Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Futures Project today announced its first set of policy and initiative recommendations to address Vermont’s annual need for 10,000 more workers. The Vermont Futures Project, established two years ago, looks to develop a long-term, statewide effort to provide sustainable prosperity for everyone in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, Governor Phil Scott, along with other governors and private employers around the nation, joined the White House in its initiative to support America’s workers through workforce development and training opportunities. On July 19, President Trump established the President’s National Council for the American Worker to “foster an environment of lifelong learning and skills-based training, and cultivate a demand-driven approach to workforce development."

“I’m pleased to join leaders across the country in committing to our workforce, providing for the skills and training needed for Vermonters and all Americans to succeed in the 21^st Century economy,” Scott said.

Vermont Business Magazine An innovative initiative that will use a public health approach to inform opioid prescribing policies will be launched in northern New England thanks to a new $339,000 grant to the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research (NNE-CTR) Network from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program, titled “Hospital Utilization for Opioid Overdose: A Community-Engaged Multidisciplinary Approach to Measure the Impact of Policy Change and Inform Interventions,” will help address a critical health crisis in the region and nation.

by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) Social Security is one of the most popular and successful government programs in the history of our country. For more than 80 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American on time and without delay. Not once over more than eight decades of operation - not even during our worst economic downturns - has anyone received a letter or phone call from the Social Security Administration saying: “Sorry, we’re going to have to cut your benefits.” At a time of massive economic instability, this is a record that should make every American very proud.

Vermont Business Magazine Vital Communities has received a $2,500 sponsorship from Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. These funds sponsor the fall Business Leaders Housing Breakfast being held on October 26, where more than 100 people will gather for a housing update and to discuss solutions to the shortage of affordable workforce housing in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Congressman Peter Welch joined Springfield Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) and the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) to announce $1M raised for a new economy initiative in Springfield. The Black River Innovation Campus (BRIC) will bring together digital job training, computer science education and an entrepreneurship center to create innovation jobs.

Vermont Business Magazine In recent years, hospital leaders, physicians and patients have discovered that art and music in the hospital environment can help patients deal with their illnesses more effectively and possibly return to full functioning earlier. The Great Hall, in celebration of Springfield Hospital’s 105th Anniversary is pleased to present, “Healing: The Transformative Imagery of Art,” a group exhibition of 12 artists. Drawing on personal, in some cases tragic experiences, they have created inspirational art to share with the viewer. The exhibition will open Thursday, September 27.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Tax revenues for the month of August are well ahead of targets and reverse sluggish July results. While the fiscal year is only two months old, tax revenues have been robust this calendar year, except for July. General Fund revenues collected for the month totaled $84.53 million, or $4.28 million above the monthly consensus revenue target.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Retreat announced today that Tom Huebner, recently retired President of Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) and Rutland Regional Health Services (the hospital’s parent corporation), has been elected to the hospital’s Board of Trustees. Huebner joined RRMC in 1990 as Vice President overseeing systems development and planning. From 1997 to March of 2018 he served as the Medical Center's president. Prior to that he served as Executive Vice President at Choate-Symmes Health Services, Inc in Woburn, MA, also held positions as Senior Consultant for the Massachusetts Hospital Association and as Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Public Health in Massachusetts.

Vermont Business Magazine Widely hailed as a key victory for transparency and open access to information, Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports will be made freely available to the public for the first time beginning Tuesday. The change in policy was directed by appropriations provisions authored by Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). The Leahy legislation was signed into law in March.

A legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS issues or updates more than 3000 reports each year on topics ranging from the structure of government agencies, to summaries of legislative proposals and other policy analyses. Previous restrictions prevented these taxpayer-funded reports from being directly distributed to the public, but third-party for-profit companies often made them available to lobbyists for hefty subscription fees.

Vermont Business Magazine The family of Janet Jillson recently presented the Foley Cancer Center with a generous donation in her memory. The money was raised through the second annual Janet Jillson Memorial Golf Tournament that took place on August 14^th at the Skene Valley Country Club in Whitehall, NY. Members of Janet’s family gathered together at Rutland Regional Medical Center on September 14, 2018 for the official check presentation. To date, the tournament has raised a total of $25,000 to benefit the Foley Cancer Center.

“We are very grateful to the Foley Cancer Center for the wonderful care they provided to Janet, and wanted to give back to them,” said Jay Jillson, Janet’s husband.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Education this week announced its endorsement of the National Center for Construction Education and Research’s (NCCER) “Introductory Craft Skills” curriculum (www.nccer.org). The NCCER curriculum is used across the nation in education and training programs, by schools, colleges and employers’ in-house training programs. It culminates in stackable credentials and is being implemented this fall in all regional career technical education (CTE) center construction trades programs as part of a larger state initiative to develop career pathways in construction.