Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Stern Center for Language and Learning has recently become the first teacher training program in Vermont to be accredited by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). The accreditation is a result of the decision by the IDA to accredit all certified Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) programs based on the alignment of AOGPE’s training with IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.

The International Dyslexia Association is an international organization dedicated to addressing the complex issues of structured literacy learning for all learners, especially those with dyslexia. The IDA endorses effective teaching approaches and related clinical educational intervention strategies, supports and disseminates interdisciplinary research, and facilitates examination into the causes of reading difficulties and early identification of dyslexia.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin announced Monday that 5,800.4 pounds of prescription drugs were collected this past Saturday during the drug take back initiative in Vermont, representing the largest haul in the history of similar efforts in the state. Vermont’s drug take back day was part of a nationwide effort led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in partnership with local and state law enforcement to ensure the safe disposal of unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs.

by John McClaughry Hamilton Davis is a veteran Vermont reporter who has participated in health policy debates since his days as the advisor to Governor Madeleine Kunin thirty years ago. He is now is a health policy analyst and recently published in VTDigger a lucid description of Vermont’s likely health care future. Davis’s account is candid about some of the mistakes made during the Shumlin years. He acknowledges the embarrassing failure of the health insurance exchange, Vermont Health Connect, and especially “the devastating collapse” of Governor Shumlin’s four-year effort to install single payer health care.

That collapse, to Davis, “dealt a powerful blow to health care reform.” However, as a long-time advocate for government-run health care, he remains hopeful about the further prospects for “reform”.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont Falls Free Coalition have joined forces with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the Falls Free® Coalition to reduce the incident of falls among seniors. While falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injury for people 65 years of age and older, they are not an inevitable part of aging. This year’s Fall Prevention Awareness Day theme, Take a Stand to Prevent Falls, seeks to raise awareness about how to prevent fall-related injury among older adults.

Vermont Business Magazine The discussions taking place around possible changes to Vermont Title 21 and the "employee vs independent contractor" language are continuing, with the Department of Labor taking the lead to bring the business and labor communities together to find possible compromise and resolution to this long-standing issue. However, as of this date, the statutory language remains the same, and the court decisions surrounding the interpretation of the language provide the precedent and guidance to the Department, such that it is important for each business to review the provisions of the law, and resources, listed below. The Commissioner's Office welcomes comments and feedback on this issue.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell, in a brief statement posted on the vermont.gov Website, announced today that he would not run for re-election. He wrote: "It has been my honor and pleasure to serve the people of Vermont as Attorney General for well over eighteen years. I announce today that I will not be a candidate for re-election in 2016. I look forward to continuing to work hard, along with the very talented lawyers and other staff of the Attorney General’s Office, on the many important issues we presently confront and those we will confront during the next fifteen months. I am proud of my office and its many accomplishments. I am deeply grateful for the support I have received and continue to receive from so many Vermonters."

Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan, a Democrat, is the only declared candidate from any party so far.

State Nets Nearly One-Quarter of $6 Million Awarded Nationally

Vermont Business Magazine To help combat the opioid crisis that grips the Green Mountain State and other states and regions, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Monday announced a $1.4 million federal grant to the Vermont State Police for additional troopers dedicated to heroin and opioid trafficking enforcement. The grant is one of six awarded across the nation through the new Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Anti-Heroin Task Force (AHTF) Program.

Vermont Business Magazine Universal and ambiguous -- no communication trend illustrates Gen Y and Z's desire for both more than the use of emoticons and emojis, according to Burlington marketing firm Fuse. The use of symbols that deliver the emotion of the sender personalizes their content and allows a freedom of interpretation by the recipient. This type of visual consumerism doesn't necessitate breathtaking imagery to draw the observer's eye. Rather it relies on simplicity with stripped down symbols that deliver a general, yet uncertain message.

Vermont Business Magazine Nearly 400 Vermont employers came together Friday at the Sheraton Burlington to hear an inspiring message from global business leader and humanitarian Marilyn H Tam about the importance and value of workplace diversity. Tam addressed the rapidly changing faces of the nation and the world—including Vermont—as well as the shifting age of workers and the dramatic rise of women-owned companies. Tam was the keynote speaker at the second annual Vermont Business Roundtable Executive Leadership series breakfast. Her talk, “Diversity: How to Reap Vermont’s Rich Harvest of Culture, Creativity & Community,” connected such diverse themes as life purpose and work-life balance with how to accelerate change in the workplace to achieve greater diversity.

by Mike Smith The tragic death of Kyle Young — a young Vermont State Police trooper who died during a training exercise at the National Guard firing range in Jericho — was a shock to many Vermonters. What was perhaps even more shocking is the cause of his death: heat stroke. According to WebMD: “The medical definition of heat stoke is a core body temperature greater than 105 degrees Fahrenheit, with complications involving the central nervous system that occur after exposure to high temperatures.”

On the day of Young’s death temperatures were in the 80s.

So the question that many are asking is why wasn’t such a preventable death prevented?

Vermont Business Magazine The ribbon was cut at the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening Celebration for Townline Equipment located at 1426 US-7 in Pittsford, VT 05763. Townline Equipment is a family owned and operated business originally owned by Bob Marrazzo. Drew and Matt Marrazzo worked summers and part-time at Townline when they were young, Drew in the shop and parts departments and Matt in the parts department and business office for their Father Bob Marrazzo. Drew joined the sales team full-time in 2004. And after working in marketing and accounting for another local company, Matt joined Townline full-time in 2008. In 2011, Drew and Matt became the new owners of Townline Equipment.

by Governor Peter Shumlin A year and a half ago, I stood up before Vermonters and devoted my State of the State address to speaking about the opiate and heroin crisis affecting our state. Despite our best efforts since, this is not a battle we are winning. Now the Food and Drug Administration is recklessly making the problem worse with its decision to approve OxyContin for use by children as young as 11 years old.

I was horrified when I learned of the F.D.A.’s decision last month. In the past 18 months, Vermont has invested millions of dollars in battling the threat that opiate abuse poses to families and our communities. We united behind the view that addiction is primarily a health care issue and that users need treatment, not prison cells. But Vermont continues to face the enormous personal and economic toll of drug abuse, just as the rest of the country does.