Current News
by katie
The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) approved Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budgets for Vermont’s 14 regulated hospitals. This past March and April, the Board provided the hospitals with instructions outlining budget parameters and submission guidelines that included a target of 2.8% for growth in net patient revenue (NPR) from the FY 2018 base to FY 2019 budgets, and allowed hospitals to invest an additional 0.4% in approved health care reform activities.
by tim
by Sarah Kaeck This summer, we saw two studies about Vermont that appeared in contrast: One rated Vermont as one of the best places to live. The other paints Vermont as a hard place to find employees and run a business. As a business owner and employer, I know both are true, but I believe a crucial piece of the conversation is missing: Why is it hard to recruit employees and, once we recruit them, what structures are in place to keep them here and help them thrive?
I own Bee’s Wrap, a sustainable food storage company, in Bristol. Bee’s Wrap began in my kitchen six years ago and has grown into a thriving small business. Our growth has been organic, but substantial. We doubled our sales numbers each year until 2017, when they tripled. We invested in machinery, rented new production and administrative space, and our staff increased from two to nine to twenty-four.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Psychiatry professor Hugh Garavan’s federally funded research uses brain scans like the ones above to determine the impact of substance use on brain development in youth. The VACC upgrade will greatly facilitate this work.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Thursdaythat a package of appropriations bills approved by the Senate includes $20 million in Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) grant funding, a $5 million increase over the previous year.
The grants are part of a continuing effort, long supported by Leahy, to revitalize communities in Northern Vermont. It included an increase of $1 million, for a total $4 million, for a second year of funding to support the needs of forest based economies. These needs range from support for the wood products industry, to increased investment in outdoor recreation and regional marketing efforts for travel and tourism.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine BURLINGTON startup Reconciled (formerly Reconciled It) has been chosen as Intuit’s 2018 US Firm of the Future. The Firm of the Future contest, now in its fourth year, searches across the globe for the most future-ready and forward-thinking accounting, bookkeeping and tax firms — those that are able to best showcase how they see the value of the cloud, use business models to better value their expertise and grow their practice with modern marketing techniques.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced a package of appropriations bills approved by the Senate Thursday protects $40 million in funding for the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Consultation Program, run out of the National Center for PTSD at White River Junction, Vt.
The PTSD Consultation Program was created by Leahy in fiscal year 2013 and faced a $20 million, or 50 percent, cut in President Trump’s fiscal year 2019 budget. With bipartisan support, Leahy successfully rejected the President’s proposal.
The National Center for PTSD and the PTSD Brain Bank in White River Junction were the first organizations of their kind in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and were created with crucial support from Leahy.
by katie
Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Community Foundation has announced that the Curtis Fund has become a supporting organization of the Foundation. As a result, after 108 years as a private foundation, the Curtis Fund is now a public charity.
Emma Eliza Curtis had no children of her own, but she held the belief that education could change the course of a person’s life. When she died in Burlington in 1910, she left $120,000 in trust to provide financial assistance to young Vermont men and women to pursue a postsecondary education. Since then, the Curtis Fund has grown that bequest to more than $30 million. Mrs. Curtis’s legacy continues in the lives of over 10,000 Vermonters who have realized their dreams of a better future.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine An awards ceremony and reception presented by Vermont Business Magazine and KeyBank was held Wednesday, September 12th, at the Hilton Burlington. John Boutin, Publisher, Vermont Business Magazine, Don Baker, President, KeyBank Vermont and Governor Phil Scott were on hand to present the awards. The winners, their employees and guest were entertained by Game Show Vermont during the celebration.
About the Vermont Business Growth Awards:
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of 16 Vermonters to State boards and commissions during the month of August.
Boards and commissions serve an important role in state government, giving Vermonters numerous opportunities to serve their state and communities. The Governor’s office is currently soliciting applications to fill vacancies and upcoming term expirations. All those interested in serving on a board or commission should visit the Governor’s website at http://governor.vermont.gov/boards-commissions to apply.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Thursday that a package of appropriations bills approved by the Senate includes funding to pay congressional interns for the first time.
The package includes $8.8 million to pay House interns and $5 million to pay Senate interns. The Senate funds will be in included in accounts used to pay staff and provides an average of $50,000 to each Senate office, an amount which varies by state. The $8.8 million to pay House interns will provide $20,000 in a newly created account for each member office.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Following President Donald Trump's false claim that Democrats are trying to cut Social Security, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.), Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) on Thursday announced the bicameral Expand Social Security Caucus, along with 16 senators and more than 130 House members.
"We are here today to say very loudly and very clearly that at a time when millions of seniors are trying to survive on $12,000 or $13,000 a year, our job is not to cut Social Security. Our job is to expand Social Security so that everyone in America can retire with dignity and respect," Sanders said.
by katie
Vermont Business Magazine Guy Chemical Company Inc., a specialty manufacturer of silicone-based industrial products, acquired Ultramotive Corp. in a private transaction on Sept. 6. Terms were not disclosed.
Guy Chemical, based in Somerset, PA, develops and formulates silicone sealants, silicone greases and epoxy adhesives, and provides contract packaging services for customers in the automotive, industrial and home markets.
“The purchase of Ultramotive is a perfect fit for us,” said Guy Berkebile, the founder and CEO of Guy Chemical. “We are growing rapidly and this acquisition will increase our manufacturing capacity and enable us to serve our customers with additional silicone based products.”