Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Public Service Department today announced the next meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel will be held on Thursday, June 23, 2016, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the cafeteria at the Vernon Elementary School, 318 Gov. Hunt Road, Vernon, VT. At the meeting the Panel will receive decommissioning updates from the State of Vermont and Entergy, as well as an update on federal issues from staff representing Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch.

The Panel will also hear a presentation from the State of the Vermont on the environmental and health regulations that impact Vermont Yankee. 

The complete agenda and material for the June 23, 2016 meeting can be viewed at http://publicservice.vermont.gov/electric/ndcap .

210 Athletes and Coaches Representing U.S. at 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games Including Athletes from Vermont

Vermont Business Magazine On June 13, Special Olympics USA announced Killington, Vermont as the site of its one and only team training camp, prior to when it will send a 210 member delegation to represent the United States at the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games, being held March 18-25, 2017 in Austria. Included in the US delegation will be 3 athletes and coaches from Vermont: Laura Buchanan from White River Junction competing in alpine skiing, Ethan Boragine from Fairlee competing in snowboarding, and Mike White from Dorset, assistant coach in cross country skiing.

Vermont Business Magazine For over 20 years Merchants Bank has been teaming up with the Vermont Lake Monsters; a partnership of deep investment in our community and history. Every year Merchants Bank looks forward to the opening season, so if you're looking for a new tradition and memorable Father's Day head to the Lake Monsters 23^rd home season beginning Sunday, June 19th.

Lavallee Brensinger Architects and Engelberth Construction complete linear accelerator renovation/replacement in less than 2 weeks at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.  Courtesy photo.

Vermont Business Magazine Nine months of planning to replace a massive cancer treatment machine was required to compress a nine-week construction schedule into 11 days. The team of Engelberth Construction of Cochester and Lavallee Brensinger Architects of Portland, ME, was hired by Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) to renovate the patient treatment area and replace its linear accelerator.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Technical College (Vermont Tech) has received a $4 million US Labor Department grant to provide training and education to prepare low- to middle-skilled Vermont workers to enter the workforce with better-paying jobs in industries relevant to Vermont’s growth. Training and education will focus on the advanced manufacturing industry.

The US Department of Labor grant, awarded to Vermont Tech on Tuesday, is the only grant awarded in the nation that will serve an entire state. The grant will help support the Vermont Supported Training Education and Employment Partnership (VSTEEP), a comprehensive, statewide, public/private partnership focusing on building innovative and evidence-based practices, systems and protocols to remove barriers faced by working, low-income Vermonter families in accessing and succeeding in education and training to improve their job prospects and put them on a path to economic independence.

Vermont Business Magazine Employment was up, unemployment was down and the labor force even increased for the second month in a row. The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for May was 3.1 percent. This represents a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised April rate (3.2 percent). Overall, Vermont’s unemployment rate is fourth lowest in the country, behind South Dakota (2.5 percent), New Hampshire (2.7 percent), and Nebraska (3.0 percent). The national rate in May was 4.7 percent. As of the prior month’s initial data, the Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan NECTA had the second lowest unemployment rate in the country for all metropolitan areas at 2.1 percent (not-seasonally-adjusted). May is the 10th consecutive month reporting a decline to the number of unemployed persons in Vermont (seasonally-adjusted).

Vermont Business Magazine Information belonging to customers who purchased hunting or fishing licenses from the FWD website may have been accessed improperly. Although there is no conclusive evidence of a misuse of customer information, security monitoring by the company which manages the website, bolstered by 3rd party forensics audits, have found traces of unauthorized server access occurrences in 2015 and January 2016. This has prompted the Fish & Wildlife Department to notify seven (7) customers of potential exposure of their credit card number. The department also urges customers who have purchased licenses online in the past 14 months to be vigilant and monitor their financial reports as an extra precaution. Free credit reports are available if consumers are concerned about possibly suspicious activity on their cards.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders announced Thursday that the US Department of Health and Human Services awarded $1.05 million to three community health centers in Vermont. The health centers will use this new federal funding to expand access to dental care. “We have a real crisis in terms of access to affordable dental care in our country,” said Sanders, who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health.  “To my mind, it is unacceptable that millions of low-income children and adults – and many middle-class families, as well – go each year without seeing a dentist.” 

Northern Counties Health Care photo

Signs $5 million contract for tram upgrades beginning in 2017

Vermont Business Magazine Jay Peak Resort recently completed a three-day inspection of its aerial tram. The resort, in cooperation with the state, flew in an aerial tramway specialist and worked with state inspectors to examine the tram and its operating systems. Inspectors conducted a successful load test designed to ensure that all of the conveyance’s electrical, hauling and braking systems can function normally under strenuous conditions. After passing the load test, resort personnel successfully completed and passed an evacuation drill. The team also inspected the tram’s towers and its bolting structures. All were found to be operating normally.

Vermont Business Magazine The Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation (GBIC) presented its highest recognition award Thursday evening to United States Senator Patrick J Leahy, at its 62^nd  Annual Meeting on June 16, 2016 at the Echo Leahy Center on the Burlington Waterfront. Attended by approximately 300 members of the Northwest Vermont community, GBIC presented the 2016 C. Harry Behney Lifetime Economic Development Achievement Award our State’s Senior United State Senator and outstanding Vermont leader: to United States Senator Patrick J Leahy. Given each year since 1995 in honor of past GBIC president C. Harry Behney, the Behney Award recognizes Vermont leaders for their significant contributions to advancing the economic wellbeing of the people of our community and promoting a climate that enhances the economic vitality of the state of Vermont. GBIC is proud to award Senator Patrick J Leahy with the 2016 C. Harry Behney Lifetime Economic Development Achievement Award.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Family Network (VFN) has been awarded the $25,000 S. Whitney Landon Award by the Turrell Fund in recognition of the non-profit organization’s work with New American families with very young children who have special needs.  The Turrell Fund’s mission is to foster the creation and delivery of high quality, developmental and educational services to at-risk children, especially the youngest and their families, and the S. Whitney Landon Award specifically targets from birth through third grade.

Vermont Business Magazine At a groundbreaking ceremony held today in Burlington to mark the official start of construction on the new, $174.9 million inpatient bed building, John Brumsted, MD, chief executive officer, UVM Medical Center, announced the new building would be named to honor Bob and Holly Miller, two well-known area philanthropists whose focus has been to make life better for members of the community. There will be four patient floors, each containing 32 single-occupancy, medical-surgical rooms for a total of 128 inpatient rooms. This will not increase the net number of inpatient beds.