Current News
by tim
by Representative Heidi E Scheuermann (R-Stowe) The 2019-2020 legislative biennium is well under way, and my primary focus these first three weeks has been doing all I can legislatively to provide a one-year extension of the July 1, 2019 involuntary merger deadline in Act 46. Toward that end, our Act 46 Legislative Working Group - made up of dozens of legislators from across the political spectrum - is working diligently to educate members of the House and Senate Education Committees and the legislative leadership about why this extension to July 1, 2020 is so important.
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Vermont Business Magazine FirstLight, a leading provider of fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast, announced today the latest addition to its comprehensive portfolio of fiber-based services: Managed Edge. FirstLight’s Managed Edge enhances the company’s high quality, fiber-based communications services by offering customers a single solution for connectivity coupled with fully managed devices for a complete end-to-end solution.
by Brandon
by Katie Keszey Kris Matheson is obsessed with socks. He brags about the drawers full of them he has at home, and the fancy materials they’re made of, like merino wool and something called Coolmax; he ogles the rows of sewing machines that knit them; he shows off the dozens of new designs displayed inside the Cabot Hosiery Mills in Northfield, where Darn Tough socks are made. “I love this place,” he says—as if he needed to.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Bitter temperatures are once again expected later this week and Vermont Gas wants to make sure natural gas safety is top of mind. As always, if you smell gas or detect a problem with your heating system call 911 and then call Vermont Gas right away at 800-639-8081.
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Vermont Business Magazine Addressing a room of new graduates at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Joyce Judy, Community College of Vermont President, asked Monday’s class of new medical assistants to reflect on how they had felt 14 weeks ago upon entering their training program. Without hesitation, the responses echoed each other: “nervous,” said some; “overwhelmed,” replied others. And when Judy then asked them to describe their feelings upon graduating, the responses were equally unanimous: confident proclamations of “excited,” and “grateful,” were met all around with nods and smiles.
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by Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan Just as young parents rightly prioritize the health and well-being of our children, at mid-life we also begin thinking more about the health and well-being of our own parents. By 2030, Vermont will be one of the oldest states – if not the oldest state – in the country. Forty percent of Vermonters will be 55 or older. Vermont’s aging demographic presents a tremendous opportunity to tap that experience to benefit our state. We will also need to plan for the future to ensure safe and affordable housing options, healthcare, and prescription drugs and to combat isolation, financial exploitation, and elder abuse.
It is essential that leaders in Vermont invest in supporting older Vermonters and their families now. Collectively, we should engage in a conversation about the issues facing our state as our population ages. We need to take this opportunity to make Vermont the best place to live and grow older.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The 2019 Vermont Farm Show kicks off today, January 29, at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. This year, in celebration of Cabot Creamery reaching 100 years in business and all the great work the company has done throughout Vermont, the Vermont Farm Show, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, Vermont Farm to Plate’s Rooted in Vermont and Cabot Creamery will be giving away a year’s supply of Cabot cheese to one lucky attendee along with other prizes.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine RateBeer, the leading online beer rating and review site, has released its annual RateBeer Best list, naming the Top 100 Brewers worldwide. This year’s winner is Vermont’s very own Hill Farmstead Brewery, based in Greensboro, Vermont, clinching the top spot for the fifth year in a row. RateBeer founder Joe Tucker and Portland beer personality Ezra Johnson-Greenough announced the awards Monday night from River Pig Saloon in Portland, Oregon, via a Facebook Live broadcast. Lawson's Finest Liquids of Warren came in 80th as the other Vermont representative on the top 100 list.
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Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont has reached an agreement in principle with Saint-Gobain for the properties on Bennington’s east side affected by perfluorooctanoate acid (PFOA) contamination. This represents a critical milestone in Vermont’s response to the contamination that impacted hundreds of homes across the two communities. The agreement in principle will expand municipal water service to the majority of impacted homes on the east side of Bennington. The state and Saint-Gobain are awaiting the final design of the water system prior to formally finalizing the agreement. Once finalized, the state, Town of Bennington, or the Town’s engineers will contact individual residents to discuss how the settlement agreement relates to their long-term drinking water solution.
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Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott presented his state budget to the state legislature last Thursday. In his budget address, Governor Scott proposed to tax e-cigarettes at the same rate as on other tobacco products, which is 92 percent of the wholesale price. The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey points out that one in eight Vermont high school students and one in 25 Vermont middle school students report using e-cigarettes, and this was before the boom of Juul, a popular e-cigarette brand among youth. From 2017 to 2018, e-cigarette use by U.S high school students rose 78 percent. This is the biggest one-year spike of any substance in nearly 50 years.
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Vermont Business Magazine On the 46th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision the Population Institute is releasing its seventh annual 50 State Report Card on Reproductive Health and Rights. The most comprehensive assessment of its kind, it tracks multiple indicators of reproductive health and rights, including access to family planning and abortion services. While Vermont and a handful of states received an "A," the new report card gives the US a national grade of "D-" for 2018. That's unchanged from the previous year, but with new threats emerging, and reproductive rights coming under intensified assault, the Institute warns that the grade for 2019 could be even lower.
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Vermont Business Magazine The year was 1976. Americans celebrated our nation’s bicentennial and saw the election of a new president, Jimmy Carter. Our pants were bell-bottoms, our sideburns long, and our music disco—or Peter Frampton—depending on whom you ask. We watched “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and “M*A*S*H.” And we paid on average 59 cents for a gallon of gas. Here in Randolph, 1976 saw the arrival of a new doctor to our small-town hospital.