Current News

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Vermont expanded its contract with technology firm Optum by $14.3 million last week, further cementing its role as the company that will likely complete the underperforming Vermont Health Connect exchange. The exchange website is currently down for maintenance and to allow the state to address security issues. It lacks an automated tool for users to update their coverage or personal information, and small businesses mandated into the exchange have never been able to use the website.

State officials have said not to expect those functions to be there when the site is brought back online, sometime before open enrollment, which begins Nov. 15.

Optum is helping the state prepare for a rush of traffic during open enrollment, when many existing users will renew coverage and new users are expected to create accounts.

The State of Vermont is banking on tourism to keep booming. The summer and fall have been strong and the ski industry has had two of its most successful seasons on record the last two years. Governor Peter Shumlin said great weather and targeted advertising, with more than $300,000 focused on the fall season alone, prompted a strong summer and foliage tourism season in Vermont. More than 4 million people visited Vermont this summer from around the world, and the early reports from around the state regarding foliage visitors has been promising. In addition, the Department of Tourism and Marketing is fine-tuning a $350,000 winter ad campaign to ensure this ski and snowboard season gets off to a strong start.

A Massachusetts-based paid fundraiser has agreed to settle claims by the Vermont Attorney General that it misrepresented itself as a charity in calls to Vermonters and failed to disclose prior legal action by the Ohio Attorney General in violation of Vermont law. Integral Resources, Inc ran fundraising campaigns seeking donations from Vermonters for the national chapters of the American Council of the Blind and the League of Conservation Voters. During fundraising calls for these campaigns, callers from IRI repeatedly suggested they were calling from the charity itself, not from a for-profit fundraiser. When calling potential donors, IRI used phrases such as: “We can make a difference, but we need your renewed support;” and “It is because of the support and generosity of people like you that we are able to provide essential services.”

Vermont’s Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD) announced the first employer award recipients for the “Spirit of the ADA” Awards. The Vermont “Spirit of the ADA” Award is given to employers who reflect the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act in their employment practices. Every day, people with disabilities can and do add value to America’s workplaces. However, in both good economic times and bad, people with disabilities have far fewer job opportunities than the general population. The goal of the GCEPD is to promote the hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities and to dispel stereotypes about disability and employment. The employers who are recognized for this award have been exemplary in their employment of people with disabilities, and the employees have been successful contributors to their respective businesses.

by Patricia Moulton, the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development The Agency of Commerce is compelled to correct several inaccurate allegations that VTDigger published in the October 5 story “VTDigger Exclusive: EB-5 Investors Question State’s Watchdog Role.” The article (which subsequntly ran on vermontbiz.com) incorrectly alleges that the state should have demanded quarterly reports from Jay Peak Resorts, but did not, thus not adequately monitoring the project.

Green Mountain Power is looking to help eight non-profit groups capture the sun to lower their energy costs and generate more clean, renewable energy for Vermont. Green Mountain Power today announced that it is once again sponsoring a program to help eight non-profits construct solar arrays. The Vermont Public Service Board approved a GMP proposal to award eight matching grants of up to $20,000 each to non-profit groups all across Vermont, and GMP is encouraging organizations to apply.

Mary Powell speaks at the Stafford Hill solar project in Rutland in August. Courtesy photo.

FirstLight Fiber, a facilities-based telecommunications service provider operating fiber optic networks in Upstate New York and Northern New England with connectivity to Canada, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of New Hampshire-based G4 Communications, including G4's customer base and data center located at 77 Sundial in Manchester, New Hampshire. FirstLight's local headquarters is in Williston, Vermont.

Two leading statewide associations representing Vermont’s Designated and Specialized Service Agencies have formed a partnership to better serve Vermonters affected by developmental disabilities, mental health conditions and substance use disorders. The Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services and the Vermont Care Network (formerly Behavioral Health Network of Vermont) have come together under the partnership of Vermont Care Partners to provide statewide leadership for an integrated, high quality system of comprehensive services and supports.

The two organizations have launched a new, joint website. (www.VermontCarePartners.org).

by Morgan True vtdigger.org A provision of the Affordable Care Act precluding health insurers or companies in the “same controlled group of corporations” as a health insurer from holding exchange contracts raises questions about Optum working on Vermont Health Connect. Concerns regarding Optum were raised at the federal level by Senators Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking members of the Finance and Judiciary committees respectively.

The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office are aware of a mailing that has been distributed to homeowners in Vermont offering an insurance-type product that covers water service line protection for their property. The product is in the form of a service contract that pays for certain claims in the event outside water and sewer lines that service a home are damaged. All companies that sell or issue service contracts to Vermonters, or cover property located in Vermont, are required to register with DFR.

Governor Peter Shumlin announced Monday that he will appoint Judge Harold “Duke” Eaton, Jr, to serve on the Vermont Supreme Court. Eaton fills the seat left open by Justice Geoffrey Crawford’s appointment to the federal district court. He is the first Vermont Law School graduate to sit on the Vermont Supreme Court. Judge Eaton has served as a trial court judge since 2004, when he was appointed by former Governor Jim Douglas. Previously, he was in private practice for 21 years, where he handled a variety of civil matters, including commercial litigation, insurance defense, and workers compensation cases. He began his legal career as a deputy state’s attorney in Chittenden County. After leaving the state’s attorney’s office and practicing in Rutland, he and his law partner started the firm Eaton & Hayes in Eaton’s hometown of Woodstock.

The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) on Monday issued the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) thermal discharge permit for Vermont Yankee in Vernon, ensuring that water quality and fisheries in the Connecticut River are protected as the company enters its final phase of operation. ANR, acting on Vermont Yankee’s September 30, 2005 application, permitted Vermont Yankee’s thermal discharge through December 31, 2015. The two-year permit addresses the discharge from the facility while it is generating power, allows the company time to establish a post-closure operation regime, and allows ANR time to evaluate and permit the facility’s post-closure discharge. Vermont Yankee is scheduled to cease operatioins by the end of this year.

“In issuing this permit, the Agency’s responsibility to address Vermont Yankee’s thermal discharge has been met,” said Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz.