Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Strong financial performance contributed to a rating upgrade from AA to AA+ for Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA)'s multiple purpose bonds from Fitch Ratings last week. AA+ is the second highest possible rating from Fitch. The rating applies to all outstanding long-term debt under the multiple purpose program and should help lower the cost of affordable housing financing through VHFA.

VHFA’s Executive Director Maura Collins praised the ratings change, remarking, “This announcement from Fitch reflects increasing confidence in the strength and stability of VHFA’s bond offerings, and the long-term stewardship of the agency’s financials. The upgraded rating will allow the Agency to give more Vermonters access to safe and affordable homes.”

Vermont Business Magazine Winooski-based Marathon Health and OurHealth from Indianapolis, each a leading provider of onsite and nearsite health centers for employers, has announced a strategic combination of the two companies that brings together patient-focused primary care capabilities to serve employees and their families across the United States. The combined company will leverage the proven onsite and nearsite health center strategies of Marathon Health and OurHealth, including OurHealth’s MyClinics, a network of clinics available in several markets today, to serve employer populations of all sizes. General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm and existing investor in Marathon Health, will be the majority shareholder of the combined organization

Vermont Business Magazine A newly released report from the Agency of Natural Resources shows water quality improvement in Vermont as a result of public investment over the past four years. The Vermont Clean Water Initiative 2019 Performance Report details state investment in water quality projects, totaling $138 million, to support projects on 28,000 acres of agricultural lands, 169 miles of municipal roads and 222 acres of pavement or other hard surfaces. These investments also helped to conserve or restore nearly 2,000 acres of river corridors, floodplains, lakeshores, forests and wetlands.

At-risk populations should get vaccinated

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health is reporting a statewide outbreak of hepatitis A, joining 30 other states including New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD said the outbreak here is in the early stages, but that case number trends have prompted the department to make the formal declaration.

“We’ve been anticipating an outbreak of hepatitis A cases here from monitoring how this has evolved in other states,” said Dr. Levine. “We are working closely with health care providers to ensure that Vermonters are vaccinated, and with our community partners to get the word out to people who are at high risk of infection, some of whom can be difficult to reach.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation and 13 Vermont colleges and universities are announcing the 2020 Choose Vermont Scholarship Program, which will award $60,000 in scholarship money to students who commit to attend a Vermont school by June 1. Both out-of-state and Vermont students are eligible to enter. The program was developed through a partnership across Vermont’s higher education sector to market Vermont as a top destination for attending college. The campaign targets students already accepted to a Vermont school, encouraging them to take the next step and “Choose Vermont.”

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies (CGCS) renewed an agreement with the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy (Navy SEA) January 3, 2020, so that Navy SEA graduates can enter into a Norwich online bachelor’s degree program, master’s degree program, graduate level certificate program or a Norwich Pro continuing professional education certificate program with either maximum credit transfer or tuition discount eligibility.

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Harrel Keeling, 44, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced today for Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity
Theft. United States District Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Keeling to a 44-month total term of imprisonment, followed by a 5-year total term of supervised release, and ordered Keeling to
pay $200,000 in restitution to the victim of his offense.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today joined a group of 15 attorneys general and New York City in a lawsuit to stop the Trump Administration from eliminating food assistance for nearly 700,000 Americans, including more than 200 Vermont households. The lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia, challenges a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that would limit states’ ability to extend benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT, beyond a three-month period for certain adults. The coalition asserts that the rule directly undermines Congress’ intent for the SNAP program, and that the USDA violated the federal rule-making process by not allowing for a meaningful opportunity to comment on the new rule. Attorney General Donovan and his counterparts are urging the Court to declare the rule unlawful and issue an injunction to prevent it from taking effect on April 1, 2020.

Vermont Business Magazine Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) today introduced legislation to authorize the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). FEMP is currently charged with reducing energy use in federal buildings but has never received a formal authorization from Congress. The Welch-Kinzinger bill authorizes the program for five years, adds water use reduction to its mission, and sets ambitious goals for agencies to reduce water and energy use in federal facilities.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Brattleboro Alliance announced today the launch of their new six-month LOVE BRATTLEBORO VT marketing campaign to bring more visitors to this designated historic town with its eclectic shops and stunning location on the Connecticut River.

Vermont Business Magazine Dairy Air Wind, the last remaining wind energy project being developed in Vermont, today announced the ending of all development activities surrounding the project.In a statement issued Thursday, project partner David Blittersdorf cited a current political environment that is hostile to wind energy as the leading cause for this step. Dairy Air Wind was intended to be a single-turbine project sited in a cornfield on the Champney family’s 450-acre dairy farm in Holland, VT.

Vermont Business Magazine Tiny 'xenobots' assembled from cells promise advances from drug delivery to toxic waste clean-up.