Current News

Now that Governor Shumlin no longer supports a single-payer health plan under current economic conditions, opponents of that and the state's health care exchange are calling for the state to undo its own plan and piggyback onto the federal exchange. They say Vermont Health Connect is still unworkable for many Vermonters and that there is no end in sight to the skyrocketing cost of the VHC. Led by Representative Patti Komline (R-Dorset), and joined by colleagues from across the political spectrum, they are calling for Vermont to transition VHC to a federal-state exchange partnership.

Representative Patti Komline on the floor of the House just prior to the Shumlin-Milne vote January 8, 2015. VBM photo

Nearly 1,000 small businesses renewing their qualified health plans for 2015 used a new online enrollment tool developed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont to allow full employee choice among exchange products. According to the state's largest health insurer, the businesses were among 3,500 small employer groups that enrolled directly through Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The vast majority of the employers completed their renewals by December 10, allowing, it said, for timely processing, billing and distribution of member materials by their January 1 effective dates.

“We promised to ‘see our customers through’ the changes in health care and as part of that commitment we met with hundreds of small employers last fall in community meetings across the state,” said Don George, BCBSVT’s president and CEO.“

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Regulators want to reopen an approved permit for a natural gas pipeline project through Addison County due to an escalation in cost estimates. The Public Service Board will seek a remand from the Vermont Supreme Court for a state permit it approved in December for a 41-mile pipeline from Colchester to Middlebury. The permit is also under appeal by a Monkton landowner.

The board said the latest cost estimate to build the project — $154 million, up from the original $86 million — is sufficiently large to warrant further investigation. The Department of Public Service, which represent ratepayers, also wants to reconsider the costs and benefits of the pipeline.

Governor Peter Shumlin and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation recently awarded 18 State Historic Preservation grants worth $253,220 to municipalities and non-profit organizations for the rehabilitation of historic civic buildings, centerpieces in Vermont’s landscape.

“Protecting historic buildings in our downtowns, village centers, and rural communities is critical to the preservation of our state’s heritage and economy,” said Noelle MacKay, Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Development. “This year’s awarding of $253,220 in matching grants demonstrates that historic preservation is an essential tool for community renewal, economic development, and job growth.”

Casella Resource Solutions and Grow Compost have both been awarded Clean Energy Development Fund grants ($139,000 and $131,549 respectively) from the Vermont Public Service Department (PSD) for two pilot projects to demonstrate the anaerobic digestion of food scraps. PSD collaborated with the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to design the program and develop the agreements with the two companies. PSD also worked with Green Mountain Power who contributed $70,000 of refunded nuclear insurance monies to allow the PSD to make it possible to support the two projects to advance statewide renewable energy and recycling goals.

Recent proposed changes to Vermont’s educational system are unlikely to produce projected results, according to a new policy brief released by Penn State’s Center on Rural Education and Communities. In the brief, Vermont Educational Reform: A Balanced Approach to Equity and Funding, co-authors Ian Burfoot-Rochford and Daniella Hall, both doctoral students in Educational Leadership at Penn State, investigate proposed legislative reforms to Vermont’s educational system. Their "path forward," however, does not have a clear-cut plan (such as, eliminate nearly all supervisory unions) and will likely not please angry Vermont property tax payers or their elected officials. It does, on the other hand, oppose the widespread belief that simple small-school consolidation will solve the problem.

Vermont PBS’ Outdoor Journal, celebrating outdoor recreation in the northeast, enters its teen years this month, as the venerable program premieres its 13^th season on Tuesday, January 27, at 7:30 pm. Winner of numerous regional and national awards, Outdoor Journal raises awareness of Vermont’s natural landscape and the region’s wondrous array of outdoor recreational opportunities.

The program welcomes back hosts Lawrence Pyne and Gina Bullard as they lead us on a variety of outdoor activities and local conservation efforts. A new weekly segment this season, My Outdoor Journal, features stories brought to us by some of our dedicated viewers, highlighting some of their favorite outdoor pursuits.

by John McClaughry In his earnestly delivered January 15 budget message, Gov. Peter Shumlin addressed many of the pressing issues left out of his inaugural address the week before. The coming year’s budget, Shumlin said, was “the toughest budget that I’ve put together.” Not much argument there. The flood of federal cash has reduced to a trickle, revenues are coming in well below projections, and the FY2016 General Fund faces at least a $94 million deficit. At this crucial time, he said, the legislature must “curb state spending to bring the cost of state services in line with revenue growth.”

The governor also appealed to overburdened taxpayers by declaring that “tax raising won’t work” to solve the deficit. Before he was done, however, he was back into tax raising (terminating the income tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, which will extract $15.5 million more from taxpayers who itemize).

A new national certification program is helping transportation companies nationwide reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve vehicle energy efficiency and save money. The eRating certification program, which recently completed its inaugural vehicle certification cycle, was developed by the University of Vermont Extension Certification for Sustainable Transportation (CST) program.

"The eRating certification program is the first of its kind to provide eco-certification for the passenger transportation sector," explains CST Director David Kestenbaum. "Just like an Energy Star label might help a consumer identify the most efficient appliance for their kitchen, the eRating program helps them choose the most sustainable vehicles and way to travel."

American motorists will see something happen this week that has not occurred since March 25, 2009: The US average price of gasoline will slip below $2 per gallon. Meanwhile, Vermont gas is in the neighborhood of $2.40, but with some stations in southeastern Vermont boasting prices near or at $2.10.

Vermont Student Assistance Corp once again has earned the US Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies that its headquarters building performs among the top facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA. "VSAC is pleased to accept EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification in recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Mike Stuart, VSAC vice president and CFO. "This is the fifth year we have received the award and our 87 score means our building scores in the top 13 percent of all similar buildings in the program across the country.”

Commercial buildings that earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Fifteen years ago, Nordic enthusiast Martha Robertson, of Peru, Vermont, combined her passion for skiing with her passion for helping others in need to create “Ski for Heat.” What started out as a local “ski-a-thon” in southwestern Vermont to raise $100 to help one family with heating fuel assistance has broadened its scope to aid low-income Vermonters throughout the state.

Today, Ski for Heat is a series of winter events that include alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing fundraisers at participating Vermont ski resorts and Nordic centers. While fundraising takes place through the season, Sunday, January 25^th is this year’s designated Ski for Heat day, with activities scheduled at a number of ski areas around Vermont (details can be found at www.skiforheat.org).