Current News

by John McClaughry Last summer the Joint Fiscal Office awarded a legislatively-mandated contract to Resources for the Future, a Washington consulting firm, “to analyze the costs and benefits for Vermont of adopting and implementing policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by Vermont’s consumption of fossil fuels.”

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA) and Community Care Network – Rutland Mental Health Services today announced a new partnership that provides free caregiver counseling to family caregivers in Rutland County in 2019. The program, which will focus on reducing caregiver stress, will help participants learn and implement strategies for stress reduction, limit the physical and emotional impacts of caregiving, encourage caregivers to engage in better self-care, improve overall mental health and expand their support systems. In an effort to accommodate the needs and schedules of caregivers, the counseling service will be offered in-home as well as at SVCOA’s administrative office in Rutland.

Vermont Business Magazine Did you know that heart disease affects one in three women? That’s one in three of our mothers, wives, aunts, sisters, and best friends. Go Red for Women Day, February 1, kicked off American Heart Month. In recognition of the risks of heart disease for women, and to support central Vermonters to make heart-healthy choices, Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) is celebrating seven CVHHH employees.

Vermont Business Magazine Copley Hospital’s Care Coordination program in the Emergency Department is attracting national attention. Three of Copley’s clinical leaders involved in launching the program were invited to speak at the American Hospital Association's 2019 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference in Arizona. The conference brings together top practitioners and thinkers to share strategies and resources for accelerating the shift to a more integrated and sustainable rural health system.

Vermont Business Magazine Two longtime business partners are on a mission to help diversify the University Mall and educate the public about Vermont history with a first-of-its-kind shop and museum. Tim Camisa and Mike Rooney, both of Chittenden County, are inviting the media and public to see their latest venture, Antiques At Vermont History & Health, located at the University Mall in South Burlington. Camisa and Rooney have opened the new, 2,800-square-foot shop adjacent to Kohl’s.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain United Way has announced that Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) has joined the Working Bridges program and will be bringing this program to its employees. Working Bridges, a program of Green Mountain United Way, is designed to foster the shared understanding that barriers such as childcare, food insecurity and acute need for emergency financial assistance get in the way of continuous employment and derail good employees.

The program brings Resource Coordinator Laurie Kelty on-site weekly at CVHHH to provide assistance to employees in order to navigate local resources. As a trained K.E.E.P. Financial Coach, Kelty is also available to coach employees who are navigating complicated financial situations. In addition to Resource Coordination, Working Bridges™ provides Income Advance Loans to employees, Mobile Volunteer Tax Preparation Program, and on-site classes based on employee needs.

Vermont Business Magazine Low-fare carrier Frontier Airlines celebrated its arrival in Vermont on Saturday with the start of service from Burlington International Airport (BTV) to Orlando International Airport (MCO). The new route provides the only non-stop service from Vermont to Florida. Additional connections will be available to select cities across Frontier’s network. Officials marked the day with a launch party at the Frontier gate. To celebrate the start of this new low-cost service, Frontier is offering fares as low as $49 which are available now at FlyFrontier.com.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that workers’ compensation insurance will continue to cost less for most Vermont employers when new rates approved by the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) become effective on April 1, 2019. This is the third straight rate decrease since Governor Scott took office and represents $10.5 million in pricing relief for Vermont employers. When coupled with the two prior decreases, Vermont employers are paying about $40 million a year less in workers’ compensation premiums.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University has received notice from the New England Council on Higher Education (NECHE) that it is approved to operate at Killington Resort. The University will offer an accelerated Bachelor of Science degree in Resort Hospitality Management delivered under a cooperative education model starting this fall.

by Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos The term ‘voting rights’ is thrown around all too often today as a buzzword and policy stance that’s used as a political football. We must never forget that the right to vote is enshrined in our Constitution. Efforts to deny or restrict any eligible voter’s right to vote are an affront to our democracy. Every new denial chips away at the very bedrock upon which the foundation of our country was built.

Unfortunately, over the past few decades we have seen a growing wave of voting restrictions across the United States. The gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court in 2013 has opened up the floodgates even further for partisan attempts to disenfranchise voters and suppress voter turnout, under the guise of nonexistent widespread voter fraud.

Vermont Business Magazine Twelve organizations received a total of $59,000 in funding from the Windham Foundation, recognizing and investing in their ability to positively impact the lives of rural Vermonters. Liz Bankowski, CEO of the Windham Foundation, said: “We are proud to be partnering with wonderful organizations in every corner of the state. Their initiatives speak to the empathy and creative problem-solving apparent in so many of Vermont’s nonprofits. We are eager to follow the positive impact of their work.”

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the Q1 of 2019 outlook results of their joint initiative, the VBR/EPR Business Conditions Survey and Index.
Survey results show that: More than 60 percent of respondents shared negative outlooks specifically with ease of hiring for available positions (64%); a slight shift toward neutral from the previous survey; a supermajority of respondents expressed a neutral or negative outlook about the state’s overall business climate (85%), a sharp increase from the previous survey.