Current News

A coalition of leading environmental, business, and farm organizations gathered at the Vermont State House today to call on the legislature to move aggressively on the renewable energy and clean water goals laid out by Governor Shumlin in last week's inaugural address. “The Governor described a number of ways Vermont must ramp up its efforts to tackle climate change and Lake Champlain clean-up, and we applaud his focus on these critical issues in his inaugural address,” said Lauren Hierl, political director for Vermont Conservation Voters. “Healthy waters and a clean energy future are central to Vermont's identity and prosperity.”

As part of an ongoing commitment to programs that give people the confidence and tools they need to budget, save, invest and be fiscally healthy, Citizens Bank is now accepting applications from Vermont nonprofits for financial literacy programs that teach good financial practices. Through January 30, organizations throughout the bank’s 11-state footprint are invited to submit an application for up to $50,000 in funding as part of the bank’s Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money program. Eligible Financial Literacy Activities include:

· Basics of banking and asset building

· Budgeting

· Homeownership counseling

· Foreclosure prevention

· Credit management and repair programs

· Financial management for small businesses

Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) announced the top 12 Vital Projects for the updated Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) on Monday January 12th at the River Garden in downtown Brattleboro.

The following numbers for Vermont Health Connect customers are up-to-date as of 11:59 pm Monday, January 12, 2015: 8,709 individuals have checked out a 2015 health plan. This includes 3,506 individuals in Qualified Health Plans (private health insurance) and 5,203 individuals in Medicaid or Dr. Dynasaur plans. After a new customer checks out a plan, they must make an initial premium payment and have their selection processed before they have an active health plan. Of the 8,709 individuals who checked out, 7,239 have completed the enrollment process and have an active health plan (i.e., effectuated enrollment). Of those who completed the process, 2,202 are on a Qualified Health Plan and 5,037 are on Medicaid or Dr. Dynasaur.

The following graphic provides more detail on where new Vermont Health Connect customers are in the enrollment process. Please note that applicants who qualify for Medicaid are not included.

by Amy Ash Nixon vtdigger.org Rebecca Holcombe, the secretary of the Agency of Education, presented two scenarios to lawmakers on Friday. School A has 300 students and a long list of science classes and several science teachers, including a few Advanced Placement classes, while School B has 80 students with one teacher offering a few classes in basic science courses. “If you were a parent, which of these schools would you want your kid to go with?” asked Holcombe. She asked lawmakers to imagine a student trying to get into college from both those schools.

The Vermont Mayors Coalition today announced its 2015 legislative session goals and its commitment to collaborate on and advocate for these areas of common interest to their cities and towns. At a news conference in the State Capitol’s Cedar Creek Room, the Coalition released its Legislative Policy Summary for the 2015 legislative session, including calls for: Education Funding Reform; and Waterway Protection from Stormwater Run-off. For education reforms, the mayors stated that rising property taxes are creating a housing situation which is unsustainable for many Vermonters, at the same time that the number of children is going down while outcomes are static.

Left, to right, Weinberger, O'Brien, Hollar, Louras, Benton, Monette, Gamache and Lauzon. Courtesy photo.

BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont (BCBSVT) has initiated the largest project in its history to assure that it can serve Vermonters with products and services that are built on next-generation technology. The project, which will be completed in 2017, reflects BCBSVT’s ongoing commitment in using technology to improve its efficiency and generate innovation, with a focus on health coverage for Vermonters.

The company announced today that it will transition to a new core operating platform provided by NASCO. NASCO is owned and operated by a number of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, and it supports health coverage for more than 20 million Americans. NASCO’s systems are known for unsurpassed performance, reliability and flexibility.

How can innovators have an impact in the field of public health? Organizers of a symposium, “Social Entrepreneurship and the Future of Global Health,” hope to prompt this question among participants when the event takes place at Middlebury College January 22-24. The Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship’s (CSE) fourth annual symposium will feature keynote speakers Jennifer Staple-Clark, founder and CEO of Unite for Sight, and Dr. Mitch Besser, medical director and founder of mothers2mothers. During the symposium, both Staple-Clark and Besser will receive the CSE 2015 Vision Awards. Events, which are open to the public, also include workshops, a hackathon, and roundtable discussions.

Putney Family Healthcare, a BMH Physician Group member, is undergoing renovations to expand its 79 Main Street facility. Practice officials state that this expansion is in response to a growing demand for medical care in the service area, which includes Putney, Dummerston, Westminster and Saxtons River.

GPI Construction began work on the expansion in November, which will create four additional exam rooms as well as increase office space for administrative staff. BMH Director of Plant Services Rob Prohaska is working with Joe Fortier of GPI to manage the project, which is expected to be completed March 1, 2015.

Verizon Wireless recently enhanced fourth generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) network coverage in and around Mount Snow Resort in Dover, VT. 4G LTE empowers Verizon Wireless customers with compatible devices to surf the Web, post status updates and photos, and download files wirelessly at speeds up to 10 times faster than customers on 3G networks. Verizon Wireless first debuted its 4G LTE network in Vermont in May 2012. Recently, Verizon Wireless enhanced network coverage in and around Mount Snow Resort to include Wilmington, VT.

Rutland Area VNA & Hospice (RAVNAH) will offer a free eight-week hospice volunteer training course for individuals who wish to become hospice and palliative care volunteers in the Rutland County, Dorset and Rupert areas.

There will be eight three-hour sessions beginning in late March that will meet two times a week on Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings. The content will cover many aspects of the dying process including spiritual and bereavement issues, patient privacy and confidentiality, cultural competence in different settings with diverse populations, and ways in which a volunteer presence can support both the hospice patient and the family or caregivers. Materials will be provided and there is no charge for the training.

The United States Supreme Court today rejected Vermont Right to Life Committee’s (“VRLC”) challenge to Vermont’s campaign finance laws. The Court’s denial of certiorari means that a political action committee must do more than create a separate bank account for independent expenditures to be exempt from the limits on contributions. The PAC must be truly independent of other committees and candidates in order to accept contributions in excess of the limits.

The Court’s action leaves intact the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that VRLC-Fund for Independent Expenditures was not actually an independent expenditure committee. The State had proven that VRLC-FIPE was functionally indistinguishable from VRLC-PC, which made direct contributions to candidates. Since the two committees shared board members and staff, transferred funds to one another, and jointly planned activities, both of them were required to abide by the contribution limits.