Current News

Vermont Business Magazine MtAscutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) is pleased to announce that Leesa Taft, APN has been appointed to the position of Associate Medical Director, effective Sunday, September 24, 2017. In this newly created role, Taft will serve as a member of the Primary Care management team and clinical team leader for Internal Medicine at the Windsor practice. She will also oversee clinical practice for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, in addition to continuing her role as a primary care provider.

Vermont Business Magazine It all started in 2010 with their award-winning Vodka.Within 9 monthsof the release, this corn and winter wheat vodka won a Double Gold medal in the World Spirits Competition and was awarded 95 points by the Wine Enthusiast, which earned it the title of #1 domestic vodka. Now, with the upcoming release of their Gluten Free Organic Vodka, Smugglers’ Notch Distillery, co-owned by the father/son duo of Ron and Jeremy Elliott, is achieving tan ambition to support treatments for cancer in an ongoing way, bottle by bottle.

Vermont Business Magazine If oceans warm at a rate predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations-sponsored group that assesses climate change research and issues periodic reports, expected financial losses caused by hurricanes could increase more than 70 percent by 2100, according to a University of Vermont study just published in the journalSustainableandResilientInfrastructure.

Vermont Business Magazine In a move to reduce the red tape and allow for more substance use professionals across the state, Governor Phil Scott, Secretary of State Jim Condos and Director of Professional Regulation Colin Benjamin on Monday announced reforms to the administrative rules governing Apprentice Addiction Professionals (AAPs), Alcohol and Drug Counselors (ADCs) and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors (LADCs).

The “strike-and-rewrite” replacement brings the administrative rules for these professions from 30 pages to 10, eliminating red tape and introducing efficiency, while maintaining high professional standards. Areas of focus include carefully defined core competencies, more relevant and inclusive degree and continuing education requirements, and compatibility with prevailing national standards.

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Attorney General TJ Donovan joined 18 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit in the Northern District of California to defend Americans’ right to access affordable healthcare. On Friday, the Trump Administration made the decision to stop making healthcare subsidy payments required by the federal Affordable Care Act. The coalition of Attorneys General argue that the Trump Administration’s action violates the law and will lead to higher costs. It puts health coverage for over 6 million Americans, and over 12,000 Vermonters, at risk, according to a study.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Rutland Superior Court issued ajudgment orderagainst John Ruggiero, the owner of property at 84 Woodstock Avenue in Rutland. The order is for $1.8 million in clean-up costs and damages to be paid to the State of Vermont. The judgment resolves the State’s claims against Ruggiero following his failure to remediate hazardous chemicals found at the Rutland property.Ruggiero’s property at 84 Woodstock Avenue had contamination from hazardous chemicals during its historic use as a gas station and dry-cleaning business.

Vermont Business Magazine On October 17, state officials announced an online tool that they say will help Vermonters weigh health insurance options and choose the health plan that best fits their medical needs and budget. The 2018 Plan Comparison Tool allows individuals and small business employees to compare at least 24 health plan options not just by monthly premiums and deductible amounts, but also by estimated total annual costs.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University has announced that US Navy Admiral (Ret) and Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University James G. Stavridis will deliver the university’s 2018 Commencement address to graduating seniors on Saturday, May 12, 2018. Stavridis is a retired United States Navy admiral and the current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He serves as the chief international diplomacy and national security analyst for NBC News in New York. He is also chairman of the board of the U.S. Naval Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He is an associate fellow of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB) has completed the acquisition of Commerce Bancshares Corp and the merger of Commerce Bank & Trust Company into Berkshire Bank, effective at the close of business on October 13, 2017. With this acquisition, Berkshire adds 16 branches in the Worcester and Boston areas and becomes the largest regional bank headquartered in Massachusetts. The merger adds approximately $1.8 billion in assets, bringing the combined assets to $11.6 billion. Berkshire Bank has several branches in southern Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington City Council will meet tonight and is scheduled to select two finalists to buy Burlington Telecom. A final decision will be made by the Council October 30. Two out-of-state bidders and one local bidder are the finalists. Last week, Mayor Miro Weinberger urged the City Council to advance to the final round the bids from Schurz Communications and Ting/Tucows. This was expected as they were the high bidders. The third bidder, Keep Burlington Telecom Local (KBTL), presented a bid that would provide less than half the cash and a high debt load. The chairman of the BT advisory council already had advised against the KBTL bid because of that.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims increased last week but remain at a very low level and fell from where they were a year ago. Claims had been falling steadily since early July. Claims also are lower than they were the same time last year, which has been the case for most weeks in 2017. For the week of October 7, 2017, there were 336 claims, 44 more than than they were last week and 112 fewer than they were a year ago.

Altogether 2,543 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 61 from a week ago, and 438 fewer than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine The Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children announced the third annual Early Educator of the Year Award today at the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC) Annual Conference held in Killington, VT. The award winner, Cheryl “Cookie” Danyow, of Addison, was named 2017’s Early Educator of the Year. Richmond resident Ellen Kraft was the award finalist. The Permanent Fund created the Early Educator of the Year Award to recognize and celebrate excellence in the teaching of Vermont’s young children to bring attention to the importance of high-quality care and early education.