Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott signed a proclamation Wednesday, declaring February 14 as Recovery Day in Vermont. This designation recognizes the importance of substance use disorder recovery programs, and their critical role in addressing the opioid epidemic. “The opioid crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing Vermont today,” said Scott. “Thanks to organizations like Vermont Association for Mental Health and Recovery, along with the work of many others in state and local government, the Legislature, and our communities, Vermont has emerged as a national leader on this issue.”

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University graduate students will see a reduction in price beginning this summer. Castleton will move to offer all graduate programs at the same rate, regardless of the student’s residency or the program’s delivery model, the university announced today. “Aligning our tuition to one lower rate for our graduate students allows us to serve a broader range of students pursuing master’s degrees,” President Karen M. Scolforo said. “We know that students who earn advanced degrees are more likely to find a job, have greater career flexibility, and higher earning potential than if they had chosen not to continue their education. By making the pursuit of a master’s degree at Castleton more affordable, we are making a strong commitment to the future workforce of our region and beyond.”

by Sarah Buxton and Dustin Degree In April 2009, there were 361,200 people in Vermont’s labor force – an all-time high. Today we have 15,540 fewer workers. If nothing changes, in about 7 years there could be one working Vermonter for each person who is not in the labor force. If you exclude the Burlington area, we’re about four years away from this reality.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Retreat’s inpatient unit treatment programming known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been adopted by The Joint Commission as a Leading Practice for Hospital and Behavioral Health Programs. Submissions to the Joint Commission’s Leading Practice Library undergo rigorous clinical review. According to Joint Commission officials, the Retreat’s ACT programming was accepted because “it supports quality and safety, and is felt to be of benefit to other organizations.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pass-through funds for Water Quality Management Planning. Funding will allow TRORC and other Regional Planning Commissions to conduct data collection, prepare stormwater master plans, conduct outreach, and work with municipalities on possible support for reclassification of surface waters, wetlands, and Outstanding Resource Waters.

All efforts lead to more informed and effective basin plans. These basin plans document surface water quality, identify threats and impairments, and identify projects to maintain and improve water quality. Regional Planning Commissions have been key partners in water quality efforts with the State, watershed groups, conservation districts, and municipalities.

Vermont Business Magazine Checks are being mailed to Provigil consumers in connection with the settlement between Vermont and 47 other states, and drug company Cephalon and affiliated companies (now part of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries). In August 2016, state attorneys announced the settlement. The settlement resolved allegations that the companies engaged in unlawful "pay-for-delay" anticompetitive conduct involving the patent exclusivity for Provigil. The settlement included $35 million to compensate eligible consumers who may have been harmed by the alleged conduct.

Provigil consumers who purchased Provigil during the time covered by the settlement were provided with notice and an opportunity to participate in, object to, or opt out of the settlement. In order to participate, consumers were required to submit written claims regarding their Provigil purchases.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of Directors of Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc (VITL) announced today that Michael K Smith will become Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of VITL on February 20, 2018, following the end-of-year retirement of John Evans, who lead VITL for five years and helped create Vermont’s health information highway through VITL’s online patient medical records portal known as VITL Access. Smith announced last Thursday that he was stepping down from Open Mike, a radio talk show on WDEV. Smith also wrote opinion columns for VTDigger and Vermont Business Magazine.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Personal income tax revenues in January didn't quite live up to their newly heightened expectations, but General Fund revenues, supported by the Corporate tax, finished ahead of projections. On January 18, 2018, the Emergency Board approved a new consensus revenue forecast as presented by the state and legislative economists. The recently and modestly resurgent Personal income tax was upgraded after several down years following the Great Recession. The updated consensus forecast, with new monthly and cumulative targets, will be used to evaluate the receipts versus targets for January through June 2018

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today asked legislative leaders to expedite delivery of equal pay legislation that aims to close the gap between what women and men are paid, among other provisions to increase pay equity. Scott hopes to sign legislation before the Legislature breaks for Town Meeting week. In a letter sent to the Speaker of the House Mitzi Johnson and Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, Scott wrote, “as you've acknowledged, Vermont needs to restore its workforce to grow the economy and sustain – and increase – public investments we all value… Closing the wage gap could reduce Vermont's poverty rate by 57 percent and add $1 billion to our state's economy. More importantly, it would help us get one step closer to providing equality for all.”

Scott also said working to ensure equal pay for equal work is an opportunity to come together on a bipartisan basis.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office announced the launch of a new public records site on its webpage today. In support of transparent and open government, the Attorney General’s Office will now post all public record requests and responses on its webpage. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office firmly believes that a vibrant democracy depends upon citizens knowing and understanding how their government operates. Publicly available records are an integral part of an open and fair government. By posting all record requests and productions, Vermonters will now have more access to public information.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont continues to face a critical child care shortage, according to an updated report by Let’s Grow Kids on the supply of and demand for child care in Vermont. The report found that more than half (51%) of Vermont infants and toddlers likely to need care (LTNC) don’t have access to any regulated child care programs and 77% don’t have access to high-quality programs. Looking at care for infants only, the shortage is especially severe: 65% of infants likely to need care don’t have access to any regulated child care programs and 84% don’t have access to high-quality programs.

by Jill Mazza Olson, Executive Director VNAs of Vermont Vermont's not-for-profit home health agencies are deeply engaged in their local communities and they are active partners in Vermont's health care reform efforts. This week was a reminder that federal policy has an enormous impact on the services our home health agencies provide and the people they serve.