Current News

​Vermont Business Magazine ECFiber has announced the launch of a new project which will bring ECFiber’s fast Internet service to many residents of Woodstock this year. The project is intended to connect the northern part of the ECFiber network (Barnard, Pomfret, Bethel, and beyond) to the southern part of the network (South Woodstock, West Windsor, and Reading).

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast today announced it is increasing the speeds of some of its most popular Xfinity Internet service tiers – including Blast and Performance Pro – for new and existing customers in the Northeast Division, which includes 14 northeastern states from Vermont through Virginia and the District of Columbia. The increases, the company said in a press release, are at no additional cost and underscore the company's leadership in delivering some of the fastest broadband Internet speeds, including Gigabit-speed services for both residential and business customers.

by Louis Josephson, PhD Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Fla., our nation is once again deadlocked in a debate over how to put an end to the seemingly endless string of gun-related tragedies playing out in our schools and places of work.

President Trump has suggested that we can solve the problem by arming teachers. He has also suggested that we should open more mental hospitals as a way of getting perpetrators of these crimes “out of our communities.”

Vermont Business Magazine For the second year in a row, the University of Vermont has won a Workplace Wellness Award from the Vermont Department of Health. The award recognizes Vermont organizations demonstrating an established wellness strategy that promotes healthy environments and supports the well-being of their employees.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont woodworkers and wood products manufacturers voted in January to change their trade association name to the Vermont Wood Works Council to better represent the interests of Vermont’s diverse woodworking community. The name change, approved by the membership at the organization’s annual meeting, was the result of many months of work by the board and a marketing committee to develop a name that meets the needs of small, mid-sized and large wood product makers in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today recognized the Vermont high school girls who participated in the GirlsGoCyberStart challenge, a cybersecurity training partnership between states and the SANS Institute. Vermont had a total of 18 teams and 46 girls participate, competing with students from fifteen other states in this free online competition, which provided high school girls interested in a cybersecurity career with a tool to learn basic cybersecurity skills and test their cyber aptitude.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House on Friday approved gun violence protection measures in H675. This bill takes elements of the Senate's S221, which called for the removal of firearms from those individuals considered an "extreme risk." S221 passed unanimously Thursday. The Legislature is in recess next week for Town Meeting Day (Tuesday March 6). H675 must now get Senate approval or go to conference committee.

by Jill Mazza Olson Executive Director, VNAs of Vermont It used to be that towns employed town nurses to provide care for residents. Town nurses met the varied needs of the broad range of people in their care by being autonomous and flexible, creating deep relationships with their patients and making home visits when necessary.

Over the years and with support from the cities and towns we serve, Visiting Nurses Associations (VNAs) took on the role and today, VNAs care for children, adults, seniors, and families, helping keep people where they most want to be—at home, regardless of their ability to pay. While care needs have changed and VNAs now provide sophisticated and innovative care, nurses and other home health care professionals still rely on the autonomy and flexibility that made the town nurses so strong, and they still create strong bonds with the people they serve.

Leonine Public Affairs The conclusion of this week marks the midpoint of the 2018 legislative session. Because the official crossover deadline for policy bills was Friday legislators were working feverishly to move bills out of committee to ensure the other body has the ability to consider them. However, due to an unusual amount of floor activity the crossover deadline is getting an unofficial extension. Much of this can be attributed to the sudden shift in the political landscape regarding gun safety legislation. In less than two weeks time most gun safety bills went from being non-starters to must pass legislation.

by Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. One-person, one-vote is an ideal that lies at the corner of our collective democratic values. On Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March, citizens across Vermont come together in their communities to discuss the business of their towns. For over 200 years, Town Meeting Day has been an important political event as Vermonters elect local officers, vote on municipal and school budgets, and decide a host of other potential local issues, like bond votes or school district consolidations.

Voting on these items means a lot more than filling in an oval on a ballot. It’s an opportunity to shape your local government and provide input regarding your needs as a community member.

Vermont Business Magazine Legendary sports broadcaster Ken Squier will be honored by the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce at their Annual St Patrick’s Day Breakfast. As St Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, The Chamber will be getting a jump on the “Wearin’ of the Green” by meeting on Tuesday, March 13th. The breakfast will kick off at 7:30am at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Montpelier.

While not dubbed a “Citizen of the Year” tribute, it is intended to be a relaxed, friendly way for The Chamber to recognize and thank those citizens of Central Vermont whose contributions have significantly improved the lives of those of us who live, work, and visit here.