Current News

Vermont Business Magazine SKI MAGIC LLC announced today it had concluded a signed purchase and sale agreement with current title holder Magic Mountain Management, LLC to purchase all the property and assets of the 709-acre Magic Mountain Ski Area in Londonderry, VT for an undisclosed amount. With the signing of the purchase agreement, SKI MAGIC will begin its “due diligence” period before formally closing on the transaction and taking operational control which is expected to take 6-8 weeks. However, the purchase agreement has a provision for 2016-17 season preparatory work to begin immediately during the due diligence phase, including repair work to re-open Magic’s second summit lift (the 5000’ long Black Triple Chair) which has not operated for the last two years due to insufficient financial resources to complete the work required by the Vermont Passenger Tramway Board.

Vermont Business Magazine New Hampshire’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2016 was 2.9 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the June rate which remained at 2.8 percent after revision. The July 2015 seasonally adjusted rate was 3.4 percent. Seasonally adjusted estimates for July 2016 placed the number of employed residents at 732,860, an increase of 1,730 from the previous month and an increase of 15,930 from July 2015. The number of unemployed residents increased by 960 over-the-month to 21,970. This was 3,150 fewer unemployed than in July 2015. From June 2016 to July 2016, the total labor force increased by 2,690 to 754,830. This was an increase of 12,780 from July 2015.

The unadjusted July 2016 unemployment rate for New Hampshire was 2.9 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the June rate which increased to 2.8 percent after revision. The July 2015 unadjusted rate was 3.3 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont business leaders were neither positive nor negative in their assessment of the economy. But their indifferent opinion is actually lower than the actual performance of the economy.  The forward-looking index, in fact, has been trending down for nearly four years. Today, Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable (VBR) and Jeffrey Carr, President, Economic & Policy Resources (EPR), announced the Q3 2016 results of their joint initiative, the VBR-EPR Business Conditions Survey.

Vermont Business Magazine The Master of Business Administration (MBA) – long considered the higher education stamp of readiness for corporate success – has been struggling to fill that call, as many business leaders find that MBA programs fail to impart the skillsets required by modern day enterprises. But what distinguishes a modernized MBA that is equipped to prepare today’s professional for tomorrow’s quagmires and opportunities?

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bank donated $8,000 to sponsor the Athletes Village at the Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday, August 7^th. This is Dragonheart Vermont's eleventh year holding this event and Merchants Bank is overjoyed to have been involved each year. Funds raised during the Dragon Boat Festival stay in Vermont to benefit cancer programs. They have raised over $1.65 million since starting the annual festival in 2005.

Vermont Business Magazine The Norwich Bookstore has won the Book Publishers Representatives of New England Independent Spirit Award. The Independent Spirit Award is given annually at the NEIBA fall tradeshow to recognize the excellence in a bookstore member of the New England Independent Booksellers Association. Our rep members nominate bookstores for this award, and then we vote on the store we most believe stands for all that is great in New England bookselling. 

This year was extremely competitive, with an unprecedented five-way tie at one point! For that reason I want to call attention to the nominees – Bridgeside Books, Jabberwocky Bookshop, Oblong Books & Music and RJ Julia. They have an enormous amount of support amongst New England Sales Representatives! But there had to be a winner, and we have selected the Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, VT! 

Vermont Business Magazine Low taxes and good public education rarely go hand-in-hand, but a national rating firm is using those two key measures to help find family "richness." GOBankingRates surveyed all 50 US states and the District of Columbia on 12 different factors to find the places families can get the most out of life. Is there a place in America where families can have it all– high income, job security, safe neighborhoods, affordable child care job and a good education? New Hampshire ranked first and Vermont 16th. California was last.

Vermont Business Magazine The VT-NH Affiliate of Susan G Komen for the Cure has awarded a $20,000 grant to the Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation for support of the Breast Health Rural Outreach Program. The program is a cooperation between the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center and the Women’s Imaging Center at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and supports early detection by offering free or reduced-price screening or diagnostic mammograms for those without insurance or with high deductibles, especially those who do not qualify for other assistance programs. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) and OhMD announce a partnership that will bring a secure, HIPAA compliant text messaging service to Vermont health care providers and their patients.  Smartphone use is nearly universal, so secure text messaging in health care makes sense as a fast and easy communication option, and offers patients more opportunities to engage in their own care.

Vermont Business Magazine The federal government has released its first overall hospital quality rating last week, similar to the long-standing 5-Star CMS rating used for nursing homes. In Vermont, no hospital achieved a five star rating, and only Porter Hospital, Central Vermont Hospital and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital achieved four-star ratings. Most of the remaining Vermont hospitals earned either a three star rating, with three receiving a two sar rating (two were not rated).

Vermont Business Magazine Interim CEO Dr Fred Kniffin shared with Porter Medical Center employees on Monday that the PMC Board of Directors has identified the University of Vermont Health Network as its potential partner, should the Middlebury hospital system choose affiliation at the conclusion of Porter’s ongoing strategic planning process. The UVM Health Network was selected from among four institutions that responded to their affiliation request for proposals. He noted that determining the future of Porter Medical Center had entered a new phase, with the continued evaluation of independence versus entering into an affiliation agreement with the University of Vermont Health Network.

by Claudio Fort, CEO of North Country Hospital in Newport At North Country Hospital in Newport, improving the health of our community is our greatest responsibility. Every aspect of running this hospital – from budgeting, to planning for improvements, to deciding what services we can or should offer – is in service of helping the people of our region get and stay healthy.

Each year our team puts together a budget that reflects the health care priorities of our patients. Regulators at the Green Mountain Care Board examine it carefully and ask many questions about what’s necessary, how we’re participating in health care reform efforts, and how all of the pieces fit together into a responsible budget that does not lead to unnecessary insurance rate increases to our patients. This process is unique to the state of Vermont, and each one of Vermont’s hospitals participates in it every year.