Current News

Vermont Business Magazine A longtime Emergency Department (ED) physician and clinical leader at University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center has been honored for what colleagues and addiction treatment professionals throughout the region call his paradigm-shifting contributions to substance use treatment, recovery and support. Javad Mashkuri, MD, an emergency medicine physician and former medical director of the ED at UVM Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center, recently received the 2024 Davida Coady Gorham Medical Professional of the Year Award from NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC). The award, which was last conferred in 2021, recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the addiction profession.

Vermont Business Magazine The American Red Cross urges donors to give blood or platelets in February to help build up the blood supply after thousands of donations went uncollected last month. People of all blood types – especially those with type O negative blood – are encouraged to make and keep their donation appointments so hospitals can continue to ensure critical care for patients this winter. Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of blood drives have been canceled and more than 15,000 blood and platelet donations have gone uncollected due to severe winter weather and wildfires. As February continues, so does the potential for additional weather systems to disrupt blood drives. Flu and other seasonal illnesses are spreading, which could also force more people to cancel scheduled donation appointments, compounding the impact to collecting lifesaving blood products. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark and 21 other state attorneys general today sued the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for unlawfully cutting funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country. The coalition is challenging the Trump Administration’s attempt to unilaterally cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution throughout the country. These reimbursements cover expenses to facilitate biomedical research, like lab, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. Without them, the lifesaving and life-changing medical research in which the United States has long been a leader could be compromised. 

Vermont Business Magazine Since 2013, thousands of high school seniors have earned college credits via Vermont's Early College Program, part of the Flexible Pathways Initiative within the state Agency of Education. The Early College Program makes it possible for high school seniors to earn college credit tuition-free at the same time they complete their final year of high school and earn their high school diploma. A record 377 high school seniors from every county in Vermont enrolled in Early College Programs at VSCS institutions, Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Vermont State University (VTSU), in Fall 2024.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Waterbury community celebrated the groundbreaking of Marsh House Apartments. Co-owners and co-developers, Evernorth and Downstreet Housing and Community Development partnered on Marsh House Apartments which will provide essential housing for 26 low- and moderate-income households in Waterbury, Vermont. Marsh House Apartments is the new construction of a three-story building with 26 energy efficient, permanently affordable apartments for families ideally situated in the heart of downtown Waterbury. Three of the apartments will be reserved for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities and five of the apartments will be reserved for people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. Funding and financing totaling $15.3 million from a mix of public and private sources was raised to cover the total development costs. 

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS On the timeline of the legislature, we’ve gone from introductory testimony right into the thick of policy. Below is what happened last week: FY 2025 Budget Adjustment Act: On Friday, the House passed the FY 2025 Budget Adjustment Act (BAA), a mid-year adjustment to the FY 2025 budget. 

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.14 per gallon, up 2.2 cents per gallon from last week's $3.12/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.85/g while the highest was $3.29/g, a difference of 44.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 4.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.09/g today. The national average is up 2.2 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 9.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center has a new grant for existing Northeast dairy processors. The Dairy Co-Packing Grant supports licensed dairy processors and dairy brands in the Northeast that already engage in or are planning to use co-packing arrangements. The grant is open to: Dairy processors who wish to initiate new co-packing arrangements; Dairy processors with existing co-packing services who want to grow, add new products, or expand partnerships; Dairy brands that plan to scale current co-packing or to initiate co-packing arrangements of existing products. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Addison County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC) today announced the appointment of Alexander Armani-Munn as the new Executive Director. Armani-Munn will start February 10, 2025 and will work alongside outgoing Executive Director Fred Kenney for a period of familiarization and guidance. Armani-Munn brings ten years of community and economic development experience spanning positions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Beginning his career with a two-year fellowship at the Town of Nederland, Colorado, Armani-Munn received extensive training in all aspects of city management before taking a position with leading media and public relations firm Development Counsellors International (DCI) in Denver, Colorado. Most recently, Armani-Munn worked for architecture and engineering firm AES Northeast in Plattsburgh, NY.

Vermont Business Magazine Don George, President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, has informed the company’s Board of Directors and employees of his plan to retire, effective January 2026. During his more than thirty years with Blue Cross of VT and 16 years as CEO, Mr. George has been a respected and visionary leader. The Blue Cross VT Board of Directors will lead the recruitment and transition process, beginning immediately. There will be a national search for a new President and CEO with expertise to guide the organization through the challenges in health care. This transition will allow ample time for Mr. George’s successor to benefit from his local knowledge and years of experience.

by Charlotte Oliver, Community News Service State leaders are considering how President Donald Trump’s plans to deport undocumented immigrants in mass numbers could strain the state’s already stressed and backlogged prison system. If immigration authorities begin a “rounding up of folks,” people awaiting deportation would be temporarily housed in state prisons, Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, told the House Corrections and Institutions committee Jan. 21. That would place further pressure on facilities already struggling to house Vermonters who are sentenced or detained, said Emmons, the committee’s chair.

by Noah Diedrich, Community News Service In the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lamoille South Supervisory Union has faced an equally novel problem: helping kids readjust to school. “There was a distinct minority of students who had some very, very marked needs,” said Dave Bickford, school board chair for the Elmore-Morristown district, one of two that make up the supervisory union. “Social-emotional needs that transcended the special education designation.” It’s taken a few years to diagnose and remedy the problem, and only in the past year have officials in Lamoille South seen noticeable improvements — progress Bickford attributes to the close working relationship between the supervisory union’s central office and school administrations.