Current News

In a statement released Tuesday, Vermont Gas said it has reached agreements with 75 percent of the 220 landowners along the Phase 1 Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project corridor permitted by state regulators. An additional 20 percent of landowners are in negotiations that continue to progress. And while Vermont Gas has not reached agreements with 5 percent of remaining landowners, the company said it is committed to respectful discussions to reach a fair outcome.

Since introducing the opportunity for neutral, third party mediation in August, five landowners have elected that option. All five landowners have reached amicable agreements with Vermont Gas as a result. Another nine landowners have signed up for the next round of mediation.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed all the outstanding bonds for Vermont Student Assistance Corp. - 1995 Bond Resolution. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Fitch used its 'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria', 'US Private Student Loan ABS Criteria' and 'US FFELP Student Loan ABS Criteria' to review the transaction.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Adequate Collateral Quality: The trust is collateralized by approximately $27.8 million of private student loans and $38.4 million FFELP student loans. The FFELP student loans have guaranties provided by eligible guarantors and reinsurance provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for at least 97% of principal and accrued interest.

For the private student loan, Fitch projects the remaining default to be in the range of 20% to 23% as a percentage of the current pool balance. The recovery is estimated to be 10% based on information provided by the issuer.

The national preterm birth rate fell to 11.4 percent in 2013 – the lowest in 17 years – meeting the federal Healthy People 2020 goal seven years early. Despite this progress, the US still received a "C" on the 7th annual March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card because it fell short of the more-challenging 9.6 percent target set by the March of Dimes, the group said Thursday. On the 2014 Report Card, 27 states and Puerto Rico saw their preterm birth rates improve between 2012 and 2013, earning better grades for five of them: Iowa, Virginia, Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. Five states earned an "A," including California, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont. Twenty states earned a "B," 20 states received a "C," two states and the District of Columbia got a "D," and only three states and Puerto Rico, received an "F" on the Report Card. The Report Card information for the U.S. and states are available online at: marchofdimes.org/reportcard.

Open enrollment for Vermont Health Connect-qualified plans begins on November 15 and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has an array of Web tools to help small businesses quickly and easily enroll their employees into qualified health plans. Employers will continue to enroll their employees directly through health plans like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, rather than through Vermont Health Connect.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) has announced the appointment of E Wilbur Rice and Stanley S Stroup to its Board of Trustees. Rice, a Bennington native living in Manchester for many years, is founder and owner of Equipe Sport & Mtn Riders, a group of four outdoor equipment and apparel stores located in Southern Vermont. Professionally, Rice has held managerial roles at Stratton Mountain and Bromley Mountain Ski Resorts. He has worked, too, on the boards of several professional and non-profit organizations both nationally and locally. Organizations include the National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association, the Adirondack Landowners Association, Northshire Day School and the Manchester and Sunderland Planning Commissions among others.

“I grew up in Bennington, and the hospital was an integral part of our town. I joined the SVHC board because I believe it is an effective way to contribute to my community,” said Rice.

Northern Power Systems Corp. (TSX: NPS), a next generation renewable energy technology company, featuring wind turbines, based in Barre, has announced financial results for its three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2014. "We are very pleased with the commercial traction of our technology and products. Seeing an expansion of orders based on our next generation, higher energy output distributed turbine at the same time as WEG's successful installation of utility class turbines based on our proprietary design, reflects the continuing commercial proof of Northern Power's technology," said Troy Patton, president and chief executive officer.

A group of concerned Vermonters has formed SMART VT, a grassroots coalition opposing the legalization of marijuana. In a statement released Monday, SMART Vermont said it is a statewide coalition of parents, grandparents, young adults, senior citizens and other concerned Vermonters. The members represent diverse backgrounds including drug & alcohol prevention, youth services, education, law enforcement, mental health and business leaders who agree that marijuana legalization poses a threat to Vermont’s health, economy, youth, education, highway safety and work force.

“The evidence is mounting that marijuana is addictive and harmful to the users and especially harmful to adolescents,” said Debby Haskins, executive director of the coalition.

by Howard Schapiro, MD The University of Vermont Health Network – formerly Fletcher Allen Partners – recently got a new name and a new look and feel. The University of Vermont Medical Center (formerly Fletcher Allen Health Care), and the UVM Health Network’s other three hospitals – Central Vermont Medical Center, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital and Elizabethtown Hospital – have also changed their names to more clearly reflect their relationship. Why is this important, or even necessary? It matters because this change marks a significant step in the evolution of health care delivery in Vermont and northern New York.

Now that the 2014 state elections are over, it’s worth looking at how the process might be improved in the future. Here are four proposals.

Single Member Districts: The curse of legislative elections is that, in multimember districts, a candidate is only rarely willing to do battle with any other candidate. Why? Because there is always the prospect of winning some second votes from the partisans of that other candidate. This makes for appallingly issue-free elections.

Elections should be occasions where incumbents defend their record, and challengers offer their alternative. When challengers fail to hold incumbents accountable, an important element of democracy is lost.

Dartmouth researchers say lung cancer screening in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) meets a commonly accepted standard for cost effectiveness as reported in the Nov. 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. This relatively new screening test uses annual low-dose CT scans to spot lung tumors early in individuals facing the highest risks of lung cancer due to age and smoking history.

by Bill Stenger One of the basic tenets of professional journalism is the, “free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough.” With that in mind, we feel compelled to respond to recent posts on VTDigger.com, specifically the stories posted on July 27, October 5 and October 22 (reprinted by vermontbiz.com), as they are rife with misstatements and unsubstantiated allegations. Here are the irrefutable facts of the Tram Haus Lodge, Jay Peak’s first EB-5 project.