Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The food system is complicated, and so are humans’ relationships to it. How can people improve on that relationship in ways that are ethical? And, what can be learned from humans’ efforts to improve that relationship so far? Saint Michael’s College will welcome Tyler Doggett, Ph.D., to speak about these issues as part of the annual Donald J. Sutherland Lecture Series on campus on March 19. His talk is titled, “Our Relationship to the Food System: It’s Complicated.” The event will be free and open to the public.  

Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center, in partnership with the South Burlington Rotary Club, invites the public to the 12th Annual Curling Classic fundraiser, on March 16, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is organized by the South Burlington Rotary Club and is an ongoing collaboration between Howard Center, Dragonheart Vermont, the Green Mountain Curling Club, the Rutland Rocks Curling Club, and once again, continues its annual tradition of goodhearted competition. The 2024 Curling Classic, held at Cairns Arena, will see participation from over thirty teams, bringing together individuals from various sectors of the community to curl for a cause. Last year's event successfully raised over $40,000 for Howard Center and several other organizations. 

Vermont Business Magazine Community Bank’s Bradford, VT, branch recently presented $15,000 to Little Rivers Health Care. This is the second $15,000 installation donated by Community Bank over the past two years, with the total donation coming to $30,000. These funds will go toward the organization’s Capital Campaign to support the renovation and expansion of the Wells River and Bradford clinics to create space for modern equipment and serve the increasing number and needs of patients.

SBA Vermont Vermont State University business students in collaboration with the Vermont Small Business Development Center (SBDC) are conducting a research study on the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by Vermont businesses. We would greatly appreciate your valuable insights. As a small business leader, your perspective on AI adoption and its impact on your business is highly valuable to us. Your participation in this survey will not only contribute to the advancement of our research but also provide us insight on how we might serve your needs better. The survey aims to explore various aspects of AI utilization, including current applications of AI in your business processes, challenges and opportunities associated with AI adoption, and expectations of the future value of AI in different business functions. 

Vermont Business Magazine As the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) has previously reported, Change Healthcare, which operates Vermont's Medicaid pharmacy claims system, experienced a significant cyber security issue on February 21, 2024. DVHA would like to thank Vermont Medicaid members for their patience and express appreciation for the work of pharmacies and providers continuing to serve members during this outage. We are pleased to report that starting on March 18, 2024, pharmacy claims will begin processing again. Additionally, the Optum (parent company to Change Healthcare) helpdesk personnel are available to assist pharmacies with claims processing. Effective, March 18, 2024, providers and pharmacies may contact the helpdesk.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) announced on Monday that he secured more than $42.5 million in federal funding on behalf of 36 Vermont projects that address critical needs across the state, including in affordable housing, child care, infrastructure, clean energy and water, and rural development. The funding for Sanders’ Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) projects was included in the first package of the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills that passed the U.S. Senate on Friday, March 8 and was signed into law by President Biden the following day. The $460 billion package was passed in time to avoid a government shutdown of many key federal agencies.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Public Safety and the State Police Advisory Commission today are releasing the seventh semiannual detailed summary of internal investigations involving members of the Vermont State Police. A report attached below contains synopses of the 15 matters that came before SPAC from Jan. 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023. The summary shows that of the 15 incidents, 11 arose as the result of a concern raised internally by members of the Vermont State Police, while four came to the attention of supervisors following a report from the community. Two incidents involved multiple troopers. Eleven troopers were found to have violated VSP policy. Three troopers were determined to have committed no policy violation. In four other cases, the troopers involved resigned before the internal investigation review process concluded.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, between 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm, an exercise of the Vermont AMBER Alert System will be conducted by the Vermont Department of Public Safety. The exercise will test the functionality of various components of Vermont’s AMBER Alert system. Specifically, the VT-Alert system will send messages to the thousands of subscribers, the Vermont Agency of Transportation message boards will be populated with exercise information, and VT Lottery will activate their system to message their signs, tickets, and kiosks. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) will also be utilized to send test messages to TV and radio stations. As in the past, the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) will not be utilized.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) announced today he has secured nearly $30 million in federal funds in the recently passed budget to support 19 Vermont projects. The projects will improve local infrastructure and accessibility, bolster economic revitalization, preserve community landmarks, and build more affordable housing. Project recipients were nominated by Senator Welch through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process. The two largest were housing-related: $5 million for the Champlain Housing Trust for the Bay Ridge Neighborhood Development, which will create 68 permanently affordable apartments and 26 shared-equity condominiums; and $5 million for the Bennington County Industrial Corporation for Mount Anthony House, which will result in 63 new apartments, two new medical facilities and additional retail locations in downtown Bennington.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Dr. Catherine A. Cech, 64, of Arlington, Vermont, was arraigned today on one felony count of Prescription Fraud. The charge brought against Dr. Cech is the result of an investigation, including the issuance of subpoenas and interviews conducted by the Secretary of State’s Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The investigation was initiated when investigators received information alleging that Dr. Cech, a licensed dentist in the state of Vermont, had been purchasing controlled substances for personal use by using her assigned DEA registration number.

Vermont Business Magazine ABC and LOL Child Care Center and Preschool recently announced its expansion and opening of the Cabot Children’s Center, providing 15 new child care slots and four new jobs for the Cabot community. The Cabot Children’s Center, which was able to open as a result of new state funding from Act 76, the child care law passed in 2023, serves infants and toddlers up to age three out of the renovated ground floor of the Cabot Church. ABC and LOL currently operates child care, Pre-K, afterschool, and summer camp programs in St Johnsbury and Peacham, employing 65 staff and serving over 200 children.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Agency of Human Services applied on behalf of the State of Vermont for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) model. This is an important step in Vermont’s broader health care reform landscape – and allows Vermont to collaborate with the federal government to impact how Medicare, the health insurer for 21% of Vermonters, pays hospitals, supports primary care, improves health equity, and allows flexibility in how care is delivered.