Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Community College of Vermont (CCV) will hold its 51st commencement ceremony at Norwich University’s Shapiro Field House in Northfield, Vermont on June 2, 2018. The ceremony will begin at 2 pm. The College is pleased to announce that Jen Kimmich, co-founder of The Alchemist Brewery in Waterbury and Stowe, will deliver this year's commencement address. In addition to creating the famous Heady Topper, Kimmich and her husband John are well known for their innovative entrepreneurship, environmentalism and philanthropy. Most recently, Jen and John Kimmich have launched the Alchemist Foundation, which focuses on expanding educational and economic opportunity for young Vermonters.

Vermont Business Magazine According to a press release from the Vermont National Guard issued at 2:30 this afternoon, six US Army soldiers were reported injured during an avalanche while performing advanced mountaineering training in Easy Gully, Smugglers' Notch, Vermont, at approximately 1 pm Wednesday. Two Cambridge rescue units were dispatched to the scene. This information was updated at 4:30 to indicate that five of the six soldiers injured during the avalanche were transported to UVM Medical Center for treatment. None of the injuries appear to be life threatening. Ambulances from local emergency response teams transported the injured soldiers.

More information will be released when available.

Source: CAMP JOHNSON, Vt. — Vermont National Guard 3.14.2018

Vermont Business Magazine Vail Resorts, Inc (NYSE: MTN) announced today that Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont and Mount Sunapee Resort in New Hampshire, as well as Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado, will join the industry-leading Epic Pass in a long-term alliance beginning in the 2018-19 winter season, bringing the total to 64 mountain resorts in 11 states and provinces and eight countries for skiers and snowboarders. Vail owns Stowe Mountain Resort. Vail and rival Aspen/Alterra and its Mountain Collective and Ikon passes (Sugarbush Vermont and Taos and Jackson Hole in the West, among others) have been signing up resorts around the world for their respective shared ski passes.

Vermont Business Magazine On March 21, Business owners, CEOs, company presidents and human resources directors from 81 Vermont worksites will receive awards for their onsite efforts to promote physical fitness and a healthy work-life balance. Governor Phil Scott, state health commissioner Mark Levine, and Janet Franz, chair of the Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, will present the awards during a ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Burlington.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that workers’ compensation insurance rates will continue to improve for a second year in a row. It will cost less for most Vermont employers when the new rates approved by the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) become effective on April 1. The log hauling industry will be the biggest benefactors and overall it will save Vermont employers $10 million a year.

“I am pleased to announce this substantial decrease in workers’ compensation rates, which will directly lower the cost of doing business in Vermont,” said Scott. “This is good news for Vermont employers and the overall Vermont job market. These considerable savings will contribute to making Vermont a more affordable place to do business and creates more opportunity for businesses to thrive, grow their operations and support more workers.”

The continued improvement is based on several factors.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday as thousands of students walked out of schools across the country to protest gun violence. Sanders read some of the names of Vermonters killed by gun violence. See below for Sanders' remarks.

​Vermont Business Magazine The House gave preliminary approval today to the Sexual Harassment Prevention Bill (H.707) on a vote of 131-2. Two additional bills will be up for consideration later this week, including H.639, which bans cost-sharing for breast imaging services and H.404, which establishes Medicaid reimbursement for long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs).

Vermont Business Magazine On February 14, Aspenti Health was presented with the prestigious Jack Barry Award during Recovery Day at the Vermont State House. Aspenti received this honor for its "Change Corridor," a Stigma Prevention Awareness Campaign at the Burlington International Airport.

by Paul Cillo, Public Assets Institute While the bill has provisions that would improve the current system, it also unfortunately makes the school funding system more complicated for voters and consequently weakens the connection between voters and the tax consequences of their votes on school budgets.

Vermont Business Magazine Over the past eleven months UVM Police has collaborated with several law enforcement partners to investigate the theft of a valuable rhinoceros horn that had significant historic importance to the University. The horn was reported stolen on 4/27/2017 from UVM’s Torrey Hall/UVM’s Department of Wildlife Biology and was estimated to be valued in excess of $200,000.

Bill Kilpatrick holds the famous rhino horn. UVM photo.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has canceled the 2018 Vermont Farm to School and Childcare Grant Award Ceremony due to weather, which was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon (March 14, 2018), in the State House cafeteria. Legislators and others will still enjoy the school lunch planned by Vermont FEED and the agency, as served by the staff at the State House Café.

The event will not be re-scheduled. Official award certificates will be mailed. The list of grantees for 2018 can be found below. Click on the image to see the 2018 Farm to School and Childcare Program Report, which was published this week.

Vermont Business Magazine State Representative Corey Parent (R-St Albans) announced today that he’s a candidate to represent Franklin County and Alburgh in the Vermont Senate. “I want to thank the people of St Albans for allowing me the honor to serve on their behalf for past four years. I also want to thank Senator Carolyn Branagan for her service to the people of Franklin County.” Parent said. Branagan, a Republican, has announced she will step down. Franklin County has long been a Republican stronghold.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to campaign in my home county and to speak with folks from across our corner of the state about their dreams and hopes for the future and how we can build a county that’s truly affordable for everyone,” he said in a press release.