Current News

MVP Health Care and Vermont Managed Care have entered into an innovative partnership to provide Vermont residents with "Vermont First," a unique approach to deliver high quality care through a Vermont focused network of providers.

While in the midst of rebuilding their flagship facility in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene and the most destructive flooding to Vermont in nearly a century, Simon Pearce introduced a limited-edition Commemorative Barre Tealight to raise money for Vermont flood relief. A total of 4,566 tealights were sold in a month and a half span, raising $91,320 for the American Red Cross of Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley.
The tealight, retailing for $40, was sold at SimonPearce.com and all eight Simon Pearce retail locations with Simon Pearce donating $20 of each sale to support both Red Cross flood relief and to help bring a model of community sheltering to the region that will serve the people of Vermont for years to come. Each tealight was engraved with ‘VT 8-28-11,’ the date Tropical Storm Irene swept through Vermont.

Associated Industries of Vermont, with the support of several state and regional business organizations, will host a series of special briefings to help Vermont employers learn about how the state's new health care laws will impact your insurance choices in the coming years, and what you can do to weigh in on these changes and the choices being made for the state. The briefings will focus on the state's implementation of federal reforms and look to the intended implementation of single payer healthcare. Presentations will be made by insurance reform experts Susan Gretkowski and Heidi Tringe of MacLean Meehan and Rice, LLC.
Events currently scheduled:
· November 29, St. Albans, Chow! Bella Restaurant, 8:00 am to 10:30 am
· November 30, Montpelier, Capitol Plaza Hotel, 9:00 am to 11:30 am (8:30 registration)
· December 7, Rutland, College of St. Joseph, 9:00 am to 11:30 am (8:30 registration)

The US Department of Transportation will release $15 million in emergency funds to help Vermont rebuild and repair roads and bridges destroyed or damaged by floods, Vermont’s congressional delegation announced today.
The Federal Highway Administration emergency grant includes $14 million for repairing damage caused last August by Tropical Storm Irene, according to Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
Another $1 million will help cover repair costs for highways and bridges washed out during heavy spring flooding.

A strong spawning run has brought large numbers of landlocked Atlantic salmon from Lake Champlain into the Winooski River this fall. During the eight week season that ended on November 10, 189 salmon were collected in the fish lift at the Winooski One hydro-electric facility.
"This has been the best year we've had since the lift began operating in 1993," says Nick Staats, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fishery biologist who is monitoring the salmon run in cooperation with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. "It's a 44% increase over last year's record 130 fish, and it's a positive sign that sea lamprey control efforts on Lake Champlain are paying off."
Biologist Nick Staats with a salmon trapped at the Winooski One Hydro-electric dam. The largest salmon caught at the dam during the fall 2011 season was 28.5 inches long.

State Treasurer Beth Pearce, legislative leadership, and the Shumlin administration today announced a package of measures that will accelerate highway aid and education payments and allow disaster-impacted towns to defer education payments due to the State on December 1.
‘A key to Vermont’s successful recovery from the disasters that have struck is the ongoing partnership between State and municipal governments,’ said State Treasurer Beth Pearce. ‘The package we are announcing today recognizes that Vermont towns do not stand alone as they work to rebuild. We must continue to exercise flexibility in our financial planning to provide impacted communities with the help needed to fully recover.’
The financial package includes:

NRG Systems, manufacturer of measurement systems for the renewable energy industry has agreed to invest in Oenko, a manufacturer and installer of lattice towers for wind resource assessment and wind farm monitoring. This investment pairs NRG Systems’ nearly 30 years in the wind energy industry and its complete system approach with Oenko’s cutting-edge lattice tower technology.
‘This line of lattice towers complements our existing tower offerings,’ said Barton Merle-Smith, Director of Marketing and Sales. ‘Our investment enables us to offer customers greater choice in towers, booms and mounting hardware ‘ meeting the full range of customer needs anywhere in the world.’

Thanks to the generosity of Vermont fuel dealers, along with local businesses and organizations, the Split the Ticket program will provide more than 6,000 gallons of free heating fuel this winter.
Vermont’s heating fuel dealers are mostly small, family-owned businesses that live in the same community where they work and know first-hand who is struggling to heat their home. They are often the first to respond in a crisis, especially when the family is unaware or unable to receive government assistance’ or simply too proud to ask for help from others.

Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) announced that the Co-op will not seek a rate increase in January 2012. Favorable conditions including higher revenues due to increased electricity sales, in combination with reductions of several key operating expenses, are helping VEC to stabilize rates. While the annual demand for power is projected to increase by 2.7 percent, the cost for VEC to purchase power has decreased. Additionally, reduced labor costs due to technology improvements from automated meters and lower interest costs have helped to control operating expenses.
VEC reviews electric rates on an annual basis to determine whether adjustments are needed. VEC will not be requesting approval from the Public Service Board for a rate change in January. ‘At a time when Vermonters continue to struggle with economic recovery, we are very pleased to report that VEC will be holding the line on rates,’ said Dave Hallquist, CEO.

Pat McDonald was re-elected to the post of Party Chair, as the Vermont Republican Party held its annual organizational meeting Saturday in Montpelier.
The Vermont Republican State Committee members also chose the following Vermonters to serve as VT GOP officers:

Paul Carroccio, Vice-Chair
Mark Snelling, Treasurer
Steve Webster, Assistant Treasurer
Rob Roper, Secretary
Senator Randy Brock, At-Large Delegate to the Executive Committee
Mary Daly, At-Large Delegate to the Executive Committee

The National Life Cancer Treatment Center at Central Vermont Medical center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in radiation oncology as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Radiation oncology (radiation therapy) is the careful use of high-energy radiation to treat cancer. A radiation oncologist may use radiation to cure cancer or to relieve a cancer patient’s pain.
Central Vermont Medical Center is the only facility in Vermont to have earned this accreditation.

Bruce Lisman today announced the formation of Campaign for Vermont, a public policy campaign intended to unite Vermonters around a new direction for Vermont’s future. Lisman is the founding partner of the organization, joining him as founding officers are Tom Pelham and Mary Alice McKenzie.
Bruce Lisman explained, ‘Campaign for Vermont will unite Vermonters, from a broad spectrum of political perspectives, to set a new direction for our future. Imagine economic security, better job opportunities and growing prosperity for Vermonters of every generation.’