Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Dr James N Weinstein, CEO and President of Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH) system, will retire from that position at the end of his term, June 30, 2017, Anne-Lee Verville, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Boards Chair, announced today. In a letter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock employees, she said: “The Board of Trustees accepts Jim’s decision with great admiration and appreciation for all he has done during his many years of service to Dartmouth-Hitchcock, not only in his current role, but in past leadership roles including President of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic, Director of The Dartmouth Institute, and the inaugural Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics.”

Vermont Business Magazine KSE Partners, now Leonine Public Affairs, launches its new brand today. KSE Partners, based in Montpelier, has been a leading Vermont premier government relations and public relations firm for nearly 30 years. Now, KSE Partners is retiring its original identity and launching its new look, office space, and name, Leonine Public Affairs.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Teddy Bear Company has revealed that its 4-foot Giant Bear is featured with Oprah Winfrey on the cover of the December issue of O Magazine. The 4-foot Giant Bear has been a best-seller for a number of years and is available at Amazon. Hand-stuffed in Vermont, using 100 percent recycled material, the Giant Bear is a big hit each holiday season, and as year-round gifts for ages 1-100.

“It is such an honor to have our 4-foot Giant Bear featured next to Oprah Winfrey on her magazine,” says Bill Shouldice, CEO. “This is very exciting for all of us at Vermont Teddy Bear.”

Vermont Business Magazine Leaders of unions representing telecom workers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont responded in a statement today to the announcement by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc that it plans to purchase FairPoint Communications in 2017. The sale is subject to approval by both companies’ shareholders and state regulators.

Vermont Business Magazine WPTZ-TV meteorologist Tom Messner, WCAX-TV weather anchor Sharon Meyer and the late radio and TV personality Dean Slack were all inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame December 3 at the Hilton Burlington. Sharon Meyer became director of WCAX’s weather department upon the retirement of VAB Hall of Fame member Stuart Hall. Sharon is known not only for her forecasting skills but also for sharing her love of Vermont’s natural beauty with her viewers. Sharon is regularly featured on NESN Red Sox broadcasts.

Sharon Meyer and Tom Messner. VAB photos.

by Mike Smith Recently, Democrats announced their new leadership team in the U.S. Senate. This new team included Sen. Bernie Sanders. His new assignment is to try and convince those working-class Americans who abandoned Democrats in the recent election to support Democratic candidates in the future. The hope is that a populist senator like Sanders will be able to identify and address the core concerns of middle-income Americans. But, as Sanders embarks on his new assignment, he needs to recognize the mistakes the Democrats made during the last election.

by CB Hall Vermont Business Magazine The State Transportation Board has wrapped up its annual fall series of public forums in mid-November, and this year's theme for the sessions – Vermont's railroads – has sparked considerable interest in a mode of transportation that, some Vermonters say, is very much underused. Each year, the autumn events focus on a different aspect of transportation in the state. This year, according to the board's executive secretary, John Zicconi, attendance at the seven forums was “above our normal attendance in the last five years.”

Vermont Business Magazine Bartenders are one of the most common jobs in America and Vermont is the best state in which to be one, according to Zippia. In fact, Vermont is by far the best bartending state in the Northeast. A significant number of people work as bartenders in every state in the union. Zippia ranked the states based on available jobs and wages. While Vermont has the second fewest number of jobs overall, bartenders in Vermont have a very high relative wage.

Since bartenders are such a prominent occupation, the national employment resource Zippia wanted to look at where bartenders have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around, and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

by Emma Lamberton Vermont Watchdog When Greg Cunningham bought a vacation home in Enosburg Falls in 1992, he knew he never wanted to leave. “Vermont was my getaway. A visit filled me with intense joy,” he told Watchdog. Cunningham and his wife fell in love with the quaint, remote town in northern Vermont. Cunningham, an electrical engineer living in Toronto, grew up north of the Vermont border in Quebec.

Vermont Business Magazine The diversion of food scraps and other organic matter from landfills per Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law (Act 148) presents an expanding economic opportunity for Grow Compost of Vermont to provide organics hauling and management services to food scrap generators such as schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and institutions. Grow Compost of Vermont anticipates organic hauling services will account for over 65 percent of revenue in 2016, compared to 54 percent in 2015 and 17 percent in 2014. 

Vermont Business Magazine Legislation long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) to help ensure that the criminal justice system functions fairly now goes to the White House for signature after the Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill on Thursday. The Justice for All Reauthorization Act aims to reduce the rape kit backlog by supporting grant programs that fund forensic testing.

The bill, coauthored by Leahy and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), also renews the Innocence Protection Act, a landmark Leahy law which includes the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program. That program facilitates the use of post-conviction testing of DNA evidence that can exonerate the wrongly convicted and hold the guilty accountable.  The bill also requires the Justice Department to assist state and local governments to improve their indigent defense systems and ensures implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Vermont Business Magazine Campaign for Vermont Prosperity (CFV) announced today its new vision for Vermont. Campaign for Vermont is a non-partisan advocacy group that has pushed for ethics reform in state government, a modern education system, better access to the voting booth, and economic prosperity for all Vermonters. CFV was formed by businessman and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lisman in 2011.

“We are excited to announce a sharper message and a vision for what we are working towards” said Executive Director Ben Kinsley. 

“We want to see a Vermont where everyone can succeed and we have a state that is sustainable, fiscally, socially, and environmentally” said Board Chairman Louise McCarren, “we do very well in so many areas like environmental and social responsibility, but have families that are struggling to make ends meet.”

Campaign for Vermont Prosperity envisions: