Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Cancer Center Community Crusaders, known as the 4Cs, hosted their 5th Annual Day of Celebration in coordination with Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s Centennial Community Day on Saturday, June 10 at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Campus in Bennington. Eight crews and more than 4,000 participants at the event contributed to the group’s nearly $60K fundraising total for the year.

The day activities included the annual Cupcake Challenge, entertainment, basket raffle, and more. The program also included inspirational speeches and awards for fundraising crews.

by Rob Roper Recently hundreds of news publications around the country, including several here in Vermont, participated a coordinated editorial campaign decrying criticism aimed against the media. Their general complaint is over the president accusing them repeatedly of being “fake news” and an “enemy of the people,” allegations which they describe as dangerous attacks on a “free press.” As one prominent Vermont editorialist wrote, “A free, fact-based press was built right into the foundations of that when the First Amendment was adopted in 1791.” This fundamentally misunderstands the Constitutional right.

Senator Patrick Leahy I have served in the Senate for 44 years, a span that includes 19 nominations to the Supreme Court. I have never seen so much at stake with a single seat. And I have never seen such a dangerous rush to fill it. President Trump promised that he would only nominate judges to the Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v Wade. Judges who would dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Judges who would re-shape our judiciary. If that is not judicial activism, I do not know what is.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Electric Department (BED) today issued a Request for Information (RFI) through which BED is requesting ideas for new projects and programs that will help reduce or eliminate fossil fuel consumption as part of the City of Burlington’s effort to become a “Net Zero Energy City” across electric, thermal, and ground transportation sectors and BED’s effort to meet its 2018 “Tier 3” program goals under Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard (RES).

Vermont Business Magazine Hunger Free Vermont has been awarded a $50,000 grant from National Life Group Foundation to support their core program providing free training and technical assistance to schools and childcare providers. In the past year, Hunger Free Vermont worked with more than eighty-five schools and childcare providers to add and expand federal nutrition programs that make sure all children get the quality nutrition they need to develop and learn. Over 38,000 children in Vermont are at risk of hunger.

Vermont Business Magazine In July of 2018 the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) issued a new Groundwater Health Advisory for five (5) perfluorinated compounds (PFAS). The PFAS compounds include: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoro-octane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA). As a result of this Health Advisory the Groundwater Protection Rule and Strategy is being amended to adopt an enforcement standard of 20 parts per trillion (ppt or ng/l) for these substances. That means that the sum of the five PFAS compounds should not exceed 20 ppt in drinking water. EPA has adopted a drinking water health advisory level of 70 ppt for two compounds (PFOA and PFOS).

Vermont Business Magazine More than 130 iconic buildings and landmarks across the United States and Canada, including the Bennington Battle Monument, will be illuminated in a show of support for the sixth biennial Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) "roadblock" telecast airing in both the US and Canada on Friday, Sept 7 (8:00–9:00 PM ET/PT, 7:00–8:00 PM CT). All will light up in a combination of SU2C's signature colors: orange, red, yellow, gray or white.

The New York Stock Exchange; Wrigley Building in Chicago; Niagara Falls; Peace Bridge connecting Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario; Helmsley Building in New York City; Capital Wheel outside Washington, D.C.; One Liberty Place, Cira Tower and FMC Tower in Philadelphia; and more are among the major U.S. buildings and landmarks lighting up in support of Stand Up To Cancer, which is commemorating 10 years of raising awareness and funds for groundbreaking cancer research that is saving lives now.

Vermont Business Magazine Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) has recently been awarded a Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant (SHIP) of $19,000 over the next two years. This grant will provide support for the College to Career Program, BMH and Community College of Vermont’s accelerated Medical Assistant training program, and will strengthen the variety of population health services and programs in the Brattleboro area.

For the past three years, BMH and Community College of Vermont (CCV) have joined forces to create and implement an accelerated program to prepare qualified candidates for jobs as Certified Medical Assistants. This program was created in response to challenges filling positions within the local healthcare workforce, and has become a critical resource for both BMH and for people in the Brattleboro area who are looking to increase their skills and to obtain jobs in the medical profession.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging will again host its popular “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” course this fall, a six-week class that is free and open to caregivers in the community. The course is offered to individuals who are caring for family members, friends and neighbors, among others, and is designed to give participants the tools to be a highly effective caregiver while also ensuring that they are taking care of themselves as well.

The class is not intended for career caregivers who are employed by a health care, home care or hospice service.

by Philip Smith Today, over 54 percent of the world’s population resides in urban areas. By 2050, this number is estimated to rise to nearly 70 percent, with 1.4 million people added to the urban population every week. While this shift is poised to create immense opportunity for communities and businesses alike, it will also bring about new considerations in urban planning.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine First of all, his name's not really “Jeb.” George B “Jeb” Spaulding is 65 but looks 45. He's originally from Massachusetts, but at an early age his heart adopted Vermont. Since then he has built an impressive resume in Vermont state government without ever seeking the limelight. It seems as if we've known him forever without knowing him at all.

Vermont Business Magazine Crop losses for critical food grains will increase substantially with global warming, as rising temperatures boost the metabolism and population growth of insect pests, new research says. The research team looked at how the insect pests that attack three staple crops – rice, maize and wheat – would respond under a variety of climate scenarios. They found that rising global temperatures would lead to an increase in crop losses from insects, especially in temperate regions. Losses are projected to rise by 10 to 25% per degree of warming.