Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan announced a settlement of consumer protection claims against MD Cosmetics Medical Spa and its owner, Erin Jewell. The settlement resolves the Attorney General’s claim that MD Cosmetics engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct by closing in September 2017 without warning and failing to refund its customers’ outstanding gift certificates and unfulfilled pre-paid services.

In the settlement, MD Cosmetics and Jewell acknowledge that $118,145 in restitution is owed to Vermont consumers, and the Attorney General assessed a $58,000 penalty for their conduct. Due to Jewell’s bankruptcy, she will only be required to make payments towards these amounts if her financial situation improves in the next five years. Jewell will also be banned from owning, operating, or managing a similar business in Vermont for five years.

by Meredith Vaughn With their hands resting on the piece of paper in front of them, everyone closed their eyes and awaited instructions. Tara Lawyer, a School-Based Behavior Consultant (SBBC) from Northwestern Counseling & Support Services (NCSS), delivered sloppy and ambiguous directions, quickly moving from one ask to another, while eyeing the hesitant participants. They folded and unfolded, creased and pressed.

Some giggled at their gross misunderstanding of the task; others sighed in exasperation and quit folding their papers altogether. Murmurs could be heard throughout the room.

“I can’t follow along.”

“What did she say?”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Okay, open your eyes,” said Lawyer.

With raised eyebrows, one participant reviewed his amorphous creation. “What is it?”

Vermont Business Magazine This week Secretary Condos was appointed to serve as a member on the Executive Committee for the Council of State Governments (CSG). CSG, a national organization, was founded in 1933, and works to foster the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. The Executive Committee and Leadership Council oversee the business affairs, policy and program development of CSG.

Vermont Business Magazine John K Benson, PE, has been named Vermont’s 2018 Engineer of the Year. Mr Benson, is an owner of Dubois & King, Inc. Erin Parizo, PE, has been named Vermont’s 2018 Young Engineer of the Year. Ms Parizo is a traffic design project manager at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. They will be recognized at the annual Engineers Week banquet on February 23. The Engineer of the Year and the Young Engineer of the Year are selected based on technical accomplishments, stature in the engineering profession, contributions to professional organizations, and contributions to their community.

by Public Assets Institute A new education funding plan taking shape in the House Ways and Means Committee is being billed as a move toward simplicity and greater reliance on the income tax to support education. In fact, the plan appears to make the connection between school spending and taxes less transparent, and it will take Vermont back to the days when only wealthy communities could afford to pay the property taxes necessary to support a good education.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Northfield Savings Bank (NSB) announced that Rob Wheeler of Burlington recently joined its experienced Commercial Business Banking team as Vice President of Commercial Banking. Wheeler brings over 25 years of extensive, customer-focused banking experience in commercial lending and credit analysis in Chittenden County, where he will continue to support Northfield Savings Bank’s expanding commercial business base.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Rob Wheeler to the Northfield Savings Bank family,” said Al Flory, Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at NSB. “Rob has a wealth of experience in commercial lending, and as a longtime Burlington resident, he understands Chittenden County. This will serve our current and future clients well.”

Vermont Business Magazine The landmark Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center in South Burlington is now DoubleTree by Hilton Burlington. The 309-room, state-of-the-art, full-service, conference center hotel, located just five minutes from downtown, is the latest addition to the growing portfolio of DoubleTree by Hilton, one of Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) 14 market-leading brands. The former DoubleTree east up Route 2 is now branded Trader Dukes, but is expected to become a Marriott.

Vermont Business Magazine Dr Grace Johnstone is pleased to announce the opening of Hyperbaric Vermont’s first hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) facility. Hyperbaric Vermont is a Vermont nonprofit organized in 2017. Located at Colchester Plaza, 3619 Roosevelt Highway, Suite #7, in Colchester, it joins affiliated HBOT clinics in Montpelier and East Hardwick run by Community Hyperbaric. Through affiliate treatment centers and its own facilities, Hyperbaric Vermont supports the provision of high quality, affordable HBOT throughout Vermont and surrounding areas and serves as a model for those who wish to do so in other regions.

About Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Vermont Business Magazine As Burlington Telecom heads to a new chapter in its brief history as part of new owner Schurz Communications, another chapter appears to be closing. A recent audit conducted on the City of Burlington has found that its improved financial performance, and subsequent bond rating upgrades, has resulted in the city saving $12.6 million. The financial problems suffered by Burlington Telecom and subsequently by the city as it tried to shore up the telecom with an unauthorized $16.9 million loan cratered the city's bond rating and that of city-owned Burlington International Airport.

Vermont Business Magazine Sunny Sky Products, LLC of Houston has announced that they have acquired substantially all the assets of DWS, Inc, a specialty dispensed beverage company based in South Burlington, Vermont. Sunny Sky Products is a leading, premium dispensed beverage manufacturer that sells globally to convenience stores (c-stores), schools and restaurants and this acquisition will strengthen their overall product portfolio.

​Vermont Business Magazine Two major credit rating agencies have affirmed their “A” rating for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH), with an upgrade of the credit outlook from both services. FitchRatings (Fitch) has affirmed its “A” rating, and has upgraded its credit outlook to “positive” for D-HH. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its “A” rating and improved its outlook for D-HH from “negative” to “stable.”

Vermont Business Magazine People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arms of People’s United Bank, today announced that it awarded $336,807 to 50 Vermont non-profit organizations in 2017. Funding was distributed state-wide in alignment with the Foundations’ focus areas including: youth development, community and economic development, and affordable housing.