Current News

Vermont Business Magazine On December 18, 2015, Autumn Harp, Inc marked 500 days without a Lost-Time Injury (LTI) at its Essex Junction facility. With a total exposure of more than 450,000 employee hours worked in 2015, this is a significant milestone for the entire Autumn Harp team. During this LTI-free period, Autumn Harp has added three new pieces of production equipment, 51 new employees, and been engaged in a substantial number of new product launches. A contributing factor to this achievement is Autumn Harp’s adoption of its Operational Excellence program, which has its foundation in safety and focuses on employee engagement and participation in making systematic decisions.

Vermont Business Magazine Seven members of the Lyndon State College community were named the Annual Alumni Award winners this fall at homecoming weekend. Joe Benning ‘79, Miranda (Dwyer) Fox ‘11, Stu Farina, Cheri Goldrick, Bob McCabe, Sidney Patridge ‘59, and Adam Vigue ‘03 were this year’s award recipients. Joe Benning received the Distinguished Alumni Award, an honor presented to an alumnus who has achieved excellence in his or her profession and who has served his or her state and community. Benning is probably most well-known as a Vermont State Senator for the Caledonia/Orange district, a post he has held since 2010. Aside from his political career, Benning has also been practicing law in Vermont after graduating from Vermont Law School in 1983. His community service work includes work with the Lyndonville Rotary and Passumpsic River Clean-Up Initiative.

Vermont Business Magazine A new analysis of the fossil record shows that a deep pattern in nature remained the same for 300 million years. Then, 6,000 years ago, the pattern was disrupted -- at about the same time that agriculture spread across North America. "When early humans started farming and became dominant in the terrestrial landscape, we see this dramatic restructuring of plant and animal communities," said University of Vermont biologist Nicholas Gotelli, an expert on statistics and the senior author on the new study. In the hunt for the beginning of the much-debated "Anthropocene" -- a supposed new geologic era defined by human influence of the planet — the new research suggests a need to look back farther in time than the arrival of human-caused climate change, atomic weapons, urbanization or the industrial revolution.

Vermont Business Magazine Farmers and agricultural leaders from Vermont and New Hampshire gathered today at Norwich Farms to launch the Connecticut River Farmers’ Watershed Alliance (CRFWA), a new farmer led regional initiative that will work to sustain the environmental health of the Connecticut River watershed. The organization will work with local government agencies, extension organizations, researchers and public interest groups to help farmers implement beneficial environmental solutions and understand changing environmental regulations, including the upcoming Required Agricultural Practices aimed at protecting water quality in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is urging people to wait for colder weather and snow before putting up their bird feeders in order to avoid attracting bears. The department is hearing from people who want to know if they should put out their bird feeders. Normally, December 1 is the recommended start date for feeding birds in Vermont, but this year’s lack of snow is keeping some bears from going into their winter dens.

“An abundance of beechnuts and apples coupled with our lack of snow cover this year have resulted in male bears staying active, rather than denning for the winter,” said Forrest Hammond, Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s bear biologist.

Vermont Business Magazine Warm conditions and even rain have caused Q Burke Resort to reset its ski calendar to a January 8 opening. "As we look ahead, the 7-day forecast may include some much needed colder temperatures and perhaps even a sprinkle of natural snow, but this week has been tough and we will need to go back and resurface Warren's Way training hill, Upper Willoughby, and Bear's Den once again," Q Burke said in a statement. "During our operations meeting yesterday, we discussed a timeline and game plan so we are ready to go when Mother Nature says so. With the projected time table and the amount of running time it will take to resurface sections of trail, we are projecting a new target open date for skiing and riding Friday, January 8th. Jay Peak will continue to honor Q Burke season passes at their resort until we are open.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont home prices, which have struggled to gain ground even as the recovery continues, fell back again last month, even as the number of transactions increased again. Overall, the New England residential market remained steady through November 2015 with a 7.9 percent increase in sales over November 2014. Across the region, all six states saw an increase in sales while pending sales were up 15.1 percent and average days on market decreased by seven days. Month-over-month, the New England market experienced a seasonal sales decrease of 21.7 percent and an 18 percent decrease in pending sales. Prices remained stable with a 0.8 percent increase over November 2014 and a slight 1.9 percent decrease over October 2015.

Vermont Business Magazine This fall, through the 2015-2016 Vermont Mentoring Grants initiative, Mobius awarded 27 grants, totaling $327,715, to support adult-to-youth mentoring programs throughout the state. This funding will support 106 new and existing program sites, and nearly 1,900 adult-to-youth mentor pairs in communities across Vermont. “This year's grants will help local mentoring programs continue to provide invaluable support to youth in their communities,” said Chad Butt, executive director of Mobius. “Together, we are continuing to make progress toward Mobius’ goal of being able to provide a mentor to every young person in Vermont who wants one.”

Vermont Business Magazine In a statement released today by the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, Bea Grause, RN, JD, currently the President and CEO of the VAHHS, has been named by the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) Board of Trustees to succeed Dennis P. Whalen as HANYS' next President upon his retirement in June 2016. The association embarked on a national search process when Mr. Whalen announced his intent to retire. Grause has been the President and CEO of VAHHS since 2001. She received her Juris Doctorate in May 1991 from Santa Clara University School of Law and her BSN from Boston College in 1979. Before moving to Vermont, Bea worked in a variety of health care positions in Washington, D.C. Prior to entering the field of law, Bea had worked for 10 years as a Registered Nurse, primarily in the Emergency Room and Intensive Care areas.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington lost at least $1.5 million and perhaps as much as $2 million on a $3.65 million loan to Burlington College, according to financial statements from the church. In 2010, Burlington College bought the former diocese headquarters on North Avenue for $10 million. The diocese sold the property to help cover the cost of a $17 million settlement with victims of priest sex abuse in Vermont. The college borrowed heavily to buy the 33-acre prime Lake Champlain waterfront property. The purchase was part of an ambitious expansion plan for the school, led by Jane Sanders, the former Burlington College president and the wife of presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.

by Joshua E Brown University of Vermont Led by researchers from the University of Vermont, the first national study to map US wild bees suggests they're disappearing in many of the country's most important farmlands -- including California's Central Valley, the Midwest's corn belt and the Mississippi River valley. If losses of these crucial pollinators continue, the new nationwide assessment indicates that farmers will face increasing costs -- and that the problem may even destabilize the nation's crop production. The findings were published December 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Vermont Business Magazine For the second year in a row, the University of Vermont Medical Center has been selected for the “50 Greenest Hospitals in America” list compiled by Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading industry journal. Hospitals on the list are considered leaders in sustainable innovation, eco-friendly design and green practices across all areas of operation. The UVM Medical Center’s efforts to reduce energy consumption, chemical use and waste stream, as well as committing to green surgical and construction standards and serving healthy and locally produced foods were highlighted.