Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Nine Vermont communities have chosen to participate in ground-breaking new approaches to health care through partnerships with OneCare Vermont in 2018, according to a provider submission made with both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA). Hospitals, independent physician practices, specialists, skilled nursing facilities, designated mental health and substance use agencies, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), home health providers and area agencies on aging are among those who are participating in population health programs in the coming year. Under this model, participants are moving away from fee-for-service medicine that rewards volume and instead embracing a system that rewards providers for keeping people healthy.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued an Executive Order establishing the Governor’s Cybersecurity Advisory Team, a 10-member group that will advise the Governor on the State’s cybersecurity readiness, strategy and planning. At a press conference Tuesday, Scott signed Executive Order 18-17. Joined by representatives from the Agency of Digital Services, Department of Public Safety, Vermont State Police and Vermont Emergency Management, the Governor highlighted the intricate and quickly evolving nature of cyberthreats across the globe.

Vermont Business Magazine Age Well has recently completed an extensive search for a platform to support their Meals on Wheels and Community Meals programs. The nonprofit has chosen Accessible Solution’s software ServTracker. This comprehensive system will enable Age Well, the largest provider of Meals on Wheels and Community Meals in the state to automate driver routes, generate meal orders each day, and streamline volunteer planning and delivery schedules.

Organizations managing home-delivered meals and community dining venues are challenged with a wide range of individualized service demands that make management labor intensive and difficult. ServTracker’s Nutrition Services Module removes this complexity and provides a simple, more efficient and accurate process to serve clients and complete operational functions.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will hold a "College for All" town meeting at Castleton University at 7 pm tonight. Sanders will discuss his legislation that would make public colleges and universities tuition-free. “Today, the average student takes on more than $30,000 of student debt to get a bachelor’s degree, putting the dream of attending college out of reach for far too many people. In the richest country on Earth, every student who has the ability and desire should be able to get a college degree without taking on a mountain of debt,” said Sanders, who serves on the Senate education committee.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan has asked the Lamoille Superior Court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by five EB-5 investors against the State of Vermont and 10 current and former state employees. Plaintiffs allege that they lost money invested in EB-5 projects run by Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros. They claim that the State should have supervised these projects more closely and discovered misconduct including the alleged misuse of investor funds by Stenger and Quiros.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University Professor of Earth and Environmental Science Laurie Grigg has earned a $132,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support her research on insights into the impacts of climate change on Vermont lakes. The NSF recently announced that Grigg’s is one of 30 faculty research fellowships awarded through NSF’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) nationwide.

Vermont Business MagazineThe University of Vermont will name center court in Patrick Gymnasium “Tom Brennan Court” at a ceremony preceding the men’s basketballgame against Siena College onDecember 11, 2017. The court-naming opportunity is the result of a $1 million fundraising goal established to both recognize Coach Brennan and advance the planning for the Multi-Purpose Center.

In his 19 years at UVM, the man simply known as “Coach” won 264 games and led the Catamounts to four 20-plus win seasons, three America East championships and UVM’s first three NCAA Tournament appearances. This incredible March Madness run was capped by the 2004-2005 season when the Catamounts defeated BIG EAST Conference champions Syracuse University in a stunning over-time win.

by John McClaughry “Free electricity from the sun” has been a dream for decades. Although solar photovoltaic cells have been used for 40 years in spacecraft, the growth of the solar PV industry began around 1990, spurred by concerns about global warming from fossil fuel combustion. “Clean, green” solar PV electricity can charge radios and cell phone batteries, but it’s challenged by powering a refrigerator or home freezer. That’s because sunlight is diffuse and intermittent.

“Diffuse” means that the amount of direct sunlight that falls on a PV cell, even in a cloudless desert, is pretty weak. Overcoming the “diffuse” problem requires lots of collector area – full roof coverage for a home, or acres of solar panels for supporting the power grid.

Vermont Businiess MagazineAt the 59^thannual American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Awards Ceremony in San Diego California, Richard Lovett, MD, Rutland Regional Medical Center Radiation Oncologist, was one of 23 exemplary members throughout the United States and Canada to receive the 2017 ASTRO Fellow Designation.The Fellows Program, started in 2006, honors those who have been an Active, Emeritus or International member of ASTRO for at least 15 years, have given the equivalent of 10 years of service to ASTRO, and have made significant contributions to the field of radiation oncology in the areas of research, education, patient care or service and leadership.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced thefirst annualInnovation Spaces Conference,focused on creating a community among founders, users, and supporters of innovation spaces in Vermont.The free conference, which will be held onThursday, October 26,is designed to support the success of a new kind of business model that is spreading throughout the country and has a vibrant, growing presence in Vermont.

Innovation spaces – the collective term for a communal and efficient shared workplace that includes co-working and maker spaces, incubators and accelerators – are becoming more prevalent in Vermont, as entrepreneurs leverage them for their low cost, collaborative atmosphere, and specialized equipment.

byTJ Donovan, Vermont Attorney GeneralThe Equifax data breach is the largest data breach in our nation’s history. With 143 million Americans and 240,000 Vermonters at risk, I heard from many friends, neighbors and constituents asking the question “What should I do? How can I protect my family?” The data breach left my family and me asking the same questions.

Vermont Business MagazineSchool officials focused exclusively on bullying prevention efforts might want to consider the findings of a new study showing the highly damaging effects of multiple forms of victimization on school climate.The study, published in theJournal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, measured the impact of polyvictimization – exposure to multiple forms of victimization – on school climate at the middle and high school levels. Results show that bullying, cyberbullying and harassment were significantly associated with decreases in perceptions of school safety, connection, and equity.