Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Robert McLane, 36, of Webster, Vermont, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge of mail fraud. According to the information, between approximately March 2019 and September 23, 2022, McLane was employed by Formula Nissan, Inc., an automobile sales and service dealership located in central Vermont.  Starting around January 2021 and continuing until September 2022, McLane began defrauding Formula Nissan by ordering certain vehicle parts from Nissan North America. Many of the parts McLane ordered were vehicle suspension lift kits. The cost to Formula Nissan of each lift kit was in the $2,300 to $2,900 range. Nissan North America billed, and Formula Nissan subsequently paid, for the lift kits McLane had ordered. 

Vermont Business Magazine Hundreds of business-minded community members gathered last Thursday at Hula to support LaunchVT’s 2024 cohort at Demo Night, the program’s annual pitch competition and celebration of entrepreneurship. The 2024 cohort presented their businesses to the audience and a panel of investor judges, including Chuck Bush, Myla Lai-Goldman, and Sivan Cotel. Two businesses walked away with cash awards; all eight will receive professional services from local businesses worth tens of thousands of dollars. Demo Night marks the end of LaunchVT’s annual twelve-week intensive accelerator program, where entrepreneurs in the cohort work with dedicated business coaches and strategic advisors to address their startup’s most pressing needs, including refining their business models, developing their go-to-market strategies, and preparing for future fundraising and investment.  

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, toured the Estey Organ Complex in Brattleboro last Friday to discuss an ongoing multi-phase revitalization project to renovate the historic building and create affordable housing. Welch nominated the project for federal funding through the FY25 Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process. The revitalization project will remediate all brownfield and contamination issues related to historic uses of the building, bring the new building up to code and install rooftop solar panels, and create 28 new affordable housing units.

Vermont Business Magazine Options for hospital transformation and health system revitalization will be presented at in-person community meetings across Vermont’s 14 hospital regions throughout the month of July. Feedback and input will be solicited from community members. The options are the culmination of a monthslong process of collecting input from Vermonters across the state, including through public community and provider meetings, outreach to over 100 community organizations, visits to each hospital in Vermont, and analyses of healthcare data from multiple sources. In fiscal year 2023, nine of Vermont’s 14 hospitals had negative operating margins. At the same time, Vermonters are experiencing significant annual increases in health insurance premiums. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine For the week ending June 12, the Vermont Department of Health reported that there were no COVID-19 related deaths last week. The weekly report also shows that hospitalizations and general "syndromic" cases remain very low, fewer than five people are being treated at a Vermont hospital each week, which has been the case since late March. The number of COVID cases is down 2 from last week for 51. Cases had been falling in April and May and were as low as 31 at the beginning of May. 

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Transit (GMT) and Burlington Electric Department (BED), joined by Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, and federal, state, and local leaders, today announced the addition of five electric-powered buses to the GMT fleet. The new E-buses, supported by BED incentives, began carrying passengers last month. These new E-buses bring to seven the total in the GMT fleet (the first two having gone into service in winter 2020), and will help reduce carbon emissions in Burlington and Chittenden County and beyond while providing cleaner, quieter transit along GMT service area routes. As part of the Burlington Net Zero Energy strategy, BED provided significant incentives and, together with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), helped secure further funding from the federal government to ensure that GMT had the resources necessary to expand electric transit options in Burlington.

City of Burlington With temperatures expected rise above 90 degrees this week, the City of Burlington today announced plans to open neighborhood cooling centers throughout the City from Tuesday, June 18 - Friday, June 21. While City offices are closed on Wednesday, June 19th in observance of Juneteenth, cooling centers will still be open to the public with adjusted hours.  

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont legislature convened yesterday for a one-day session to reconsider several bills vetoed by Governor Scott. Among these bills were H.72, an act relating to authorizing and funding overdose prevention centers (OPCs), and H.645, an act related to expanding restorative justice approaches in diversion. Ultimately, the vetoes of those bills were overridden by the legislature. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Early Childhood Educators Institute (ECEI) 2024 is filled to capacity. All 135 slots are taken and that’s good news for Vermont, where quality child care providers are still in strong demand. ECEI equips early childhood and afterschool educators to provide high quality experiences to the children in their care. The Institute, coordinated by Vermont State University (VTSU), also makes it easy for those seeking or renewing licensure to get the credits or certification they need online, while learning through a rich curriculum developed by expert instructors. Participants can choose to earn a certificate for attending the institute, or they can study more in-depth and earn college credit.

Vermont Business Magazine In conjunction with Pride Month, Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital is pleased to announce that, once again, it has earned the highest score in Vermont in the 2024 Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). Grace Cottage, along with UVM Medical Center in Burlington and the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, tied for the top score among Vermont hospitals in the HEI Index. Nationwide, 462 healthcare facilities earned this “High Performer” designation. The HRC Foundation’s HEI is the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey of healthcare facilities, scoring them based on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients, visitors, and employees. 

Vermont Business Magazine A collaborative of 46 nonprofit, community-based organizations and medical providers in the Northeast U.S. is set to Shine the Light on Sickle Cell on June 19, World Sickle Cell Awareness Day. This collaborative initiative–which includes the illumination in red of businesses, hospitals, municipal buildings, museums, schools, and other landmarks–aims to unite individuals and communities in support of sickle cell warriors, raise awareness of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and advocate for a universal cure. Fraternal organization Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., global healthcare company Novo Nordisk Inc., the Baltimore Ravens, and Building Owners Management Association-Philadelphia will also join the campaign that is supported by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as part of the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Project.

Vermont Business Magazine The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations (UN) launched the first World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on June 15, 2006 in an effort to unite communities around the world in raising awareness about elder abuse. WEAAD serves as a call-to-action for our communities to raise awareness about abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elders, and reaffirm our country’s commitment to the principle of justice for all. Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) sees World Elder Abuse Awareness Day as an opportunity to provide information about how to recognize and report suspected cases of elder abuse or self-neglect.