Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today signed a law to help Vermonters who have had their license suspended and seen the debt pile up to the point where, in many cases, they can no longer afford to pay the fines to get back on the road legally. It is estimated that around 50,000 Vermonters have suspended licenses due to failure to pay non-criminal traffic fines. The governor signed the law just over a year after he and Chittenden County State's Attorney TJ Donovan launched a series of Driver Restoration Days to help Vermonters in this situation. The new law makes further Restoration Days unnecessary. 

Vermont Business Magazine E. Berton (Bert) Whitaker has been named interim CEO of Gifford Health Care in Randolph. He will be working with Gifford’s board of directors and Sr. Leadership team until a permanent chief executive is in place. A national search to replace former CEO Joseph Woodin, who left after 17 years at Gifford, is anticipated to take six to eight months. Whitaker, who is from Chattanooga, TN, was selected from a pool of eight applicants. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky and is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives.

Vermont Business Magazine Once again Vermont specialty food producers shone brightly at the annual sofi Awards bringing three golds back to the Green Mountain State.  The sofi Awards, which stands for “specialty outstanding food innovation,” are the most prestigious awards in the specialty food industry and honor excellence across a variety of food categories, from vinegars to vegan snacks. Vermont’s winners were Big Picture Farm, Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps, and Vermont Creamery.

Vermont Business Magazine The Stowehof Inn & Resort in Stowe has been sold to an affiliate of Saltaire Properties Inc, according to Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, which helped broker the sale. Terms of the deal were not released. The Stowehof Inn & Resort is a well known landmark in the Stowe community situated on 26 acres high upon a hill with views of Mount Mansfield and the Green Mountains. The Edson Hill Road Inn was built in 1949 by eccentric architect Larry Hess, who was instrumental in developing the Inn into one of the most unique, old world style Inns in the United States. The Inn was used as the setting for an Alan Alda film, "The Four Seasons," in 1981. Until this recent sale the Inn was owned by the Grimes family. Saltaire specializes in acquiring and repositioning mid-sized independent hotels in cultural, coastal and mountain markets with an emphasis on an authentic sense of place, design quality, and customer experience. In Vermont, Soltaire also owns The Shire in Woodstock.

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) received an “A” ranking for hospital safety from the Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog which operates in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The hospital safety scores assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals nationwide and aim to provide a complete picture of patient safety in the U.S. health care system.

“Every one of Southwestern Vermont Health Care’s 1,200 employees is tasked with patient safety,” said SVHC’s President and CEO Thomas A. Dee, FACHE. “It is this team effort and the willingness to identify and resolve sources of concern that makes our hospital among the safest in America.”

Vermont Business Magazine A report released Monday, May 23rd by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) says the U.S. is on the verge of a “major expansion of its senior population.” The report holds that most older adults want to age independently in their homes and communities, yet most homes and communities can’t safely and affordably accommodate this desire. Recommendations include increasing the availability of service-enriched housing (like Vermont’s Support and Services at Home model) to improve health outcomes in seniors while cutting the growth in Medicare expenditures.

Vermont Business Magazine The Kingdom County Forum, an Irasburg citizens’ group, today (May 30) announced the Kingdom County Debate, to be held in Irasburg on Wednesday, June 29 at 6 p.m. Candidates Matt Dunne, Peter Galbraith, Bruce Lisman, Sue Minter and Phil Scott, the major-party candidates for Vermont governor, have all agreed to take part in the debate.

Reporter Jon Margolis, a former Chicago Tribune reporter and current political columnist for VTDigger, who now lives in Barton, will serve as moderator.

The Orleans County Democratic and Republican Committees are co-sponsors of the event.

"I applaud the organizers of this debate,” said Orleans County Republican Committee Chair Chet Greenwood.  “It gives the residents of the Northeast Kingdom a unique opportunity to submit questions and be a part of the election process as they listen to the candidates debate the issues concerning Vermonters and especially the NEK."

by Mike Smith Jack Squires was a coal miner’s son, a mother’s favorite and a husband to a then 24-year-old wife and father to a 4-year old daughter.  He was a Navy SEAL who had survived harrowing missions in the Vietnam War. Jack earned a Bronze Star for his bravery and a Presidential Citation for his heroics.  He was my friend and a teammate. 

Vermont Business Magazine Thousands of friends and family members gathered on a glorious Sunday morning, May 29, to celebrate the awarding of bachelor’s degrees to the 517 members of the Middlebury College Class of 2016. On a sunny day in the Champlain Valley that felt more like midsummer than springtime, the graduates endured temperatures in the high-80s and heard an inspiring 16-minute address from Van Jones, the noted environmentalist and activist for social justice who served in the Obama Administration as a special advisor and currently is a CNN commentator.

Middlebury College celebrated commencement under summer skies on Sunday. Photos by Brett Simison.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims pushed over 700 last week after several weeks in the 500s. For the week of May 21, 2016, there were 777 claims, up 221 from the previous week's total and 283 more than they were a year ago. By industry, claims were down in every industry except Services, which were up dramatically and garner by far the most with 80 percent of all claims. 

Altogether 5,129 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 206 from a week ago, and 129 more than a year ago.

The Department processed 0 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08).

by Barbara Crippen, Campaign for Vermont, Policy Coordinator As the June deadline for Act 46 school district merger votes approaches voters in choice towns should be extremely wary of the tactics being used to promote mergers. One common tactic is the use of Articles of Agreement to bribe voters in choice towns. They include provisions to “grandfather“ in choice for limited time periods in exchange for a merger eliminating choice altogether. This is a duplicitous tactic since the Agency of Education (AOE) is insisting that it is “likely unconstitutional” for merging school districts to offer school choice and operate schools for the same grades. What AOE is actually saying is, “it’s unconstitutional but we can make it legal for a while if you do what we want.” In reality there is no provision in Act 46 or related statutes authorizing this grandfathering tactic. AOE has acknowledged this (in writing) while claiming that’s because “it’s up to the voters.” Really?

Vermont Business Magazine Farrell Distributing is once again teaming up with the Vermont Lake Monsters for the "Here's to the Heroes" campaign, a promotion based on the existing Anheuser-Busch "Here's to the Heroes" program, benefiting the families of fallen soldiers. For the entire season, Farrell Distributing will donate $10 to the Folds of Honor Scholarship Program for every run scored by the Lake Monsters at home. The Lake Monsters will also host a "Stars and Stripes" Jersey auction with the proceeds benefiting the Scholarship Program. Through these programs and other initiatives, Farrell Distributing will be funding three (3) $5,000 scholarships to eligible applicants.