Current News

Vermont Business Magazine While the electric vehicle (EV) was invented nearly 50 years before the gas-powered automobile came onto the scene in 1885, widespread adoption of EVs has been slow. Part of the reason for the sluggish transition from gas-powered cars to EVs in recent years has been an insufficient number of EV charging stations. Today, Governor Phil Scott announced what he called an important step in accelerating EV adoption by introducing Vermont’s new Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment program (EVSE). This program will deliver millions of dollars to communities across the state to install electric vehicle charging stations.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health was notified last week that a horse in Windham County tested positive for West Nile virus. The horse had not been vaccinated against the virus and has since died from the infection. Testing was conducted as part of a Health Department and Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets program that provides free mosquito-borne disease testing of susceptible animal species. There have been no reported cases of West Nile virus among humans in Vermont this year.

Vermont Business Magazine A new survey from Champlain College Online shows that not only are the majority of Americans concerned about cybersecurity threats, but many are willing to consider returning to college to pursue a cybersecurity education—especially if their employer pays for it. The State of the Cybersecurity Workforce and Higher Education survey, conducted through Engine Insight’s Online CARAVAN omnibus, asked US adults ages 18 and up for their opinions on and awareness of the cybersecurity field, as well as the role that higher education plays in it.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Code Academy (BCA), an organization that provides accelerated technology education programs, graduated participants of its sold-out inaugural 12-week coding bootcamp last week. The students, mainly adults looking for new skills and new careers in technology, were part of BCA’s launch of the state’s first immersive coding bootcamp. The second session will begin September 17, and a few open spots still remain.

“The inaugural bootcamp for Burlington Code Academy was an enormous success for our team, the students, and ultimately the local tech economy,” said Benny Boas, BCA co-founder. “It is thrilling to watch people gain a set of skills that prepares them for the next evolution of their professional career. We look forward to kicking off our next course, starting September 17.”

by John McClaughry Here are sixteen incisive questions that citizens might want to pose to candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and the legislature as Election Day 2018 approaches.

Vermont Business Magazine The major issues facing families and children impacted by the nation’s opioid crisis – and solutions to those issues – will be the topic of an all-day forum presented by Dartmouth-Hitchcock on Friday, October 5, in Concord, NH. US Surgeon General VADM Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, will deliver the keynote address at the forum, “Our Families, Our Children, Our Future,” to be held from 8 am to 4 pm at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. The forum is open to the public.Representatives from community, family, and children’s organizations; elected officials; school leaders; and others who are actively engaged in finding solutions to the opioid crisis are expected to attend.

Vermont Business Magazine Although malnutrition is a serious concern associated with adverse outcomes and cost, no single existing approach to malnutrition diagnosis has achieved broad global acceptance. Now, thanks to more than two years’ work by members of the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) working group, including a University of Vermont professor, a consensus report, which outlines five criteria for malnutrition, has just been published in the latest issue of both the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition.

Vermont Business Magazine Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, a not-for-profit Critical Access Hospital located in Windsor, Vermont, has received a $12,500 gift from the Mt. Ascutney Hospital Auxiliary. The donation was presented to the Hospital’s President, CEO and Chief Medical Officer, Dr Joseph Perras, at the Auxiliary’s annual appreciation luncheon held in the Hospital’s boardroom on June 29. The donation was used to help purchase twelve new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), which have been deployed throughout Mt Ascutney Hospital and its Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Taps Tavern in Poultney recently became the 100th restaurant to join the Dinners with Love program. Dinners with Love is a nonprofit network of hospice agencies, restaurants, and volunteers who work together to bring food and comfort to hospice patients and their families. Local restaurants prepare and cook dinner free of charge, and volunteers deliver those meals to families at home.

Taps Tavern owner Serena Gallagher was inspired to join the program by a friend and neighbor she has known since childhood, Kathy Huntington. For her part, Huntington has been a volunteer for the Dinners with Love program at the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region (VNAHSR) in Rutland since earlier this year. Each week, she brings meals to families in and around Poultney.

“This can be a challenging area to get people involved,” said John Campbell, Volunteer Coordinator at VNAHSR. “Whenever a new restaurant or volunteer joins us, it’s pretty exciting.”

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan announced the start of the 2^nd Annual “Lawyers Fighting Hunger Food Drive,” a collaboration between the Office of the Attorney General, the Vermont Bar Association, and the Vermont Foodbank. The Lawyers Fighting Hunger Food Drive will run from September 10^th through 21^st. September is designated National Hunger Action Month by the Vermont Foodbank. Twenty-four Vermont law firms and offices have signed up in advance to participate in the event. The Lawyers Fighting Hunger Food Drive aims to raise awareness and fight hunger in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine An August 2018 article published in the national research journal Cityscape reports that Vermont’s groundbreaking “Support and Services at Home” (SASH) program for older adults and people with disabilities is slowing the growth of Medicare expenditures for emergency-room visits and specialist services.

Vermont Business Magazine As data breach incidents proliferate, a new AARP survey finds that that an alarming number of Vermont residents have failed to take the basic precautions against identity fraud. In response, AARP Vermont and the AARP Fraud Watch Network today launched a campaign to raise awareness of identity theft risks and educate consumers on how to enhance the safety of their personal information.