Current News
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Police barracks across the Green Mountain State now have the capability to accept unused and unwanted prescription medication from members of the public year-round. This expansion of secure drop box locations to the lobbies of state police barracks across the state will give Vermonters a convenient and safe way to remove these “most dangerous leftovers” from their homes. The service is made possible through a new agreement with the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department, which administers the prescription drug take-back program statewide. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which spearheads the semi-annual National Drug Take Back Day initiative, then will safely destroy these drugs.
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Vermont Business Magazine For the second year in a row, Rutland Regional has been named a “Best Regional Hospital” by U.S. News & World Report for 2018-2019. Rutland Regional is the only hospital in Vermont to receive a “Best Regional Hospital” designation. Out of 4500 hospitals evaluated nationwide, only 520 received “Best Regional Hospital” status.
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Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center (SVRCC) in partnership with Dr. Lixia Ellis, MD, PhD, a board-certified dermatologist of Dartmouth Hitchcock Putnam Physicians and with the American Academy of Dermatology will offer a free full-body skin screening from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 15, 2018. The skin screening will take place at SVMC Dermatology, 140 Hospital Drive, Suite 205, in Bennington.
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Vermont Business Magazine Middle Vermont medical cannabis patients now have additional access to alternative pain relief with the opening of Southern Vermont Wellness’ (SVW) first satellite location at 1641 Rt. 7 South in Middlebury. The new dispensary has ample parking and is patient comfort focused with nearly 1,600 square feet of retail and consultation space and will offer a home delivery option.
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos will be holding the Statewide Canvass of Vermont Primary Election results at the Secretary of State’s office, 128 State Street in Montpelier on Tuesday, August 21st. The canvass begins at 10 am. State Party Chairs, or their designees, alongside Secretary Condos, will be certifying vote totals and winners for statewide offices.
The Statewide Canvass is open to members of the public and the press. Secretary Condos will be available for questions following the canvass.
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Senator Patrick Leahy Today the Senate begins consideration of the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related agencies “Minibus” appropriations bill. This will be the third appropriations package brought to the Senate floor this year, and once we complete action, the Senate will have passed nine out of the 12 committee-reported appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2019.
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Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University begins the 2018-2019 academic year on Monday, August 27, with approximately 800 new students comprising the Class of 2022. These new students bring the total number of students enrolled in campus-based programs to about 2,400 students, which is the full capacity of the residential campus, the Northfield college announced Monday.
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Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power is offering Tesla Powerwall 2.0 batteries to 100 eligible customers, free of charge. A $150,000 grant from the Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE) will pay for the cutting-edge technology and installation in the homes of low income customers with significant need for backup power reliability due to health and mobility issues. GMP is reaching out to customers who qualify.
Tesla Powerwall batteries provide backup power like a standard generator, but Powerwalls turn on seamlessly and are cleaner. They can be charged from power off the grid, or with a customer’s own home solar array and offer eight to twelve hours of energy.
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Public Assets Institute Vermont lost 2,200 jobs in July, although it still had 5,000 more jobs than before the recession. The average number of nonfarm payroll jobs in 2017 was 1.8 percent higher than in 2007, the previous peak, and only 4 percent higher than the peak before the 2001 recession. Vermont’s pace of recovery has been slower than the nation’s as a whole since the start of the century and slower than recoveries in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Vermont Business Magazine After a five-month contract bargaining process, the Vermont State College Faculty Federation (the union representing faculty at the Vermont State Colleges) and the administration of the VSC System have reached impasse in our negotiations.
According to the union, the administration proposed numerous cuts to the existing faculty contract, including an effective pay cut over the life of the contract as well as reductions to benefits. The administration also made a number of proposals aimed at substantially altering work expectations and increasing workload, weakening the job security of VSC faculty, and requiring faculty to teach on campuses hours away from the campus on which they were hired to teach.
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Vermont Business Magazine Global plastic and silicone injection molder and contract manufacturer GW Plastics, based in Bethel, has won the 2018 Vermont Business Growth Award and two workforce development training grants worth over $80,000.
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Vermont Business Magazine The UVM Medical Center released the terms of its latest contract proposal to the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Saturday night. The two sides met Saturday and exchanged informal proposals. No deal was reached. During negotiations, according to a hospital statement, the hospital presented a new formal wage proposal outlined below.