Current News

Senator Patrick Leahy Serious questions remain unanswered about whether the President knew of Flynn’s conversations with the Russians, and about Vladimir Putin’s relationship with other individuals close to the President. It should comfort no one that the people who seem to be the most upset today are the Russians.

Vermont Business Magazine VPR Classical, Vermont’s 24-hour classical music network, is now available in Waterbury, Stowe, Morrisville and Hyde Park at 96.5 FM.The new station reaches a population of more than 16,000 and is broadcasting from the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. Because of its location and elevation, the 250-watt signal reaches Stowe, Morrisville, Waterbury and Hyde Park.

In 2014, VPR was awarded a permit from the FCC to build a translator to serve Waterbury. After an engineering study, VPR asked the FCC to relocate the translator to Stowe while still meeting the requirement to cover Waterbury. The FCC granted the request in November 2016. The Trapp Family Lodge is allowing VPR use of the site in exchange for underwriting in lieu of rent.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott Monday evening announced the re-appointment of Rebecca Holcombe as Secretary of Education, and the appointment of Terry Norris as Representative for the Addison-Rutland District, encompassing the towns of Shoreham, Orwell, Whiting and Benson. With the appointment of Secretary Holcombe, who was selected from a list of candidates recommended by the State Board of Education, Governor Scott has now filled all Cabinet-level positions. She was first appointed by Governor Shumlin to the role in January 2014.

Rebecca Holcombe with Governor Shumlin in 2013.

Vermont Business Magazine All this week, Green Mountain Transit will be collecting items at its new Downtown Transit Center in Burlington and administrative offices in Burlington, Berlin, and St Albans to donate to Canal Street Veterans Housing. Canal Street Veterans Housing is an innovative approach to veterans’ assistance that COTS hopes will serve as a national example – creative housing, not shelter, for formerly homeless veterans. The program provides veterans with time to transition back into the community, allowing participants to stay up to 24 months with their families.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Loan Fund is now accepting applications for Building Bright Spaces for Bright Futures (BBSBF) 2017 grants. BBSFBF grants can be used for assistance in starting, relocating, expanding, or improving a Vermont child care program’s physical facility and/or accessibility. BBSFBF grants also may be used for real estate purchase, facility construction and renovation, as well as pre-development costs, interest rate subsidies and costs in meeting child care licensing facility requirements.

Vermont Business Magazine The Chittenden County Homeless Alliance announced today a $60,000 grant from Delta Dental Plan of Vermont awarded to fund a collective impact approach towards making homelessness in Chittenden County both rare and brief. The award will help expand and coordinate the involvement of government, business, philanthropy, non-profit organizations and citizens through the hiring of backbone support. This support will better organize local efforts around homelessness, to reinforce successful strategies and to ensure that success is measured consistently through systems of reliable shared data.

Vermont Business Magazine Only one new drug has become available over the past 50 years for the estimated 1.5 million Americans and five million-plus people worldwide suffering from lupus, but new research has identified a previously unknown mechanism involved in the immune response that could provide an alternative therapy target.

Lupus (also known as systemic lupus erythematosus) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system is unable to distinguish the difference between foreign invaders, such as viruses and bacteria, from its own healthy body tissue, so it attacks itself, damaging skin, joints, and kidneys – among other organs – in the process. The disease is also marked by elevated levels of type I interferon, a substance normally secreted by immune cells in response to viral infections. The origin of the interferon signature in lupus has remained a mystery for years.

by John McClaughry The Vermont legislature is now well into the final chapter of a high-stakes saga that began in 2010. At its center is the phosphorus level in Lake Champlain, especially in St Albans and Missisquoi Bays. As a state document explains, “In excessive amounts, phosphorus and associated algal growth can impair recreational uses and aesthetic enjoyment, reduce the quality of drinking water, and alter the biological community. In some cases, algal blooms can produce toxins that harm animals and people.”

Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Department of Economic Development recently awarded Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) a $74,000 Workforce Development Grant.Funded through the Vermont Training Program, the grant will enable BMH to hire, train, and employ medical assistants and scribes for the hospital’s medical practices.

Medical Assistants (MA’s) support clinicians by preparing patients for their exams, performing basic laboratory tests, and taking the patient’s medical history, among other clinical responsibilities.

Senator Patrick Leahy The Treasury Department plays an essential role in the development of the economic policies that financially secure the United States in world markets, that expand the opportunities available to all Americans, and that help set the stage for a sound and growing economy. Our country’s economic engine must be one that is accessible to all Americans, not just the wealthy few. Regrettably, while Mr Mnchuin may have a knowledge of the inner-workings of Wall Street, he seems to know shockingly little of the hardships faced on Main Street.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of Trustees of Vermont Law School today announced Thomas JP McHenry will serve as the next president and dean of VLS, effective July 1. McHenry will succeed President and Dean Marc B. Mihaly, who will return to teaching after a period of transition. Last fall Mihaly announced he would not renew his contract when it expires in July, for personal reasons. He plans to return to teaching as a member of the VLS environmental law faculty.

Thomas JP McHenry will serve as VLS' next president starting July 1, 2017. VLS photo.

Vermont Business Magazine Chittenden County has met many of its development goals, but is still suffering from a declining prime workforce and a lagging amount of housing, despite an increase in units. The Chittenden County ECOS Partnership has released its 2016 ECOS Annual Report and online data Scorecard. For the second year in a row, the Annual Report is an infographic that visually displays some of the most interesting trends and notable accomplishments from 2016 relating to people, place, and prosperity in Chittenden County.