Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Darn Tough Vermont has generously donated 300 pairs of socks to the Way to Go! Challenge this year. Individuals who sign-up will be automatically entered to win a pair of these battle-tested socks, which are Guaranteed for Life. “At Darn Tough we take great pride in producing the world’s best socks right here in Northfield Vermont, the sock capital of the world” said Ric Cabot, President and CEO of Darn Tough Vermont. “Many of our 200+ workers carpool, walk, and telecommute so being a part of the Way to Go Challenge was a no brainer. The Challenge is fun and engaging way to educate Vermonters about the impact of our carbon footprint(s).”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP) has partnered with Vermont Gas to update its Button Up in-class workshop, giving middle and high school students a hands-on way to learn about thermal energy by exploring the effects of home weatherization. For students living in towns served by Vermont Gas, VEEP educators will bring the workshop to their classrooms at no cost. The partnership is all about increasing energy literacy among young Vermonters and increasing awareness of the importance of energy efficiency.

The workshop was partially funded by Vermont Gas, which provides gas to over 50,000 customers in Chittenden and Franklin counties.  The company expects to soon serve families and businesses in Addison County.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont property owner Robert Immler of Brattleboro settled claims that he filed false lead paint compliance documents for his two rental properties in violation of Vermont consumer protection and lead laws. “Lead paint is an avoidable hazard. Vermont landlords will be vigorously prosecuted for avoiding their lead paint obligations, or worse, lying about them,” said Attorney General Sorrell today.

Every landlord with pre-1978 rental properties is required to submit annual compliance statements which show that the landlords have performed the essential maintenance practices (known as EMPs) and the properties are in compliance with the lead law. The Department of Health inspected Mr. Immler’s two Brattleboro properties and found they were not in compliance, contrary to certified statements that Mr. Immler filed with the Department.

Vermont Business Magazine Northern Power Systems Corp (TSX: NPS), a next generation renewable energy technology company, today announced that all of the nominee directors listed in the Company's management information circular dated August 5, 2016, were elected as directors of the company at its annual meeting of Shareholders held on August 26, 2016, in Waltham, MA. Northern Power is best known for siting wind turbines in remote locations. It is a publicly traded company in Canada that is based in Barre. The results of the vote are set forth below:

Vermont Business Magazine Phil Scott’s campaign today released a list of the eleven (11) debates Scott will participate in prior to the General Election in 69 days. "Debates are an effective platform for candidates to discuss their priorities and plans, and to highlight important contrasts that exist among them," said Scott campaign spokeswoman Brittney Wilson.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has successfully completed negotiations on a 3-year contract with the Chauffeurs, Teamsters, Warehousemen and Helpers Union No. 597. The union represents full-time and regular part-time police officers, service officers, and dispatchers employed by the university. Terms of the new contract include across-the-board wage increases of 2 percent for the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2 percent for Fiscal Year 2018 and 2 percent for Fiscal Year 2019.

“I am very pleased that we were able to reach agreement on a new contract with our police union,” said Wanda Heading-Grant, Vice President for Human Resources, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. “Our police officers, service officers and dispatchers represented by this bargaining unit play a crucial role with regard to the safety and security of our campus community.”

The new contract is retroactive to July 1, 2016.

Vermont Business Magazine In a letter sent Tuesday to the CEO of pharmaceutical company Mylan, 20 senators, including Senator Patrick Leahy (D) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I), expressed their concerns about the company’s recent significant price hikes for the life-saving EpiPen Auto-Injector.  The letter comes on the heels of an earlier letter to the firm, a letter headed by Leahy and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) – the two leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- with several queries asking for information related to the extraordinary price hikes.

Vermont Business Magazine The new math and English standardized test scores for Vermont were released today and showed better results in nearly every category versus last year. However, the state Education secretary is downplaying any apparent improvement because the testing is only in its second year and she wants to use the new scores as the baseline going forward. As they were last year, the English scores showed greater proficiency among Vermont students than the math scores, except for the youngest students, with the discrepancy generally growing over time.

Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe announced the statewide results from the 2015-16 Smarter Balanced Assessments, a set of computer adaptive English language arts and mathematics tests developed by a national consortium currently made up of 15 states, the US Virgin Islands, and the Bureau of Indian Education.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin announced today that starting September 1, individuals with outstanding traffic tickets that have led to license suspension may be eligible for a reduced fine through a statewide Driver Restoration Program. The Vermont Judicial Bureau and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) are rolling out a three-month Driver Restoration Program. From September 1 through November 30, people who have an unpaid fine for a traffic ticket for which judgement was entered prior to July 1, 2012 may apply to the Vermont Judicial Bureau for a reduced fine of $30 per ticket.

“We’re helping Vermonters clean up their driving record so they can get back to work, driving their kids to school, and getting their lives back on track,” Gov. Shumlin said.

Vermont Business Magazine Dr Sarah Scarpace Peters, PharmD, MPH, BCOP, gave the keynote address at the Vermont campus of the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) white coat ceremony for incoming Doctor of Pharmacy students last week. Peters was among the 300 individuals invited by the Office of Vice President Joe Biden to participate in the Cancer Moonshot summit held earlier this year in Washington, DC. In addition to her faculty role at ACPHS, she is President of the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA), a national association that seeks to optimize the care of individuals affected by cancer.

Vermont Business Magazine Following on Governor Shumlin's order from last week that a heroin overdose drug be made available across Vermont without prescription, Kinney Drugs announced that starting today, August 30, it will offer patients Naloxone, also known as Narcan, an opioid antagonist medication that counteracts the effects of an overdose from opioids, in both Vermont and New York.

“We believe that it’s important to offer this medication without a prescription to patients who are in need. By doing this, we hope to not only prevent opioid overdose deaths in Vermont, but to also help individuals with their recovery process,” said David Adsit, director of pharmacy operations for Kinney Drugs.

Vermont Business Magazine After seven months of construction, Rutland Regional Medical Center has completed phase I and has begun work on phase II of what is to be an expected 18-month long construction and renovation project involving the hospital’s Emergency Department. The first phase, which was completed just last week, involved the creation of 1,840 square-feet of new construction and partial renovation of the existing 13,657 square-foot area of the Emergency Department. This new construction resulted in five brand new mental health/medical exam rooms. Phase II involves the closure of the existing Emergency Department main entrance area and temporarily shifting the entrance to the southeast corner of the hospital. Work began Monday, August 22 and is expected to last approximately six months with a completion goal of February 2017.