Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin and Health Commissioner Harry Chen, MD today in Burlington announced proposed changes to the Health Department's rule governing the prescribing of opioids for pain. When finalized in December 2016, the amended rule will, for the first time ever, give guidance to prescribers and set legal limits on the dosage and number of opioid painkillers that may be prescribed. For some minor procedures, the proposal calls for a limit of between nine and 12 pills. 

Vermont Business Magazine Continuing a long history of providing major support for key projects, the University of Vermont Medical Center Auxiliary announced today it is donating $1 million toward completion of the Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building which will replace antiquated double-bed rooms with single-patient rooms. Patients in the Miller Building will experience enhanced quality of care due to the privacy, space for families and healing environment single-bed rooms provide. Currently, only about forty percent of rooms at the UVM Medical Center are private. 

“This tremendous gift from the Auxiliary reflects its steadfast and essential support of the hospital over many decades,” said John Brumsted, M.D., chief executive officer, UVM Medical Center and president and chief executive officer, UVM Health Network.

Vermont Business Magazine Near the top of Mount Mansfield, reconstruction of the historic Stone Hut is nearing completion. Barring any last minute construction issues, the Hut will be open to overnight guests again starting December 1, 2016. The hut was closed to visitors after a fire on Christmas Eve, 2015, destroyed most of the building.

Let’s Grow Kids About 200 people watched an early childhood gubernatorial candidates panel on Friday, October 14, which was held at the UVM Davis Center in Burlington and livestreamed on the Let’s Grow Kids website. Candidates Sue Minter and Phil Scott, who are neck-and-neck in the race to be Vermont’s next governor (according to a recent VPR poll), answered questions related to child and family policies; economic development and early childhood; and the state budget.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Housing Finance Agency's Executive Director Sarah Carpenter announced today that interested parties are invited to submit comments on how housing tax credits are allocated. Housing tax credits are Vermont's primary funding source for developing affordable rental housing. The comments will be considered during this year's upcoming revisions to Vermont's Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).  As administrator of the housing tax credit program, Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) allocates credits to specific projects in accordance with identified State needs and Federal requirements outlined in the Vermont QAP. Vermont's interagency Joint Committee on Tax Credits reviews allocation policies and process and makes recommendations on the QAP to VHFA's Board of Commissioners.

Vermont Business Magazine Judy Tartaglia, The UVM Health Network - Central Vermont Medical Center’s President and CEO, announced that she will retire on March 31, 2017. Tartaglia became CEO of Central Vermont Medical Center in 2007. Prior to joining the Berlin-based CVMC, she was the President and CEO of Miles Health Care in Maine. “Over the past nine years, I am proud that we have taken CVMC to the next level of outstanding quality medical care,” said Tartaglia. “We are the preferred provider in our region and have an excellent reputation in the community for high-quality care and superior customer service.”

In announcing her retirement, Judy T, as she is widely known, said, “while there is never a perfect time to retire, now seems the right time for my family and for our organization.”

by Jim Condos, Vermont Secretary of State Recent unsupported allegations and sensationalized reporting are sowing seeds of doubt about our democratic process. This undermines voter confidence and calls into question whether all voices will be heard on November 8. As Vermont’s Secretary of State and chief elections officer, former State Senator, former City Councilor, and lifelong voter, I’ve been following our elections my entire adult life.  I am frustrated by the careless way in which these stories attack our very democracy. They show a real lack of understanding of the true risks.

I’d like to set the record straight.

Vermont Business Magazine According to a new study, the University of Vermont created $1.33 billion in economic value for the state of Vermont in 2014-15. The university also supported 11,287 jobs throughout the state and generated $78.8 million in state and local taxes. The University of Vermont (UVM) is a powerhouse for economic and community activity across the State of Vermont,” concludes the study, which was conducted by Tripp Umbach, a Pittsburgh-based research firm that specializes in economic impact analysis.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont’s Sustainable Entrepreneurship MBA (SEMBA) program in the Grossman School of Business continues to bolster its growing reputation as one of the nation's most innovative business programs by climbing to the No. 2 spot on The Princeton Review's “Best Green MBA” list, and claiming two other major awards in October. SEMBA moved past the Yale School of Management and the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business to ascend to the second position in the Princeton Review rankings, trailing only the University of Oregon’s Charles H. Lundquist College of Business. The “Best Green MBA” rankings are based on students’ assessments of how well their school is preparing them in environmental/sustainability and social responsibility issues, and for a career in a green job market.

Vermont Business Magazine The City of South Burlington officially announced today the siting of a solar array on city property on the site of its closed and capped landfill. The site is across the street from the end of the Burlington International Airport runway and backs up to the existing transfer station. It will be the largest such solar array on a landfill in the state. The South Burlington Landfill Solar Project recently received a Certificate of Public Good from the Public Service Board. The 2.15 MWdc (1.55 MWac) project has been developed by Encore Renewable Energy, a local clean energy company, and will be funded and owned by Connecticut-based Altus Power America, Inc. The closed landfill has lain fallow for nearly 25 years, as it still contains environmental risks for most forms of use or development, with limited opportunity for revenue generation or public use.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) issued the following statement Tuesday after the Social Security Administration announced a 0.3 percent increase, between $2 and $6, for Americans who receive Social Security benefits.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) and the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) are teaming up to tackle economic development in southern Vermont. The public and members of both organizations are invited to attend a candidate showcase and networking event at the American Legion in Brattleboro on October 24^th from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. Confirmed participants include gubernatorial candidates former Transportation Secretary Sue Minter and Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, as well as candidates for attorney general, Deborah Bucknam and TJ Donovan.

Sue Minter and Phil Scott