Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In his continued effort to combat the epidemic of opioid abuse affecting Vermont, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday to authorize critical resources for the Anti-Heroin Task Force program that has proven effective in communities throughout the country. Leahy helped to establish the Anti-Heroin Task Force program in 2014, but without authorization, its critical funding is at risk. 

Vermont Business Magazine Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, with a campus in Colchester, is the number 3 ranked school in the country for salary of its graduates according to the latest update of the federal government’s College Scorecard. ACPHS, which climbed two spots from last year’s number 5 ranking, was measured against the 4,053 colleges and universities that make up the College Scorecard database.

Public Assets Institute After years of stagnant or falling incomes, Vermonters across the board enjoyed income gains in 2015, according to new U.S. Census data released last week. Median household income rose 5.1 percent last year^. But low-income households made even more progress, with average income for the bottom 20 percent of households rising 8.5 percent. While the news was good, this was just one year of data, and median household income in 2015 remained slightly lower than it was in 2007, before the Great Recession.

Vermont Business Magazine Even while many open jobs continue to be unfilled, the state’s unemployment rate rose one-tenth to 3.3 percent last month. The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for August was 3.3 percent. This represents an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised July rate (3.2 percent). After a historic period of not increasing, the state jobless rate has gone up twice in the last three months, by a total of two tenths. The national rate in August was 4.9 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the State of Vermont submitted its final Lake Champlain implementation plan to the Environmental Protection Agency.  The comprehensive cleanup plan addresses phosphorus pollution sources across all sectors, including agricultural, developed and forested lands, as well as roads and eroding stream channels.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a comprehensive, 10-year capital plan to steward its public infrastructure for future generations. Major elements of the plan include: Street, sidewalk, fire engine, and Bike Path investments over next five years; proactive replacement of water lines over 75-years-old. Non-property tax sources are anticipated to fund over 40 percent of the capital investment. The capital plan will appear on the fall ballot for voter ratification.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber has a record number of large out-of-state companies committed to attend the 2016 Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Conference & Trade Show on Wednesday, September 21^st at the Champlain Valley Exposition. Airbus Americas, Raytheon, and Rolls-Royce top the list of out-of-state companies representing the aerospace, aviation, defense, naval, and medical device industries.

“Vermont plays an import role in optimizing the supply chain and competitive advantage for these companies,” explained Chris Carrigan, Vice President of Business Development for the Vermont Chamber. With over 500 meetings prescheduled, Carrigan stated, “these companies will have the opportunity to consider adding Vermont manufacturers to their supply chain, contributing to the economic growth of the state.”

Vermont Business Magazine A new study by researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) estimates patients actually need only 43 percent of the opioid pain medications they are generally prescribed and that surgeons can reduce the amount of narcotics patients usually receive after some surgeries.

University of Vermont Recruitment for the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States – the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study – launched on September 13, 2016. The landmark study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will follow the biological and behavioral development of more than 10,000 children beginning at ages 9-10 through adolescence into early adulthood. Recruitment will be done over a two-year period through partnerships with public and private schools near research sites across the country, including at the University of Vermont, as well as through twin registries.

by Mike Faher/The Commons The Brattleboro Retreat has changed its admission and discharge practices after a May incident in which a patient committed suicide within 24 hours of leaving the psychiatric facility. The suicide prompted a state probe in which investigators identified two regulatory violations: Officials say Retreat staff members failed to inform a guardian and a caseworker of the patient’s impending discharge, and they also failed to properly assess the patient’s discharge plan. But even before the state’s investigation was conducted in July, Retreat administrators say they had launched their own internal review and made procedural changes aimed at addressing the problem.

Vermont Business Magazine Unilever announced Monday that it has signed an agreement to acquire Seventh Generation, Inc, the North American home and personal care products company. Based in Burlington, Seventh Generation is a pioneer in corporate responsibility and sustainable product innovations, including plant-based detergents and household cleaners. The company’s turnover exceeded US $200 million in 2015 and it has seen double digit compounded annual growth over the last 10 years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that the deal is worth "roughly $700 million." Unilever is also the parent company of another iconic Vermont company, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc, which it acquired in 2001.

Vermont Business Magazine Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) will host its 24^thannual Rehabilitation Reunion on Wednesday September 21, from 2 to 4 pm. Along with past patients, the public is cordially invited to visit and tour the Rehabilitation Center -- which hosted its Grand Opening last year -- to explore the subsequent opening of the Outpatient Therapies wing and listen to current and former MAHHC patients talk about the course of their rehabilitation as they strive to regain and maintain their optimum level of functionality, independence and quality of life following their initial illness or injury.