Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Peace Corps announced that Vermont is the top state and ranks 2nd overall among regionswith the highest number of Peace Corps volunteersper capita, with 6.7 volunteers per 100,000 residents. There are 42 volunteers from the Green Mountain State currently serving worldwide and 1,579 Vermonters have served in the Peace Corps since the agency’s founding in 1961. The Burlington-South Burlington area ranks Number 6 among metropolitan areas with the highest number of volunteers per capita, with 9.5 volunteers per 100,000 residents. Twenty Burlington-area residents are currently serving worldwide. Washington, DC, had the highest overall regional rate at 8.8.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont ranks 9th nationwide in funding programs that prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a report released by leading public health organizations.Vermontis spending$3.6 millionthis year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is still just 42.4 percent of the$8.4 millionrecommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vermont ranked 10th in 2016and 10th in 2015. It's ranked as low as 8th (2009) and as high as 11th (2013).

The report – "Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 Tobacco Settlement 19 Years Later" – was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights and Truth Initiative.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reminding hunters, anglers and trappers of changes to permanent licenses that go into effect starting January 1, 2018. A permanent license is currently available free to Vermont residents 70 or older. Beginning January 1, a resident 66 or older may purchase a permanent license for a one-time fee of $60.

All licenses may be purchased at a license agent or district office or online at www.vtfishandwildlife.com. People who already have a permanent license do not need to purchase another, but need to renew theirs in 2018.

Vermont Business MagazineWay to Go! organizers, state officials including Secretaries Holcombe and Moore, and VTrans Planning and Policy Director, Michele Boomhower, honored the top performing schools at a special ceremony in the Cedar Creek Room of the Vermont Statehouse on December 6th to celebrate and congratulate the winners ofthis year's Way to Go! School Challenge.

Vermont Business Magazine Spirits of Old Bennington was incorporated in 2014. In 2016, Founder and Distiller Ken Lorenz opened his Tasting Room in the old Vermont Tissue Mill at1514 N Bennington Rd inNorth Bennington. Lorenz, an engineer and project manager, launched the business while still working his day job. Today, Lorenz works at the distillery full time and has distribution in Vermont and New York with his signature products Sedition Gin, Covered Bridge Rum and Kilted Wheat Whiskey on the shelves of 40 stores in Vermont and 11 stores in New York.

Mad River Glen Greetings MRG Skiers: It's been snowing for nearly 36hours so far and we have scored a solid 12"-16" of fluffy powder and it continues to snow wicked hard. The wind has kicked up for sure and the mountain ops team has been hard at work pinning it down as best they can. The start of the 2017-18 ski season is nearly upon us.Mad River Glen will open onFriday with skiing serviced by the Sunnyside Double. On Saturday and Sunday we'll be spinning the Single Chair, the Sunnyside Double and the Practice Slope. An exact trail count will have to wait until we get closer to openingday. Rest assured thatwe will do our collective darnedestto get as much of the main mountain open as possible. Stay tuned for updates.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s Killington Resort hosted the East Coast’s largest and most lucrative rail jam, Rails 2 Riches, on Saturday, December 9, 2017. The event dished out more than $25,000 in prize money to skiers and snowboarders with seven New England athletes on the podium, taking the cash home. “Year and after year we are thrilled with the Rails 2 Riches event—it’s an incredible opportunity for local and international skiers and riders to check out what Killington Parks has to offer.

Burlington Telecom Earlier this year, Congress repealed internet privacy rules and Burlington Telecom re-committed to never collect, share or sell sensitive personal data about our customers. In July, Burlington Telecom joined the national battle to preserve net neutrality by participating in an internet-wide day of action opposing FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai’s work to undo key consumer protections that prevent American internet customers from facing new fees, website blocking, and traffic throttling.

Vermont Business Magazine On June 10, 1918, Putnam Memorial Hospital, now known as Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), opened to patients. A century later that 30-bed hospital has grown into one of New England’s leading rural healthcare systems. “A hundred years of caring for generation after generation in Bennington County and beyond is certainly a milestone worth celebrating,” said Thomas A. Dee, FACHE, SVHC’s president and CEO “Equally worthy of celebration is what SVHC is today—one of the best and most innovative community health care systems in the region—and how we are growing our services to meet the needs of the future.”

Vermont Business Magazine Seven child care and preschool providers around the state that are located within 200 feet of current or former dry cleaning businesses are partnering with state agencies to assess indoor air quality to ensure they are not impacted by chemicals associated with dry cleaning. The assessment work is precautionary, and the state stands ready to provide mitigation support if needed.

State officials emphasized that this proactive effort is based on an understanding of the potential impact of chemicals used by dry cleaners. At this time there have been no reported cases of illnesses linked to this issue and there have not been any issues reported with any of the children’s programs being tested. All seven child care and preschool facilities are open and operating as usual.

Vermont Business Magazine States are making modest improvements in personal finance education standards, but they still have a long way to go, including Vermont which earned a "D," according to the third report card on state efforts to improve financial literacy in American high schools. John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College, which produced the report card, says American high schools have improved incrementally, in part because previous report cards have energized debates and legislation in many states.

Vermont Business Magazine Six University of Vermont students from theCommunity Development and Applied Economics department in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are featured in the new bookCensored 2018: Press Freedoms in a “Post Truth” Society. An annual anthology published by California-based media watchdog organization Project Censored,Censored 2018 compiles the top 25 student-written investigative news stories from the past year. The six UVM students -- Clare Charlesworth, Audrey Tuck, Bridgette McShea, Olivia Jones, Emily von Weise and Kätchen McElwain -- developed and submitted their stories as part of their spring 2017 classJournalism 2.0with Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE) professorRob Williams.