Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) has entered into a Stipulation and Consent Order with the CMFG Life Insurance Company (CMFG) of Madison, Wisconsin, for improperly calculating interest amounts resulting in underpayments to approximately 200 life insurance policy beneficiaries. Under the terms of the settlement, CMFG will pay a $231,000 administrative penalty and implement a corrective action plan. CMFG has also paid the correct interest amounts to the affected beneficiaries.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) has identified eight cases of fraudulent activity in the Unemployment Insurance Claimant Portal system. Based on our initial review, this activity appears to involve individual claimant accounts, in which personal information was used to gain unauthorized access to the Unemployment Insurance system.

Vermont Business Magazine RiseVT, a primary prevention strategy of OneCare Vermont, has partnered with Springfield Medical Care Systems to bring health and wellness opportunities to the Springfield area as part of a massive statewide expansion to improve the health of Vermonters where they live, work, learn, and play. OneCare Vermont is the Accountable Care Organization for the state, working with providers to improve patient health and lower healthcare costs. Embracing healthy lifestyles is key to reducing chronic illness and RiseVT works to create the environments where people spend their days conducive to making the healthy choice easy, or even the default.

Vermont Business Magazine Dr Ana Gaillat has been named the Dean of Academic Affairs of Vermont Technical College, effective in May. Her candidacy was recommended by the college's search committee and approved by the president in March. Vermont Tech President Patricia Moulton made the announcement Monday.

Vermont Business Magazine A newly released report by The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law has found that automatic voter registration (AVR) has markedly increased the number of voters being registered, ranging in increases from 9 to 94 percent, in several states across the country that have  implemented it.

“Automatic voter registration is common-sense, good policy,” said Secretary Condos. “Not only has it been shown to increase voter registration rates and improve voter access in both red states and blue states, it helps generate more accurate voter registration data, and saves states both time and money.”

Vermont Business Magazine Heavy rain and snowmelt has caused sharp rises in rivers throughout the state. A number of state and local roads have been flooded and motorists are encouraged to respect all detours and stay off flooded roads. The Vermont Emergency Operations Center in Waterbury is activated to assist municipalities in flood response. Representatives from Vermont Emergency Management, Vermont Fire Safety, Vermont Search and Rescue, Agency of Transportation, Vermont State Police, National Guard, Agency of Human Services, and the Red Cross are working with towns.

“The health and safety of Vermonters is our number one priority today,” Governor Phil Scott said. “State personnel and our partners are working with local responders to that end, and the public can take simple steps to keep themselves safe – we are encouraging everyone to use caution and common sense around floodwaters.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment today releases a new report, “Improving the Cybersecurity of the Electric Distribution Grid” that address the growing threat of a cyberattack on our nation’s electricity distribution grid. The report was commissioned by Protect Our Power, a non-profit organization focused on grid security. The report identifies barriers to addressing the growing risk and presents best practices to assist state electric utility commissions and their regulated utilities to increase investment in enhanced security.

Leonine Public Affairs Last week started off on a very sad note with an announcement on the House floor from Speaker Mitzi Johnson that Representative Robert Forguites (D-Springfield) had died unexpectedly over the weekend. Throughout the week his memory was honored and his colleagues supported one another through their grief. He will be sorely missed. ​Week 13 marks the beginning of the final stretch of the 2019 legislative session. Revenue and spending proposals are starting to take center stage as the Senate hammers out its version of the budget and tax bills. One tax proposal, a two-cent per gallon tax on heating fuel to fund weatherization projects, passed the House but appears to have an uphill battle in the Senate and with the governor.

Vermont Business Magazin On Saturday, Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement in response President Trump’s proposal to transport migrants to “sanctuary cities:”

Vermont State Police VERNON, Vermont (April 12, 2019) — While the Vermont State Police Tactical Services Unit was searching for murder suspect Derrick Shippee on and around the Shippee family property at 138 Sak Rd. in Vernon, TSU members located a body at about 4:35 p.m.

The individual has been preliminarily identified as Mr. Schippee. The body is being transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to confirm the cause and manner of death. State police investigators do not consider the death suspicious.

Subsequent updates regarding this case will be provided by the New Hampshire State Police. 

***Initial news release, 3:40 p.m. Friday, April 12, 2019***

The Vermont State Police is assisting New Hampshire authorities that are investigating the murders of two individuals in the town of Hinsdale.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine On April 1, Cassie Polhemus took over as CEO of the Vermont Economic Development Authority. Created by the Legislature 45 years ago, VEDA is a vital financial institution that the person on the street may not be familiar with. But the average person certainly knows its work as a contributing lender to some very significant projects across the state.

by Robert Zulkoski, Social Entrepreneur, and Edward Cameron, Climate Advocate and Strategist Recently there were two powerful commentaries in VTDigger: the first by Dante DiBiase, 19, entitled Vermont’s no longer a place for young nonconformists; and the second by Karen Gross, the former president of Southern Vermont College, entitled Why aren’t more people fighting for Southern Vermont College’s survival? A common theme of these two articles is anger over apathy.  [Anchor] When the neighbor’s cows get loose and wander on over to your field to munch on your tender grass for the fifth time, getting riled up and yelling at the cows won’t do any good. Cows don’t care if you are angry; they’re just looking for greener pastures and tastier turf. Don’t get mad at the cows – let the energy brought on by your anger motivate you to quit bitching and get to work. Mend the fence!