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Vermont Business Magazine As part of the comprehensive approach to fighting the heroin and opiate crisis in Vermont, Governor Peter Shumlin today outlined a number of steps to better control the prescribing of powerful opioid painkillers in an effort to prevent opioid dependence and addiction. The governor is also leading an effort of the six New England governors to urge Congress to expand the types of medical professionals who can prescribe the addiction treatment medication buprenorphine (Suboxone) so Vermont and other states can better meet the needs of those who are addicted and seeking treatment.

The moves come two weeks after the governor announced the addition of a new treatment medication option for those suffering from opiate addiction. The medication – naltrexone (Vivitrol) – works to block the ‘high’ individuals get from using opioid drugs like heroin or prescription painkillers.

by Carolyn Shapiro UVM It’s a formidable challenge to develop a syllabus for a college-level pharmacology course focused entirely on a drug that’s illegal to possess, use and even research under federal law. That’s the task that Wolfgang Dostmann, PhD, and Karen Lounsbury, PhD, have undertaken as they plan the University of Vermont’s first medical cannabis course in the College of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology, scheduled for the spring 2016 semester. It’s possibly the first academic program of its kind nationwide, but clearly needed as acceptance of marijuana for medical and recreational use continues to gain legal backing in more states and physicians and scientists seek more information about how it acts in the body.

Vermont Business Magazine After years of operating in basement offices scattered throughout town, Royalton town officials celebrated the opening of their new office building Monday with local, state, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials. USDA Rural Business Cooperative Service Administrator Sam Rikkers used the occasion to announce a new USDA initiative that will set aside $300 million in USDA Rural Development grants and loans for regionally significant projects.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Saying that sole-source state contracts should be used rarely, but are instead used for more than 40 percent of all contracts he reviewed, Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer today released the findings of an investigation into the prevalence of noncompetitive state contracting practices. For more than two decades, the State of Vermont has had a policy of contracting for services and materials “in a cost effective manner through the use of an open and competitive contract solicitation process.” According to the policy, sole source contracts awarded to a vendor without a competitive bid ought to be reserved for “extraordinary circumstances.” He also identified legislative practices used to sometimes get around the bidding process.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) has announced the results of its annual election of VMEC Advisory Board members held on December 8. The following Board members were re-elected to additional two-year terms: Dave Blittersdorf, President & CEO of All Earth Renewables, Inc. (Williston); Tommy Harmon, President of Sonnax Industries (Bellows Falls); Joe Perrotto, President & CEO of Country Home Products (Vergennes); Mike Rainville, President of Maple Landmark, Inc. (Middlebury) and Brenan Riehl, President & CEO of GW Plastics (Bethel).

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin, Department of Buildings and General Services Commissioner Michael Obuchowski, and Transportation Secretary Chris Cole joined the partners of Maplewood LTD on Friday to sign an agreement and break ground on the state’s first 24-hour Vermont Traveler Services Center. The Center will be built and operated at no cost to Vermont taxpayers as part of Maplewood’s redevelopment of the existing convenience store and deli located in Berlin just down Exit 7 of I-89. The Vermont Traveler Services Center will be a 9,000 square foot facility that honors Vermont’s rural culture and country stores. The facility, and a neighboring hotel, will also be powered entirely by a nearby 500 KW solar array.

Vermont Business Magazine December is the right time to reflect on the important youth culture trends in 2015 for the purpose of identifying the big opportunities they may present in the coming year, according to the Burlington-based marketing agency Fuse, which just released its "Youth Culture Trends to Plan for in 2016." Here are the top four trends Fuse thinks marketers ought to plan for in 2016.

Vermont Business Magazine With an option to buy Vermont's iconic Woodchuck Hard Cider, Pabst Brewing Company has announced an exclusive long-term partnership agreement with Vermont Hard Cider Company, a leading American manufacturer, marketer and importer of cider, and a subsidiary of C&C Group plc, for the sale and distribution of Vermont’s cider brands within the United States. The agreement between Vermont and PBC will take effect March 1, 2016. Pabst, based in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest American-owned brewer with sales of over 5.5 million barrels in the United States.

by Mike Smith It’s about time. I think that’s what many Vermonters were thinking to themselves as some Vermont Republican politicians finally spoke out against the outrageous comments from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

With the exception of Lt. Gov. Phil Scott — who, in September, was among the first Vermont politicos to publicly denounce billionaire Trump as unfit for the office — it has been pretty lonely out here as I took Donald Trump to task in four separate columns for his frequently ridiculous, increasingly dangerous comments.

This week we finally saw more Vermont Republican politicians express outrage about Trump’s statement that, as president of the United States and leader of the free world, he would ban all Muslims from entering our country. My question to these politicians is, “Where have you been?”

Where were you when he promoted an unworkable plan to deport 11 million Mexicans?

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin issued the following statement after world leaders reached an historic climate agreement in Paris, which acknowledges the consensus of the 195 countries on the need to move away from carbon-based fuels and sets the goal of limiting rising global average temperates to below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

"Today is a day that should restore our faith in humanity. At this critical moment in history, world leaders put aside competing national interests to come to an agreement that gives us a shot at preserving the only home we have. The easy thing to do would have been to give into self interest and mistrust. That didn't happen. Instead, humanity's better side prevailed. That should serve as an example of how we should address the other global challenges we face now and will face in the future.

Vermont Business Magazine College of St Joseph has been awarded a grant by the Bowse Health Trust, a department of Rutland Regional Medical Center. The grant awards $88,400 over three years. Marble Valley Grows, the farm-to-school network run by Kimberly Griffin, College of St. Joseph’s farm manager and wellness coordinator, will use the grant to continue working within Rutland County schools to enhance education and access to healthy food choices. Griffin developed Marble Valley Grows last April, and has been working to educate children about healthier food options, to include them in the decisions about the food they are served, educate them on where food comes from, and to empower them to grow food themselves.

“Farm-to-school organizations are all over the state,” Griffin said. “But there was an obvious gap in Rutland County.”

by Erin Mansfield vtdigger.org Four pediatricians say they’re packing up and leaving Franklin County because the Medicaid programs that insure about half of the community’s children aren’t paying them enough. Two of the doctors work in St Albans for Franklin County Pediatrics, which will close down completely. Another is leaving Mousetrap Pediatrics in St Albans, and the fourth left Mousetrap earlier in the year and hasn’t been replaced. The American Academy of Pediatrics of Vermont, which is loosely affiliated with the American Medical Association, says that will leave the parents of 6,000 children “scrambling for primary health care” among the northern Vermont county’s seven remaining pediatricians.