Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Boutique airline Tradewind Aviation has announced increased service and new routes throughout New England this summer. The Oxford, Connecticut-based airline has launched a new direct route to Stowe and increased access and availability for their Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard routes, which were previously only available to their ticket book holders. Tradewind also flies in Vermont to Deerfield Valley Airport at Haystack Mountain.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center plans to begin construction of an inpatient bed building in this month. Although approval of the $174.9 million project was obtained in July 2015, the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) set conditions requiring additional financial reporting, philanthropic requirements and changes to debt financing prior to the start of construction. This month, the Board determined those conditions had been satisfied. The building is expected to open in the summer of 2019.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont’s chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and Keurig Green Mountain, Inc announced an innovative partnership to advance Vermont’s Clean Water Initiative and to address the pervasive water quality challenges in Lake Champlain. This public-private collaboration aims to advance water quality in Vermont, starting by developing a tool to identify opportunities to protect water quality through conservation, as well as by making some key strategic conservation investments.   

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry's will continue to be one of the major forces in the US ice cream market for the foreseeable future, but pressure is building in the market from private label (store brand, etc) sellers for both market share and price, which will lead to an overall slowly growing market with thinner margins. The report author, Technavio, announced last week the top six leading vendors in its ice cream market in the US report. This research report also lists 12 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. According to the report, the ice cream market in the US is subject to rapidly changing consumer demands and preferences.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s graduating future officers will hear remarks from a fellow alum at this spring’s joint services commissioning ceremony. Major General John W Baker ’85 returns to the Norwich campus to speak to ROTC commissioning officers during a formal ceremony to mark the occasion on Sunday, May 15, at 9 am. In his address, the Army officer will touch on themes of leadership, integrity, allegiance, kindness, trust, service history, service values, and family.

Major General John W Baker

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Retreat officially opened it's new Patient Activities Suite. The newly remodeled space is located in the basement of the Osgood Building and offers a secure setting for patients to participate in a variety of off-unit activities including meditation and relaxation, fitness and movement, arts and crafts, television viewing, and listening to music. The Osgood Patient Activities Suite compliments other projects the Retreat has undetaken in recent years to provide safe, secure environments where inpatients who have reached certain treatment goals can enjoy supervised off-unit recreation and other passtimes while still receiving hospital level care.

Vermont Business Magazine Seven winners from Vermont were recognized today at the 2016 Environmental Merit Awards ceremony of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s New England regional office. The environmental leaders were among three dozen recipients across New England honored for helping to improve New England’s environment. Each year EPA New England recognizes individuals and groups in the six New England states who have worked to protect or improve the region’s environment in distinct ways. The merit awards, given out since 1970, honor individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts.

Vermont Business Magazine Just days after the second session of the legislative biennium gaveled to a close, Republican Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, who is running for governor, is advancing two proposals aimed at what he says will save taxpayer dollars, improve the state's budgeting process and help more everyday Vermonters serve in the Legislature. Specifically, Scott is calling for 90-day limit to annual legislative sessions and a two-year state budget cycle. Scott, who served five terms as state senator from Washington County, and most recently as a three-term lieutenant governor, said these changes will focus lawmakers on issues Vermonters care most about, like growing the economy and making state government more efficient and less costly. He also said it will encourage more Vermonters to serve in the Legislature.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network is pleased to officially welcome Alice Hyde Medical Center as its fifth hospital. The inclusion of Alice Hyde, based in Malone, NY, in The University of Vermont Health Network strengthens a long-term partnership between the hospital and The University of Vermont Medical Center, which have been clinically affiliated since 1997.

Vermont Business Magazine The Shires of Vermont Regional Marketing Organization invited the executive board of the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, business leaders from the Northshire and some former Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce members to a meeting on May 3 to discuss the current situation in Manchester. As the Manchester and the Mountains Chamber closed its doors a couple of weeks ago, The Shires of Vermont organization reached out to the Northshire and Southshire to address short-term and long-term needs arising from the loss of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

Vermont Business Magazine Union Mutual, a central Vermont-based insurance provider, will present the 2016 Special Olympics Vermont Summer Games June 3-5 at the University of Vermont, extending its lead sponsorship through the 2018 Games. Athletes will compete in swimming, track and field, bocce, and softball. Summer Games is Special Olympics Vermont’s largest competition event of the year featuring nearly 500 athletes representing every Vermont county. The weekend begins Friday, June 3 with Opening Ceremonies in Patrick Gym and the culmination of the Law Enforcement Torch Run. Opening Ceremonies will also feature guest speaker Andy Newell, a Vermont native sponsored by Union Mutual and three-time Olympic Nordic skier who has been competing internationally on the World Cup stage and in World Championships for the past 10 years.

by Carolyn Shapiro Heralded a miracle by many infertile couples, in vitro fertilization can pack a painful financial punch for those without insurance coverage for the treatment. This prohibitive cost leads many would-be parents who pursue in vitro fertilization to transfer multiple embryos at once to increase their chances of getting a baby – and reduce the need to pay for subsequent attempts.