Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Employees of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) worked more than 2,000 hours at community events and BCBSVT devoted nearly $200,000 to community health and wellness initiatives in the last year. The company’s efforts included engaging 201 schools and 85 businesses on its 10th Annual National Walk@Lunch day on April 27, giving more than 50,000 Vermonters incentives to jumpstart their fitness routines in the spring.

Students at Crossett Brook School in Waterbury walk during National Walk@Lunch Day. Courtesy photo.

Vermont Business Magazine Jennifer Newsome, age 50, of Ludlow, Vermont, was convicted on June 23, 2016, in Vermont Superior Court for Windsor County on a felony count of Medicaid Fraud and a misdemeanor count of False Pretenses. The convictions arose from Newsome’s submission of claims, as the employer of record, for payments from the Vermont Medicaid’s Children’s Personal Care Services Program, for services purportedly rendered to two recipients by an acquaintance of Newsome when those services were not actually rendered. The acquaintance was not aware that the claims were filed, and Newsome received and deposited the checks for payment of those services herself.

Vermont Business Magazine E4H MorrisSwitzer Environments for Health, an architecture firm exclusively focused on the healthcare industry, joined its client Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system for a groundbreaking June 22 of the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative and Hospice Care. The new $22 million, 30,000-square-foot facility will incorporate special amenities designed to increase support for patients’ and families’ physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort. The Center, located on the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) campus in Lebanon, NH, will include education spaces for regional providers and caregivers to train in palliative and hospice care.

The main entrance is pictured here at sunset. The windows and chimney of the great room are visible on the left. Artist renderings.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Student Assistance Corp, based in Winooski, has been selected to receive two grants from the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation. A $15,000 grant will allow VSAC to launch a new pilot program in Franklin County to encourage low-income students or those who are the first in their family to pursue higher education (“first generation”) to participate in dual enrollment courses and early college. VSAC will provide personalized counseling and other social support that has proven successful with first-year college students with similar backgrounds. VSAC also will partner with Franklin County businesses and organizations to offer the opportunity for $1,000 scholarships for students who successfully complete the courses and enroll in college.

Vermont Business Magazine Builder Patrick O'Brien of SD Ireland just wants "to build homes faster and cheaper." He is not alone in Vermont's wealthiest – but housing starved – county. Dozens of Chittenden County leaders in the fields of housing, business, local and state government, and social services announced Monday morning the formation of a new campaign to increase the production of housing and setting a target of 3,500 new homes created in the next five years. This goal might be "pie in the sky," as one observer mentioned, but the general mood was that building more housing and more affordable housing must begin soon and that 700 units a year might not be enough. Some 600 units were built in 2014, which was a recent high-water mark. The trend has been closer to 450 units.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that trash disposal throughout the state decreased 5 percent, while the recycling rate has increased from 33 percent to 35 percent since the new recycling services and requirements went into effect in July 2015. Over the past year, the Vermont Foodbank has also seen an increase in fresh food donations and in 2016, they estimate over 4 million pounds of food will be rescued from producers and retailers in Vermont, a 60 percent increase over 2015.

ANR Secretary Deb Markowitz pushing universal recycling at the Vermont Foodbank last year.

Vermont Business Magazine Special loan programs are now available for affected building contractors holding unpaid invoices for work done at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain Ski Areas. The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) and the Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC) are collaborating to provide interim working capital financing to eligible and qualified affected businesses as they face a busy summer construction season. VEDA has created the Jay/Burke Contractor Assistance Loan Program, providing financing through the Authority's Small Business Loan Program; no State funding will be utilized. Loans typically will be made for up to six years, with payments in the first year made on an interest-only basis. Loans will be due at the earlier of collection of the contractor's receivables, or at loan maturity, which may be extended, if necessary. 

Business group says federal ‘compromise’ preempts Vermont’s stronger law

by Daniel Barlow Vermont should be incredibly proud of the work it has done to bring transparency to our food system. The state’s first in the nation GMO labeling law has sent ripples across the food industry and helped bring that same transparency that Vermonters demanded to food shelves across the country. Unfortunately, opponents of food transparency continue to try and undermine Vermont’s hard work. The latest draft of a so-called compromise bill in the U.S. Senate on GMO labeling would preempt Vermont’s law and limit consumers’ access to important information concerning the ingredients in the food they buy.

by Mike Smith It has been a dismal month for Donald Trump’s presidential aspirations and for the political prospects of the party whose nomination he has all but secured. First, Trump’s campaign gets sidetracked with controversial issues that are of the candidate’s own making. He picks a fight with a judge who rules against him in a court case involving fraud charges against Trump University, and also with Governor Susana Martinez, a popular Republican governor who doesn’t support him. He later decided to weigh in on the Orlando nightclub massacre but then utters a string of confusing statements that undermine his already dubious leadership credentials and even his support from the National Rifle Association.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims spiked last week, as they typically do in June after school ends and education employment falls. Following this spike there is usually a fall and then a leveling off at a relatively low level of under 500 claims for the duration of the summer. However, last week's increase is greater than usual. Spikes of this magnitude generally are seen after the Christmas layoffs and transitions between seasons. For the week of June 18, 2016, there were 996 claims, up 540 from the previous week's total and 235 more than they were a year ago. By industry, claims more than doubled in the Miscellaneous category. 

Altogether 4,663 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 376 from a week ago, and 155 more than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine - The Vermont Teddy Bear Company announces its 35^th Anniversary celebration, taking place this Saturday, June 25^th. “This anniversary is a testament to our community, our customers and our employees who have helped our company grow and thrive over the last thirty-five years,” says Bill Shouldice, Chief Executive Officer of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. “We are thrilled to be able to celebrate this milestone with all of them.”

Vermont Eddy Bear presidential candidates.

Vermont Business Magazine - Marie Shutts, Operations Director at the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed to the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union's ACT 46 study committee.  According to Matt Harrington, Executive Director of the Chamber, Shutts will sit on the committee as a representative of the Bennington Chamber and its over 350 business members.

Harrington stated, “The Chamber is interested in “cradle to career” readiness in our area students and future citizens of Bennington as a way to improve and grow our community.  We believe by strengthening our local educational system, better preparing and supporting our students as they go through the various stages of school, we can eventually strengthen the workforce. The focus on education and workforce readiness will provide greater growth and achievement in every child, leading to economic revitalization and an improved quality of life for Bennington.”