Current News

Vermont Business MagazineVermont hospital executivesand surgeons make the most money, not surprisingly, with Dr John Brumsted, the CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network, the top earner in the region at over $2 million a year. More than half of his income was from bonuses and other compensation. Dr James Weinstein, who recently stepped down as CEO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in West Lebanon, NH, has the highest salary at $1.2 million, with a total compensation of $1.5 million. Brumsted leads a consortium of hospitals (including CVMC) in Vermont and in upstate New York.

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly 400 runners, walkers, and motorcycle riders from all over the region gathered in Randolph on August 18^thand 19^thand raised $105,000 for the 12^thannual Last Mile Ride.The popular two-day fundraiser has raised $646,000 thousand dollars over the years to support unique end-of-life services provided by Gifford Health Care. Starting in 2006, when 74 motorcyclists rode the very first Last Mile Ride route, the event has expanded into a two-day celebration that includes a timed 5K run and 1- and 2.5 mile walking routes.

Vermont Business MagazineGeneral Surgeon DrOvleto Ciccarelli is offering private skin cancer screenings at Gifford’s Community Health centers through the early fall. These private screenings are free and open to everyone, not just Gifford patients. Dr. Ciccarelli notes that early skin cancer warning signs can appear on hard-to-see areas of the body, or in areas that might be difficult to find for the elderly or people living alone. He is concerned about an increase in the number of patients he sees with basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, and malignant melanomas.

“Melanoma is curable if caught early, and other skin cancers are more treatable if caught early,” he said. “Vermonters, who are largely fair-skinned and exposed to short intervals of intense sun, are especially vulnerable to skin cancers.”

Vermont Business Magazine GMP crews are ready to restore power if this afternoon’s severe thunderstorms and high winds cause outages across Vermont. “GMP is prepared for the upcoming storm that may cause outages across Vermont,” said Dorothy Schnure, GMP spokesperson. “Our dedicated crews are ready to work quickly and safely to restore any power outages that may occur.”

Forecasters are calling for possible severe thunderstorms and high winds across the state, particularly in northern areas. Scattered to isolated severe thunderstorms could begin as early as 3:30 p.m. today and continue through midnight.

Green Mountain Power reminds the public that downed lines may be live and dangerous, even if on the ground or tangled in trees. In addition, the storms can cause quickly rising water in rivers and near hydroelectric plants that can create unsafe conditions.

Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, August 18, Fitch Ratings revised the Burlington International Airport’s (BTV) outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the Airport’s BBB- credit rating (lowest investment grade, complete ratings table below). In its report, Fitch states that “Positive Outlook reflects an improving fiscal profile demonstrated in recent years which should continue under a recently implemented airline agreement with strong cost recovery mechanisms…” The report also notes the strengthening liquidity position of the airport, the stable debt coverage, manageable four year $85.9 million infrastructure plan, and conservative debt structure.

Vermont Business Magazine August is National Immunization Awareness Month — and the latest immunization rates reported on the KIDS COUNT Data Center indicate that there’s cause to celebrate. That’s because 75 percent of 2-year-olds across the country were immunized in 2015. Vermont, which just in 2011 was slightly below the US average, now stands just above at 76.7 percent, up over 50 percent since 2009. This statistic, which represents the most recent full year of data available, is a drastic improvement from 2009, when just 48 percent of 2-year-olds in the US were immunized. Vermont was at only 25.3 percent. Vermont had by far the lowest rate in 2009 and was the only state under 30 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) recently received two regional awards for health care communications and marketing from the New England Society for Health Care Communications (NESHCo). SVHC received a Silver Lamplighter Award for Digital Strategy, including the integration of website, social media, and e-newsletter content. In the category for Community Relations Events, the health system’s Jump Rope Challenge was also honored with a Silver Lamplighter Award.

“We are deeply committed to sharing stories and developing content that helps patients live healthier lives,” said Ray Smith, director of Marketing and Communications. “The impact we are able to make and the recognitions we receive are really a testament to the skill and dedication of our marketing team, the valuable work of our clinical colleagues, and patients themselves, whose stories we are privileged to share.”

Vermont Business Magazine Barr Hill Gin by Caledonia Spirits is announcing Bee’s Knees Week in partnership with Liquor.com. Bee’s Knees Week is a week to celebrate, educate, and drive awareness of the importance of bees to agriculture, and our ecosystem as a whole, through the Bee’s Knees Cocktail. This event will be a week long celebration at participating bars from September 25 through October 1, 2017. Bee’s Knees Week will take place in all 30 US Markets where Barr Hill Gin is distributed.

Vermont Business Magazine The federal government on Friday informed the state that it will seek to close Vermont's foreign investment program, widely known as EB-5, because of the fraud allegations involving Jay Peak and related projects. Federal and state charges of a $200 million fraud against the developers were revealed in April 2016.

Middlebury College The telescope specialist at Middlebury College's Mittelman Observatory, Jonathan Kemp, has been photographing the eclipse through a 4-inch refracting telescope equipped with a Hydrogen-alpha (H-alpha) filter. Jonathan hasbeen photographing the solar eclipsesince it started and stitched together five images showing different phases of the eclipse. I will email that sequence to you at approximately 4 p.m., and we sincerelyhope you can use the content.

Credit: Mittelman Observatory/Middlebury College. 8.21.2017

Vermont Business MagazineThe Murray Howell Foundation presented a $100,000 gift to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, in May 2017, in honor of Murray Howell. Howell, co-founder of Vermont Castings, Inc, worked to enhance and protect the natural environment and to encourage individual initiative and leadership in environmental awareness. He believed deeply that environmental education for children is the best way to nurture an awareness that would grow into a lifelong love for and commitment to the natural world.

A plaque in MrHowell’s honor will be placed at the VINS Nature Center.

Vermont Business Magazine At an event marking the start of a yearlong celebration of the 60th year since the founding of Sterling, the college announced a partnership with The Berry Center through which it plans to begin offering undergraduate and continuing education programs in Kentucky in rural, placed-based ecology and farming starting in the fall of 2018.