Current News

by Kate E Harbaugh, Communications Strategist and Elena Bertrand, Health and Wellness Manager In support of this vision, this fall Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has partnered with a diverse group of employers, health care and community partners in three regions of the state – Central Vermont, Northern Vermont and Southern Vermont. The focus of this collaboration is to uncover and address health issues particular to each region, identify resources and programs available to the community at large and in the end, create healthier communities.

by Bill Schubart In the criminal justice system, three groups have agency: the victim, the offender, and society at large. Our ability to balance these interests will determine the efficacy of our criminal justice system. Getting it right relies on the probity and shared values of police, prosecutors, judges, and corrections officials as the offender migrates through the criminal justice system.

Today, our outcomes couldn’t be worse. We jail more people than any other world power, including Russia and China, at a cost this year of more than a trillion dollars. Our national five-year recidivism rate is 76%. Vermont’s prison population has doubled in twenty years even though we’re one of the safest states in the country. The battle cries that got us here are cultural – “lock ‘em up”, and political – “tough on crime”. Neither are sustainable or make us safer.

Vermont Business Magazine Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) and Butternut Mountain Farm (BMF) have teamed up to celebrate #GivingTuesday, happening November 27th, 2018. BMF has pledged to support affordable housing in Lamoille County and Hardwick by matching up to $500 in donations to LHP.

“Our goal at Butternut Mountain Farm is to support local organizations that create and support a stable, prosperous and healthy community. We are pleased to partner with Lamoille Housing Partnership for this year’s #GivingTuesday. Donations will support their mission and commitment to creating and preserving affordable housing for low and moderate income residents of our community,” said Emma Martin, Butternut Mountain Farm’s owner.

Vermont Business Magazine Join the Sullivan Museum and History Center at Norwich University for a Lunch and Learn program, “The Railroad History of the State of Vermont,” featuring Jim Murphy, on Thursday, November 15, at noon. This free event, sponsored by the Associates of the Sullivan Museum and History Center, includes a light lunch and is open to the public.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power is alerting customers that wind speed forecasts for Saturday afternoon and evening have increased to 30 to 50 MPH and outages are possible. GMP closely tracks the weather and is prepared to respond if gusts take down trees and lines, which may be more likely due to saturated ground following recent rain storms.

Vermont Business Magazine Moody’s downgrades Vermont's bond rating; Feds OK Vermont Yankee sale to NorthStar; Unemployment rate up one-tenth to 2.9 percent in September; GF tax revenues strong, Transpo and Ed can’t keep up; Keurig Dr Pepper to cut 118 Vermont jobs; Brattleboro Retreat and nurses finalize one-year contract; Superior Technical Ceramics acquired by private equity firm; EPA awards Vermont $19 million for local clean water projects; Miami firm acquires MyWebGrocer; and more...

Vermont Business Magazine A Duxbury company, Birdsbesafe LLC, has gained significant recognition from the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), a national organization in Washington, DC. The national bird conservation organization included Birdsbesafe cat collar covers in their educational listing of “Safe Solutions for Cats”. The ABC “supports simple solutions to keep pet cats and wildlife safe.” Their website link: https://abcbirds.org/catio-solutions-cats/ refers readers to the merits of Birdsbesafe collar covers as a anti-predation device, shown by scientific field study, to provide “visual cues [which] can alert wildlife to the presence of a cat and prevent harmful interactions”.

FOCUS, A Leonine Business Of the 36 states holding gubernatorial elections, 26 of the seats were held by Republicans, whereas nine were held by Democrats and one Independent. Incumbent governors were running for re-election in 19 states, composed of 13 Republicans and six Democrats. Democrats were able to capitalize on voter frustration with the Trump administration to regain gubernatorial seats in seven previously Republican-led states – Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Of the five Democratic vulnerable states – Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island – Democrats were able to maintain all corner offices.

Vermont Business Magazine Washington County Superior Court has assigned a temporary receiver to take over management of three Vermont residential care homes. The temporary receiver was put in place after the Vermont Attorney General’s Office (AGO) filed an action for the appointment of a receiver with the Court on behalf of the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL). The residential care homes are located in South Burlington and St Albans.

Both AGO and DAIL, as well as the Vermont Long Term Care Ombudsman, have received complaints from staff, residents, and their family members over the past several months regarding the business practices of these homes. Attempts at correcting the practices through the standard regulatory process were unsuccessful.

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Hunters are gearing up for the start of Vermont’s traditionally popular 16-day rifle deer season that begins Saturday, November 10 and ends Sunday, November 25, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. A hunter may take one buck during this season with at least one antler having two or more points one inch or longer. A point must be one inch or longer from base to tip. The main beam counts as a point, regardless of length. Spike-antlered deer, mostly yearlings, are protected during this season.

“There are more deer in Vermont than there have been in recent years with the greatest numbers of deer found in the southwestern and northwestern regions of the state,” said Deer Project Leader Nick Fortin.

Vermont Business Magazine Uber and Lyft drivers now have vehicle rental solutions nationwide. HyreCar Inc (Nasdaq: HYRE), the carsharing marketplace for ridesharing, has announced the company has expanded access to its proprietary platform for drivers and vehicle owners in Vermont and all 50 US states. This expansion represents an increase from the company’s previously announced availability in 34 states. The Company has added Delaware, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Maine, Idaho, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, Montana, West Virginia and Wyoming to its carsharing marketplace platform.

“We expect this expansion to add at least 25% in incremental 2019 revenue,” said Joe Furnari, CEO of HyreCar. “Our technology driven marketplace allows us to expand into these states overnight. By leveraging the current staff and technology already in place, each new state becomes directly accretive to our bottom line.”

Vermont Business Magazine Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) is one of six US health care systems sharing a $9 million grant for new research into improving cancer care. The National Cancer Institute, in association with the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative, recently announced the funding of the collaboration, the SIMPRO Research Center. SIMPRO is a consortium of six US health care systems whose goal is to integrate the use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) into the routine practice of oncology providers to improve symptom management and to decrease hospitalizations.