News
Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Richard Sears (D-Bennington) today detailed legislation to "cautiously and deliberately" legalize marijuana in Vermont.
by David Coates Vermont's unfunded liability for the state workers and teacher pensions and retiree health care benefits (OPEB) increased in 2015 by over $500 million. As of 6/30/15, these liabilities total $3.8 billion versus $3.3 billion in 2014, a 15 percent increase in one year.
Vermont Business Magazine The US Bankruptcy Court accepted the bid by Winston Prouty Center for Child Development to purchase The Austine School for the Deaf campus in Brattleboro. The Austine School, which was part of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VCDHH), closed at the end of the 2014 school year.
Vermont Business Magazine The Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco has awarded $1 million to the University of Vermont to support its Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). OLLI of the University of Vermont is part of a national lifelong learning network for adults aged 50 and over, supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation, "architect" of the Osher Lifelong Learni
Vermont Business Magazine After hosting three public hearings and soliciting written comments from Vermonters, Attorney General Bill Sorrell is taking the question he posed to Vermonters - should Vermont reduce its reliance on incarceration as a response to criminal conduct? - to the Vermont Legislature.
by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell one-tenth in December to 3.6 percent, the first time the rate has fallen since last April, when it fell two-tenths to 3.6 percent. The crucial numbers continue to show a falling Labor Force and number of Employed, as tourism hiring lagged with the slow start to the ski season.
Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), the holding company of Berkshire Bank, with branches in southwestern Vermont, reported a 13 percent increase in fourth quarter core earnings per share to $0.54 in 2015 from $0.48 in 2014. The earnings improvement was driven by 17 percent revenue growth produced by the company
by Chris Graff Bernie Sanders’ closing television ad for Iowa is probably the best political ad I have ever seen. Superbly edited to Simon and Garfunkel’s song “America,” the ad brilliantly captures the difference of Bernie’s campaign.
Vermont Business Magazine A group of Florida researchers has found a link between gardening and good mental health. Scientists at the University of Florida studied 23 healthy women and preliminary findings show the women who participated in group gardening activities twice a week reported profoundly reduced stress, anxiety, anger, confusion and fatigue.
by Bill Schubart Robert Proctor, a science historian at Stanford, has coined a new word that’s getting lots of attention… agnotology. Agnotology is the study of efforts to spread confusion and deceive people in an effort to sell them on a policy or product.
Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation’s (SVHC) 2nd Annual Jingle Bell held on December 5 at the Hermitage Club in Wilmington, VT, hosted a sell-out crowd of 230 guests and raised $170,000 for the relocation of the organization’s Deerfield Valley Clinic, the new linear accelerator for the SVHC Regional Cancer Center, and other health care initiati
by John Brumsted, MD Together, we are writing a new prescription for the health of Vermonters: Pay health care providers for keeping people healthy instead of just treating them when they are sick. This is a change the University of Vermont Health Network is committed to making.