Current News

Vermont Business Magazine EPA has awarded $3.3 million in grants to strengthen the capacity of states and tribes to protect and restore wetlands, including $287,000 to Vermont. The Wetland Program Development Grants provide interstate agencies, tribes, and nonprofit organizations with funding to develop and refine comprehensive state, tribal, and local wetlands programs. While monies for these project came from 2015 and 2016 allotments, EPA will soon release a request for projects to be funded with 2017 and 2018 funding.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Representative Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, a senior Democrat on the Oversight Committee and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, met with President Donald J Trump and presented him with draft legislation to allow the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare—a proposal that the President said he backs and that the American people overwhelmingly support.

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University President Dave Wolk announced at a campus assembly Wednesday that he will step down in December after serving for 16 years as president. Wolk came to the presidency in December of 2001 after intertwined careers in education and government, and 2017 marks his 43^rd year in public service. Wolk is the longest serving president in Castleton history by more than four years.

Vermont Business Magazine Today in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce markup of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) indicted the so-called “repeal and replace” bill proposed by the Republican majority, calling it hypocritical plagiarism.

Vermont Business MagazineBrattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) was recently recognized as one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States by iVantage Health Analytics and the Chartis Center for Rural Health (CCRH). Published annually, the list expands on the research presented by a study from CCRH:Rural Relevance: Vulnerability to Value.

The hospitals included on the list are noted as top performers in managing risk, achieving higher quality, securing better outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, and operating at a lower cost than their peers.

Vermont Business Magazine Two partners of the Chittenden County Opioid Alliance have joined in a new effort to improve access for Chittenden County residents to dental care. On March 9, The University of Vermont Medical Center will host a dental clinic at the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County. Using materials purchased by CCOA and donated by The UVM Medical Center, the dentists will screen patients, refer them to treatment for urgent needs, and offer education about oral health.

“This is an exciting way to support our community members in recovery, while at the same time providing dental care, which has been identified as an important health care need in our community,” said CCOA Project Director Cathy Aikman.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Tuesday reintroduced legislation to restore the rights of Americans who too often are forced out of the courthouse and into mandatory arbitration in civil rights cases, employment disputes, and other lawsuits. Leahy was joined by Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), who is the lead cosponsor of the legislation. A House companion bill was introduced by Congressman David Cicilline (D-R.I.).

Leahy announced the reintroduction of his legislation at a Capitol Hill press conference featuring television journalist Gretchen Carlson, whose Fox News employment contract would have barred her from speaking publicly about her allegations of sexual harassment against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes.

Vermont Business Magazine Sterling College has received a STARS Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), ranking first in sustainability performance in Vermont and fourth in North America. AASHE is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information on a college or university’s sustainability performance.

Sterling’s STARS score increased from 75.2 in 2016 to 78.97 in 2017. Aiding the higher score under STARS 2.1—an updated, more rigorous survey—was a new installation of a solar array on the campus and Sterling’s #1 rating for the third year in a row from the Real Food Challenge.

Vermont Business MagazineArticle One Partners has announced that former President Peter Vanderheyden has been promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 2017.AOP, based in Williston, is the world's largest intellectual property research community and pioneer in crowd-based prior art searching.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont will host an international conference on March 20 highlighting the historical, cultural and economic contributions made by French Canadians from Quebec who migrated to Vermont and New England. The conference, called French Connections/Franconnexions, will take place from 9 am to 3:30 pm in the Davis Center on the UVM campus. Registration is required. Between 1830 and 1930, some 900,000 immigrants from Quebec poured into New England

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Elijah E Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is scheduled to meet with President Donald J Trump on Wednesday to discusslowering prescription drug prices. Cummings will be joined by Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a senior Democrat on the Oversight Committee and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Dr Redonda G Miller, President of The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

“The President promised—both during the campaign and after—that he would support efforts to stem the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs, so I am looking forward to discussing ideas he said he supports,” said Cummings. “Our hope is that the President will make good on his promise and join us in convincing congressional Republicans to finally start helping American families who rely on these life-saving medications.”

Vermont Business Magazine Sugarbush, Vermont, and Snowbasin, Utah, have joined The Mountain Collective as full partners for the 2017-2018 season. These two classic North American ski mountains offer challenging terrain and plenty of variety for every level of skier or rider. This is the latest news in a trend toward multi-resort agreements that allow for skiers to venture far and wide on a single pass. Vail announced last month it was buying Stowe Mountain Resort, which will also allow for a single passholder to roam coast-to-coast and into Canada. The Mountain Collective is led by Aspen, Vail's chief Colorado rival. This year's agreements with major Vermont resorts is the first for Vail and Aspen, as they reach out toward the heavily populated East Coast market.