Current News

Vermont Business Magazine OneDigital Health and Benefits, the nation's largest employee benefits-only company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with an office in Colchester, Vermont has been selected for the eleventh consecutive year to Inc. 5000’s distinguished listing of America’s fastest-growing private companies. OneDigital’s record performance year-over-year is a testament to the organization’s financial and organic growth.

Vermont Business MagazineA dedication ceremony in memory of Southern Vermont College alumnus Lonnie Bortman ’94 took place on campus Sunday, August 13. The site of the dedication, called “Lonnie’s Lookout,” is located on the Everett cave path through the upper orchard on campus (a path off the Everett Mansion courtyard). Bortman was born in New Jersey in 1971 and grew up in Sunnyvale, CA. From a young age he enjoyed outings to parks and a variety of sports, especially soccer, bicycle riding and skiing. Family visits to the east coast and southern Vermont fostered his love of the mountains and sparked ideas of someday returning to the east coast.

Public Assets Institute In July Vermont’s labor force dropped to its lowest level in 15 years. The labor force comprises people who are employed, including self-employed, and those who are unemployed but actively job hunting. Vermont’s labor force fell to 343,850 last month—the lowest level since July 2002, when it numbered 343,835. The unemployment rate also dropped in July, to 3.1 percent. The decline in the labor force tells us that unemployment shrank not because people found jobs, but because they stopped looking.

Vermont Business Magazine In the wake of the deadly attack stemming from a far-right demonstration in Charlottesville, lawmakers led by US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) are pressing the Department of Homeland Security on questions arising from the Trump Administration’s apparent de-emphasis on protecting Americans from domestic terrorism, especially the Administration’s apparent decision to de-emphasize combating far-right extremism.

​Vermont Business MagazineBill Orleans, president and founder of PP&D Brochure Distribution & the PP&D VT/NY Map, and the Burlington Business Association (BBA) have worked together to produce and install a new pilot wayfinding map of downtown Burlington at the Marketplace Parking Garage, located at 147 Cherry Street.

Vermont Business Magazine All three broad-based measures fell in July's unemployment report, as the number of those looking for work declined in Vermont, but so too did the labor force and total employed, both for the month and year-to-year. The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for July was 3.1 percent.

Vermont Business MagazineWeekly unemployment claims fell slightly last week to remain at a low summer-time level. Claims had been falling steadily since early July. Claims also are lower than they were the same time last year, which has been the usual case for most weeks in 2017. For the week of August 12, 2017, there were 366 claims, down 26 from the previous week's total and 184 fewer than than they were a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine Step Ahead Innovations, Inc, creators of the revolutionary MindStream aquarium water monitoring system, has announced that it has completed a recent $1.5 million capital round, which moves the firm aggressively towards bringing its innovative water monitoring technology to market. This latest round brings the total amount raised by the Burlington company in seven rounds of funding to over $7 million, a substantial amount for a Vermont technology start-up.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today joined local, state and federal partners to announce a $1 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the Town of Bennington. The federal grant will help redevelop the historic Putnam Block, which will include six properties and more than four acres, in downtown Bennington.

The Putnam Block redevelopment project is scheduled to begin this fall, with federal grant funding from the Town targeted to the first phase of the project, including site acquisition, environmental mitigation, demolition of blighted and unsafe commercial buildings, infrastructure improvements, and the renovation of existing historic buildings.

Governor Scott: “This is a very concerning time for our nation, and many Vermonters have asked my thoughts about the events in Virginia, as well as the President's response. Rather than issue another written statement, I wanted to take just a few minutes to respond personally. “First, I'd like to offer my condolences to the families of Heather Heyer, the courageous young woman who lost her life, and Virginia Troopers Cullen and Bates who died in a helicopter crash while keeping watch on the rally."

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Representative Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Representative Peter Welch of Vermont, a senior Democrat on both the Oversight Committee and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent letters to seven pharmaceutical companies requesting information about their pricing strategies for drugs used to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

“We are launching an in-depth investigation to determine why drug companies are dramatically increasing their prices for drugs used to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which is a disease of the central nervous system that often has devastating and disabling effects on patients,” Cummings and Welch wrote. “We believe no American should be forced to struggle to afford lifesaving medical treatments, especially when drug companies increase prices without warning, cause, or justification.”

Vermont Business MagazineFor the second consecutive year,New Hampshireranks as the Number 1 state for families to live richer lives, finds a new study by personal finance website GOBankingRates. Vermont ranked Number 9. Vermont ranked highly because of education, median household income and safety. But its rank was lowered by its cost of living.