Current News

Vermont Business Magazine If it’s been a tough year for your teddy bear, back by popular demand, the Teddy Bear Clinic returns to Rutland WinterFest where Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region (CHCRR) staff and volunteers will lovingly mend your favorite bear’s worn coat, punctured paw
or torn ear. Also, CHCRR be competing in the Chili Cook Off, to warm you inside and out with a free tasting of chili on a winter's day.

Vermont Business Magazine ValleyNet announced Monday that it has chosen David Rottmayer to succeed Carole Monroe, who announced her intention to retire in late 2018. “It has been my pleasure to bring ECFiber from the startup stage with several hundred customers to where we are today with over 3,000.” Monroe will continue to assist ValleyNet in a consulting role. Rottmayer has over 30 years of telecom experience (including fiber-to-the-home startups) and will start work in February.

“I’m very excited to help ValleyNet and ECFiber expand the availability of fiber-to-the-home service in the region,” Rottmayer said in a pressrelase announcing the hire.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Mayors Coalition (VMC) on Thursday introduced the new members of the Vermont Mayor’s Coalition and announced its 2019 legislative session goals and its commitment to collaborate on and advocate for these areas of common interest for their cities. At a news conference in the State House Cedar Creek Room, the Coalition released its legislative policy summary for the 2019 legislative session.

The VMC was created in 2013 by Vermont’s eight mayors. Six mayors must concur on any recommendation for the Vermont Mayors Coalition to take a position. The eight mayors of the VMC are: 

·       Lucas Herring, Barre;

·       Miro Weinberger, Burlington.

·       Anne Watson, Montpelier;

·       Paul Monette, Newport;

·       Dave Allaire, Rutland

·       Tim Smith, St. Albans;

·       Renny Perry, Vergennes; and

·       Seth Leonard, Winooski.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) has been named one of the 2019’s Best Places to Work for the fifth year in a row. SVHC received the honor for the first time in 2015. It remains the only hospital in the state of Vermont to be recognized by the awards program.

“The employees of SVHC derive genuine satisfaction in fulfilling our mission of exceptional care and comfort for the people we serve,” said Tom Dee, president and chief executive officer of SVHC. “It’s their commitment and teamwork that enable our groundbreaking achievements and grow SVHC’s reputation as a place to make a truly meaningful and rewarding career.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) has accelerated a long-planned migration to a new website. The department’s legacy website was proactively taken offline as a precautionary measure on January 29, 2019 as a result of an identified security vulnerability and has remained offline as the Agency of Digital Services (ADS) completes a full risk assessment. 

After a thorough review by ADS and DFR, the department has confirmed that no confidential or personally identifiable information was placed at risk. The data and content on the legacy website was directly related to the administrative management of the website itself and information open for public inspection. No consumer or industry partner confidential or proprietary information was available, and none was hosted on the website server.

The Vermont State Police has a new tool to help with water and ice rescues, search and recovery operations, and more: a pair of 20-foot airboats.

State police acquired the life-saving vessels entirely through federal grant funding. They are the first of their kind to be owned by the Vermont State Police. The boats are stored at the Williston Barracks but are available year-round for use statewide, from shallow areas of the Connecticut River to ice-covered portions of Lake Champlain, and everywhere in between.

Dartmouth Athletics and The Richards Group are pleased to announce their partnership, with The Richards Group becoming the “official insurance agency of Dartmouth Athletics.”

“Dartmouth is a tremendous resource for the Upper Valley and for our region,” commented Drew Richards, Vice President of The Richards Group and a 2006 Graduate of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. “We are excited to support the school’s outstanding athletic program and all of the student-athletes who make such a great commitment.”

Burlington Harbor Marina, a project by Charles DesLauriers, Jack Wallace and Trident Marine Group, is pleased to announce that they will be open for business starting in May 2019, and are currently accepting slip reservations for the 2019 season.

Offering 160 slips available for both seasonal and visiting rentals, accommodating boats up to 80 feet long, Burlington Harbor Marina is the premier marina on Lake Champlain - featuring high-end marine amenities that emphasize hospitality. 

The Skinny Pancake is one of those iconic Vermont brands: unique, mission-driven, community-focused, a cool back story…and bringing a distinctly ‘Vermont flavor’ to the table.

Since its introduction via a hand-hewn food cart traversing Burlington’s Church Street mall back in 2003, the Skinny Pancake has attracted fans and fanfare across multiple locations in Vermont and New Hampshire. With the Vermont Community Loan Fund now partnering on a new round of growth financing, the restaurant group continues to blaze a trail for local food and purpose-driven businesses.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday announced the winners of his ninth annual State of the Union essay contest, which gives Vermont high school students an opportunity to describe which issues they would prioritize if they were president.

This year, 590 students from 50 Vermont high schools submitted 250-500 word essays on issues that included climate change, gun safety, substance use, immigration, political polarization, higher education and more. A panel of six Vermont teachers served as volunteer judges, scoring the essays and choosing the 20 finalists and three winners.

Vermont Mutual Insurance Group®, has again been named one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont for 2019. This is the fourth year in a row that the 191 year old company has participated in the comprehensive evaluation that was created by Vermont Business Magazine, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Department of Economic Development, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – Vermont State Council and Best Companies Group.

In a letter sent Monday to the CEO of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) demanded the company explain its decision to set the price of Firdapse, a drug used to treat a rare neuromuscular disease called Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), at $375,000 per year.