the Green Mountain State provides,” said Kevin Quigley, Marlboro College president. “Our state offers an optimal experiential learning atmosphere, where students can explore and conduct research in pristine outdoor environments and benefit from a diverse array of academic opportunities. ”

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Vermont-NEA (VT-NEA) President Don Tinney have announced a joint initiative inviting Vermont middle and high school students to create a “See Something, Say Something” video public service announcement (PSA), which will be used by the Agency of Education (AOE) and VT-NEA to promote awareness and reporting of school safety threats across the state.

“Working together to protect Vermont’s kids and ensure our schools are safe places for them to learn and grow is a shared priority as we work to strengthen all of Vermont’s communities,” said Governor Scott. “Vermont is one of the safest and healthiest states in the country, but we can always do more in this area. I want to thank the Vermont-NEA for their partnership on this important initiative and I look forward to seeing what our creative students come up with.”