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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Colleges System Board of Trustees Chairwoman Martha O’Connor announced today that Governor Scott has appointed Janette Bombardier to the system Board. Bombardier joins the system’s 14-member board that is integrally involved with strategic planning, governance and financial matters for the five-college system. Bombardier is Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Financial Affairs for Green Mountain Power and the former Vice President of Site Operations for GLOBALFOUNDRIES (formerly IBM) Vermont and East Fishkill, NY. She started with GMP in mid-April.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Governor Phil Scott, Attorney General TJ Donovan, Senator Dick Sears, and Bennington legislators Senator Brian Campion, Representative Mary Morrissey, Representative Tim Corcoran, Representative Kiah Morris, and Representative Rachael Fields on Thursday issued a joint statement announcing that Saint-Gobain will fund the early-stage design work for extending a waterline to bring municipal water to those whose wells were contaminated by PFOA. Saint-Gobain bought the former Chemfab plant in North Bennington near Bennington College in 2000 and closed it in 2002. The former plastics plant has been blamed for the possible carcinogen PFOA being found in February 2016 in nearby wells. Saint-Gobain is also in court with the state claiming that the state's contamination level of 20 parts per trillion is too low a standard for PFOA.

Vermont Business Magazine The following statement was issued by Vail Resorts Friday morning on behalf of Blaise Carrig, Vail Resorts Mountain Advisor: "As a result of the pending acquisition of Stowe Mountain Resort by Vail Resorts, and in coordination with AIG, the resort’s operations are being divided between the Mountain Operations, Real Estate Development and Lodging segments. To that end, the employee rosters were reviewed to determine which employees would be part of Stowe Mountain Resort’s Mountain Operations segment that Vail Resorts will hire as part of the resort team.

Vermont Business Magazine Vail Resorts, Inc (NYSE: MTN) announced today the appointment of Bobby Murphy as the new vice president and general manager of Stowe Mountain Resort, effective at acquisition close, expected in June. The 2016-2017 ski season marks Murphy’s 30th year in the ski industry. Spanning three decades, Murphy’s career has demonstrated a commitment to the local resorts and communities where he has worked and resided. Notably, throughout the past 14 years he has brought extensive leadership and innovation at the senior management level to the guest experience and ski area operations.

Vermont Business MagazineMore often than not, the misuse of drugs begins right at the family medicine cabinet - where prescription painkillers may sit long after they are needed.These are Vermont's most dangerous leftovers, and state health and public safety officials want Vermonters to know there's something they can do about it.This Saturday April 29, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. communities throughout Vermont will host collection sites where people can safely - and anonymously - drop off their expired, unused or unwanted medications as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Vermont Business Magazine Drivers in the Northeast are the worst in the nation, according to a national report, but Vermont is the notable outlier. Vermont drivers are just outside the top five best in the US, scoring an 87 grade. New Hampshire (74), meanwhile, is among the top five worst overall, as they are known for their lead-footedness. EverQuote, Inc,the leading online insurance marketplace in the US, reported the findings from its2017 Safe Driving Report. The study provides a state-by-state safe driving analysis by examiningEverDrivedriving datafrom more than 20 million vehicle trips and 230 million miles driven.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of Directors of the United Way of Northwest Vermont has appointed Jesse Bridges as Chief Executive Officer effective May 30, 2017. Bridges is currently Director of the City of Burlington Parks Recreation & Waterfront Department. Bridges replaces Martha Maksym and interim DirectorMolly Lambertat the helm of the regional nonprofit, whose mission is “to build a stronger Northwest Vermont by mobilizing our community to improve people’s lives.”

Vermont Business Magazine Top leaders on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on Thursday introduced legislation Tuesday to combat anticompetitive practices used by some brand-name pharmaceutical and biologic companies to block entry of lower-cost generic drugs. The Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act would deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace.

Vermont Business MagazineSugarbush Resort will reopen this weekend Saturday, April 29th– Monday, May 1st, weather permitting. Available terrain includes Stein’s Run, Snowball, Spring Fling and Coffee Run. The Valley House Quad will run9 AM – 5 PMon SaturdayandSundayand10 AM – 5 PMon Monday.The Sugarbush Resort Golf Club is also slated open daily starting this weekend with its first day of operation on Saturday, April 29th.

A $50 ticket will be valid at both the golf course and the mountain each day. Sugarbush winter season pass holders can enjoy golf for just $25 over the weekend. Golf fees include cart. The Golf Shop will also be open8 AM – 5 PM.

The weekend will mark the 152nd, 153rd, and 154thdays the mountain has been open for skiing and riding, one of the longest seasons on the east coast. Season passes for next season remain on sale at their lowest prices throughMay 4th.

Vermont Business Magazine Michele Resnick Cohen, UVM ’72, and her husband Martin Cohen have donated $5 million to renovate and transform the Elihu B Taft School – located at the corner of South Williams and Pearl streets on the edge of campus – to become UVM’s first integrated center for the creative arts. Work already has commenced on the former elementary school, which served Burlington students from 1938 until 1980, to create a nexus for arts on campus that brings together multiple disciplines and fosters creative collaboration. Designed as a center for the arts, the space will include galleries, studios, classrooms, and exhibition and performance spaces that will encompass the disciplines of art, art history, dance, theatre, music, film and television studies and more.

by Governor Phil Scott We have an opportunity to save up to $26 million a year – up to $100 million over five years, adjusting for inflation – in our education system, without program cuts or asking teachers to pay more for benefits. But the Legislature must act now. The federal Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama put high valued health plans at risk of a Cadillac tax. The Vermont Education Health Initiative (VEHI) is transitioning to new plans, which are projected to cost substantially less than existing plans and will not be subjected to the federal penalty.

That’s why I’ve put forward a proposal – developed with the Vermont School Boards Association and the Vermont Superintendents Association – that creates a statewide health benefit where the state bargains with employee unions, maximizing the savings of these new plans. This approach would save up to $26 million each year.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power was just named as part of a select group in the country that connected the most storage to the grid in 2016, earning a spot on the annual Top 10 lists compiled by the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). GMP ranked Number 10 on the Energy Storage Rankings for the most storage installed in the country, with 2 megawatts in 2016. GMP also scored the Number9 spot on the energy storage list for most watts per customers in 2016.