Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Skiers and snowboarders will once again be able to snack, sip and ski their way through Vermont’s favorite local food and drink vendors this year with the return of Ski Vermont’s Specialty Food Days Tour. This slope side tour will kick off on January 26th at Jay Peak Resort visiting fifteen resorts over the course of ten weeks.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor’s Employer Services and Program Integrity Units within the Unemployment Insurance Division experienced technical difficulties last week involving public phone lines. Those technical issues have been resolved, and all phone lines have been repaired and are functioning. The Program Integrity Unit can be contacted by calling 802.828.4333, and the Employer Services Unit can be contacted by calling 802.828.4344.

The Employer Services Unit handles all business inquiries regarding Unemployment Insurance tax contributions and liability determinations and the Program Integrity Unit handles unemployment claims auditing, including the collection of overpayments and unpaid contributions.

Source: DOL 1.10.2018

Vermont Business Magazine 2017 proved to be another highly successful year for Vermont’s captive insurance industry. The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation reports 24 new captive licenses, bringing Vermont’s total to 1,112, with 566 active captive insurance companies. The new captives were made up of 11 pure captives, 5 sponsored captives, 3 Risk Retention Groups (RRGs), 3 special purpose financial insurers, 1 branch captive and 1 industrial insured captive. New and notable captives include Life Time Fitness, Inc., AAA Northeast, Barclays Group US, Inc, and Bright Horizons Family Solutions. This does not even include the recent decision by the UVM Health Network to bring its captive to Vermont from the Bahamas in 2018.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House today conducted sexual harassment training. The training was conducted by members of Legislative Council in order to ensure that all members, staff, and state house guests are afforded a positive work culture free from harassment.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s US Senators, Sen Patrick Leahy (D) and Sen Bernie Sanders (I), are among those who have helped reach the milestone of 40 senators joining Senator Edward J Markey (D-Mass) in signing on in support of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to overturn the anti-consumer regulations passed in December by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and supported by Donald Trump to end net neutrality. At a press conference in the Capitol, Markey and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made clear they will force a vote on the resolution to restore the 2015 Open Internet Order. Thirty senators are needed to send the CRA to the floor for a vote, and a simple majority is needed for its passage.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Rory Thibault as interim Washington County state’s attorney. Thibault’s appointment fills the vacancy after former State’s Attorney Scott Williams resigned on Monday. Thibault was sworn in by Governor Scott Tuesday morning to ensure continuity in leadership at the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“Rory brings extensive experience to this role, and he will be a strong leader as the Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office continues its critical work to seek justice for Vermonters,” said Governor Scott.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine National Grid's Granite State Power Link (GSPL) and the Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC) in Littleton, NH, today announced a partnership and $20 million to support economic growth and opportunities along the project’s route in New Hampshire. GSPL in December also committed $20 million to the Northeast Kingdom, as part of the transmission line will run through Vermont. Several energy firms are competing for a massive request for proposal issued by Massachusetts for 1,200 megawatts of new renewable energy.

by Rob Roper We have some pretty serious issues facing our state: a shrinking workforce, a public school system that is hemorrhaging students while it vacuums money, and a structural sate budget deficit, just to name just a few. These problems are not new, and the policies our state government has enacted to address them have not worked. Vermonters are now among the most highly taxed people in the country, but what do we have to show for it?

Today we spend roughly $1.6 billion to educate 77,000 K-12 students. That’s well over $20,000 per child, more than almost every other state in the union and nearly twice the national average. This is more than twice the total we paid before Act 60 became law in 1997, despite serving thirty thousand fewer kids in 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Retreat is pleased to announce that its Psychology Internship Program has been awarded a full seven year accreditation from the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Commission on Accreditation (CoA).

APA-CoA is recognized by both the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the national accrediting authority for professional education and training in psychology.

“This is nothing short of national recognition for the high quality treatment and training that takes place at the Brattleboro Retreat,” said Kurt White, the Retreat’s Director of Ambulatory Services. “Very few APA accredited training programs are available in Vermont, and this will certainly help us attract the most qualified interns from across the U.S. to come here to train and work with us.”

Vermont Business Magazine Thanks to the generosity and support of the community, Rutland Regional Medical Center recently exceeded its $350,000 goal in support of the Early Detection Saves Lives campaign to bring new 3D breast imaging technology to our local region. The Rutland Health Foundation, the fundraising department of Rutland Regional Medical Center, reported $362,523 gifts and pledges raised as of 12/31/17.

“Community support continues to make a difference for our patients”, said Tom Huebner, Rutland Regional President and CEO. “We are truly grateful for the generosity and support received from our local community, our dedicated donors, as well as volunteers and staff who helped us reach this important goal to bring new 3D breast imaging technology to our local region”.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has opened SVMC Dentistry. The medical director for the practice is Michael Brady, DDS. He is joined by Richard Barbierri, DDS, and Russell O’Connell, DMD. “Proper dental care is essential to overall health, and there is a tremendous need for dental services in Bennington and the surrounding region,” said Trey Dobson, chief medical officer at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and medical director of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians.

The practice will be open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday starting today and is located in the newly renovated suite 104 of the Medical Office Building at 140 Hospital Drive in Bennington. Both patients with and without dental coverage will be accepted.

Vermont Business Magazine Recently, Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) hosted a special event to commemorate 20 years of its Windsor-based program Volunteers in Action (ViA), which supports local seniors with an array of volunteer services. Since 2001, ViA has served seven towns including Windsor, West Windsor, Reading, Hartland, and Weathersfield, Vermont, as well as Cornish and Plainfield, New Hampshire.

Continuing an annual tradition, dozens of volunteers, former volunteers, and community members gathered over lunch to commemorate the organization founded by the late Doug Hall and others in 1997. The event also paid tribute to all of the people who have contributed their time and energy to ViA—including 198 current volunteers who logged 33,066 hours this year. The meal for the event included a range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, and was served by non-ViA volunteers, with cider donated by Riverview Farms.