Current News

by John Wagner The Washington Post The Washington Post's John Wagner was the print pool reporter at campaign events in Hibbing, Minnesota, Friday. Here is the complete, unedited report.

Vermont Business Magazine A total of 135 regular firearms moose season permits and 25 archery moose season permits would be issued for Vermont's 2016 October moose hunt under a proposed regulation approved by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board at their February 24 monthly meeting in Montpelier. The 160 permits proposed by the department represent a 40 percent decrease from the number of permits approved last year. Under the proposal, hunters are expected to harvest close to 70 moose. The board voted on a proposal by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department to allocate permits in 16 of the state's 21 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). The proposed permit numbers must be voted on at one more board meeting in April.

Vermont Business Magazine Susan L Donegan, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation announced today that Continental Indemnity Co., a subsidiary of Applied Underwriters Inc., has paid Vermont $335,000 and owes 16 Vermont businesses an additional $352,000. An investigation conducted by the department revealed that between 2007 and 2015, Continental had overcharged a number of small businesses for workers’ compensation insurance policy premiums. Those Vermont companies are entitled to refunds ranging from just over $900 to almost $56,000. An administrative penalty of $300,000 was paid to DFR and an additional $35,000 was assessed to reimburse the department for costs incurred during the examination.

Continental has acknowledged the errors and has agreed to conduct an internal audit to ensure future compliance with Vermont laws.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith today praised the passage of a resolution that urges the State’s pension managers to remove from their portfolio risky ExxonMobil and coal investments that could pose a threat to the state’s investment returns. The House-backed resolution urges the committee that oversees retiree pension funds (VPIC) to develop a responsible strategy to eliminate ExxonMobil and coal stocks from its investment portfolio. The measure asks VPIC to study alternative investment opportunities including socially responsible and renewable energy stocks. State Treasurer Beth Pearce opposes the plan because the first goal for her and VPIC is their fiduciary responsibility to the fund and the pensioners. There is also wide debate about how much money would actually be divested.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims increased by more than 300 claims last week. Claims in 2015 generally were lower than in 2014, but since the holiday season they have been generally running slightly ahead of the prior year, but were slightly lower last week year-to-year. The winter tourism hiring season was delayed by warm, wet weather until earlier this month. For the week of February 20, 2016, there were 843 claims, up 312 from the previous week's total and 30 fewer than they were a year ago. By industry, claims were mostly up for most categories, but remained about the same in total claims for Construction. 

Altogether 7,459 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 174 from a week ago, and 691 fewer than a year ago.

Vermont Business Magazine Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) Rating Services has raised Vermont Electric Cooperative’s (VEC’s) credit rating from an A to an A+ with a stable outlook. S&P’s cited effective regulatory partners, cost-effective power supply, and strong management in its decision to boost the Co-op’s rating. This credit rating increase is a testament to the significant progress VEC has made over the past several years. Under the leadership of CEO Christine Hallquist, VEC has invested in innovative technologies such as smart meters, which have enabled VEC to cut outage times in half. Despite the challenge of serving a rural service territory and having one of the lowest numbers of customers per line mile in the state, VEC’s electric rates remain competitive with other Vermont utilities.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power has announce year-end operational results for Kingdom Community Wind (KCW) in Lowell. In 2015, the 21-turbine project generated enough electricity to power 26,700 homes for a year. That’s an increase of 7 percent over the previous year or enough energy to power an additional 1,800 homes. Because of the strong power generation at Kingdom Community Wind, five Northeast Kingdom towns will receive more than $201,000 this month from the Good Neighbor Fund payments, up $75,000 from last year. The Good Neighbor Fund is part of GMP’s commitment to give additional value to surrounding communities by sharing with them the benefits of KCW. Payments are made annually and can be used to lower property taxes or support local initiatives as designated by the town.

Vermont Business Magazine Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) today announced the receipt on February 25, 2016 of regulatory clearance under the Competition Act (Canada) in connection with the previously announced merger between Keurig and a JAB Holding Company-led investor group. Keurig expects to close the Merger as soon as reasonably practicable, subject to the satisfaction of any remaining conditions. Shareholders approved the $13.9 billion takeover by the European holding February 24.

Vermont Business Magazine The town of Bennington released the following information Thursday evening. In a recent press release by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, he indicating that the chemical known as PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic) was found in some isolated locations in North Bennington and Bennington, Vermont. Communities that border New York, and which are within miles of Hoosick Fall, NY, where the recent discovery of PFOA in the Town’s drinking water has been linked to a local manufacturer. Residents who draw water from the North Bennington municipal system should be assured that their water is clean and drinkable.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc. (Ticker Symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with branches in New Hampshire and Vermont, today reported record earnings for 2015 of $4,061,338, a 2 percent improvement over 2014. Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, was $886,229 or $0.87 per share compared to $973,793 or $0.96 per share for the same period in 2014, a decrease of $87,564 or 8.9%. The primary cause of lower year-over-year quarterly income was the challenging operating environment for our two primary businesses, banking and wealth management. Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 was $4,061,338 or $3.96 per share compared to $3,969,286 or $3.90 per share for the same period in 2014, an increase of $92,052 or 2.3%.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Senate gave final approval to a bill Thursday (17-12, see roll call below) that would end marijuana prohibition in the state and regulate the cultivation and sale of marijuana for adult use. S241 received initial Senate approval on Wednesday. It will now advance to the House of Representatives, which will begin working on it after members return from Town Meeting Week. S241 would make it legal for adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and establish a tightly controlled system of licensed marijuana cultivation sites, testing facilities, and up to 30 retail stores. Vermonters could buy up to a half-ounce at a time and out-of-staters a quarter-ounce.

Vermont Business Magazne The University of Vermont Health Network announced today six Board of Trustees appointments at member hospitals.