Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Conservation Law Foundation released its Lake Champlain Report Card Tuesday, giving the State of Vermont a D+ for its ongoing clean-up efforts. The report card comes after the EPA gave Vermont a provisional pass for its work on the lake. According to the CLF, the near-failing grade is the result of a consistent pattern of missed deadlines, weak treatment standards and a lack of investment in clean-up programs. CLF is pushing legislation that would commit to long-term funding for clean water (Bill S.260).

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College Online, one of the nation’s most innovative nonprofit colleges, today announced that athenahealth, a leading provider of network-enabled services for hospital and ambulatory clients nationwide, has joined Champlain’s truED Alliance Program. Based on this partnership, athenahealth’s team of more than 4,000 US-based staff members will have affordable access to over 60 degree and certificate programs offered by the regionally accredited online college, allowing them to advance their knowledge and skill sets, and ultimately fulfill the company’s mission of delivering better healthcare for all.

Vermont Business Magazine Four times each year, New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) selects four recipient organizations at random to receive $625 each, for a total of $10,000 annually.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House today gave unanimous approval to S.85, a bill that simplifies government for small businesses. The bill proposes to direct the Secretary of State and government partners to design a system to simplify interactions with small businesses and Vermonters starting new businesses.

​Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group opened a new on-site health center on Tuesday, becoming one of the first companies in Vermont to open a full-service health care facility for its employees. “At National Life, we care about our employees and their well being, not only when they’re sick, but when they’re healthy and trying to stay that way,” said Mehran Assadi, Chairman, CEO and President of National Life.

by Mark Crow, President, Tenth Crow Creative Relatively recently, I learned that the state of Vermont (so, we taxpayers) is incurring vast and ever increasing amounts of liability for obligations the state undertook to fund retirement plans for teachers and state workers; plans that include pension and retirement healthcare benefits. As of June 30, 2017, the state owes approximately $4.5 billion to these plans, which is an increase of $900 million from just the previous fiscal year. That’s approximately $18,750 per Vermont household (based on 240,000 households). And, for a variety of complicated reasons, based on the structure of the plans, this amount will only continue to increase.

Vermont Business Magazine The Weather Channel meteorologist and Lyndon State College graduate Jim Cantore will speak May 20 at the college’s 106th commencement, at which about 265 associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees are expected to be conferred. The 11 am ceremony will be held on the college’s soccer field. The event is free and open to the public, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Atmospheric Sciences major G. Mitchell Most of the Class of 2018 also will speak. After the ceremony, the public is invited to a coffee and dessert social at Stannard Gymnasium.

Cantore received a Lyndon State Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 and was inducted as an inaugural member into the Vermont State Colleges Hall of Fame in 2016.

by Erin Forbes, DVM Vermont Veterinary Medical Association April is Prevent Lyme Disease in Dogs Month. Most people have heard of Lyme disease and know how prevalent it is in Vermont, but may not know much about it. Lyme disease is spread through deer tick bites and caused by a bacteria called borrelia burgdorferi. This disease can cause your dog to be lame, lethargic, and not want to eat. In more severe cases, it can lead to kidney disease and rarely death. Preventing Lyme disease through vaccines and preventatives is the best way to keep your dog healthy.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced two amendments to the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 under consideration Tuesday in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Sanders' first amendment failed 8-15 and his second amendment failed 11-12.

Vermont Business Magazine The Leapfrog Group, a Washington DC-based organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, today released the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. Rutland Regional Medical Center was one of 750 awarded an ‘A’ for its efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care. Rutland Regional is the only hospital in Vermont to receive an “A” rating for this spring.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB) reported first quarter 2018 net income of $25 million, which was a 63% increase over 2017 first quarter results of $15 million. This reflected the ongoing benefit of the Company's growth and expansion, together with the benefit of a lower federal tax rate resulting from federal tax reform near the end of 2017. Based in Pittsfield, MA, Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank, which has branches in southwestern Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine NBT Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ: NBTB) has reported record net income and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $26.0 million, up from $17.6 million for the prior quarter, which included the $4.4 million estimated one-time, non-cash charge recorded in the provision for income taxes related to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Reform”), and $20.3 million for the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $0.59, as compared with $0.40 for the prior quarter ($0.50 excluding Tax Reform) and $0.46 for the first quarter of 2017.