Current News

by John Herrick vtdigger.org A House version of a bill to regulate toxic chemicals in children’s products will not have an easy time in the Senate, the bill’s lead sponsor said. “I think we’ve budged as far as we can go,” said Senator Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, who introduced the legislation. House lawmakers Wednesday voted to strike several Senate changes expanding the scope of S.239, including Lyons’ amendment allowing the health department to require manufacturers to label or remove chemicals it considers harmful from products that children come into contact with.

A Springfield woman who led efforts to clean up the Black River was presented the GMP-Zetterstrom Environmental Award at a State House ceremony Tuesday. Kelly Stettner, who founded the Black River Action Team, which celebrates, cleans up and protects the Black River in southeastern Vermont, was selected from eight nominees for the annual award, named for famed osprey advocate Meeri Zetterstrom. The award comes with $2,500 to continue BRAT’s work.

Investor, philanthropist and advanced energy advocate Tom Steyer will deliver a lecture titled “Climate Solutions – Building a Clean Energy Future” at 3:30 pm Friday, May 16, in the Chase Community Center on the Vermont Law School campus. The lecture, on the eve of VLS’s 39th Commencement, is free and open to the public and press.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org A provision in the state budget relating to a 2 percent Medicaid reimbursement rate increase could hurt the bottom line of some agencies that care for Vermonters with disabilities and mental illness. The provision says designated agencies, also referred to as specialized service agencies, must provide “an increase in compensation for direct care workers that is in proportion to the Medicaid rate increase.”

That’s problematic for the 16 nonprofit designated agencies that contract with Agency of Human Services to provide services for low-income people with disabilities or mental illnesses, said Julie Tessler of the Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services, a trade association representing the agencies.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The Vermont House has given an initial OK to a provision that would pay the cost of any new unfunded education mandates out of the state’s General Fund. Representatives Patti Komline, R-Dorset, and Kurt Wright, R-Burlington, proposed the amendment to the teachers’ retirement health care plan Wednesday.

The provision requires the Joint Fiscal Office to assess the cost of mandates from the Vermont Legislature to local school districts for the coming year. An unfunded education mandate is defined as a state statute or regulation “that requires a supervisory union or school district to perform certain actions” with no financial support for the requirement.

Komline cited several examples, including a bill requiring that schools provide training to coaches, parents and students about sports concussions and individual education plans.

Vermont Business Magazine According to a new federal study on the effects of climate change, Vermont will be wetter and warmer with the change having a significant impact on fauna and flora. Governor Peter Shumlin said in response that key industries, like maple sugaring and the ski industry, have already seen the effects and will continue to do so at an accelerated level.

In a statement following the release of the report, the governor said: “This assessment tells us, in unprecedented detail, what we already know in Vermont: that climate change is affecting not just our state, but every part of our country, and every sector of our economy. The assessment makes it clear that climate change is not a distant threat, it is affecting us right now.

Gretchen Bailey, who heads the constituent casework team for US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), was honored Wednesday with a prestigious award for exemplary public service. The award was presented during a ceremony at the John F Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston.

“I’m honored and humbled,” Bailey said. “I work with an incredible team of people.”

The Congressman John Joseph Moakley Award for Exemplary Public Service, named for a longtime Massachusetts congressman, is presented annually in recognition of outstanding accomplishments and achievements by a staffer for a member of the New England congressional delegation.

by Tom Brown vtdigger.org Vermonters will no longer be able to talk on hand-held cellphones while driving if the Senate agrees with a compromise reached Wednesday. House members voted 129-6 to accept a conference committee agreement on S.314, a department of motor vehicles bill that included the ban. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure Thursday, where it is likely to pass, several lawmakers said. Governor Peter Shumlin, who has opposed the bill from the beginning, now intends to sign it, a spokeswoman for the administration said Wednesday.

Vermont Business Magazine Keurig Green Mountain, Inc, (Keurig) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee, coffee makers, teas and other beverages based in Waterbury, Vermont, reported after trading ended on Wednesday its results for the 13 weeks ended March 29, 2014. It also announced an expanded agreement with Folgers-maker JM Smucker and a stock repurchase valued at $1 billion. Shares of GMCR were up immediately over $6 per share in after-hours trading to over $98; by Thursday morning it was just over $97, or $2 ahead of Wednesday's opening.

Performance Highlights

Keurig Green Mountain, Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR) and The JM Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) have entered into a multiyear agreement that provides for the expansion of their successful partnership for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and sale of the Smucker family of coffee brands, including the Folgers, Folgers Gourmet Selections, Café Bustelo and Millstone brands, into Keurig portion packs formats that work with new Keurig consumer and commercial brewing systems. Smucker and Keurig first entered into a partnership in February 2010. Wednesday's announcement recognizes the tremendous success of the Keurig and Smucker strategic relationship, and both companies' desire to broaden, deepen and extend their partnership in a variety of channels throughout the United States and Canada.

Keurig also announced on Wednesday its second quarter 2014 results.

Governor Peter Shumlin today announced that Vermont has received nearly $1.2 million in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). These grants will support 110 AmeriCorps members across the state to serve with over 75 organizations.

AmeriCorps members will tackle critical challenges in Vermont, including supporting veterans and military families, preserving the environment, assisting low-income Vermonters in securing and maintaining safe, affordable housing, increasing cultural competence and inclusion, and providing early childhood education.

“National service is an essential part of the solution to many of the challenges facing our state,” said Gov. Shumlin. “These AmeriCorps members will meet important local needs and strengthen communities as they develop civic and leadership skills to last a lifetime. I congratulate these outstanding organizations and thank all those who serve their communities through AmeriCorps.”

The captive insurance community is mourning the loss of Edward “Ed” Meehan, who passed away Sunday at his home in North Fort Myers, FL, after a prolonged illness. He was 73. Meehan was hired by Commissioner of Banking and Insurance George Chaffee during the Richard Snelling administration and served with distinction in Vermont’s captive division during the formative years of the growth of the captive insurance industry here in Vermont.

Governor Peter Shumlin said Meehan’s tireless dedication to the state of Vermont has not been forgotten.

“Ed was one of the first people who worked to make Vermont the gold standard of domiciles,” Shumlin said. “His legacy of dedication and professionalism continues to provide valued contributions to Vermont’s economic prosperity and will be felt for generations to come.”