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Vermont Electric CooperativeWednesdaystarted with 6,383 VEC members without power. Crews are out in full force this morning working hard to get the power back on. At the height of the event we had a total of 22,015 member outages so we have made significant restoration progress. We now have help from crews who arrived last night from Illinois; 18 men have joined our team in the field today. We also getting help from Burlington, Orleans and Swanton Electric. We are very appreciative of the mutual aid assistance. In addition to line workers, we have a tremendous amount of tree work getting done by 63 tree trimmers. So far, we have experienced 35 broken poles and we will likely discover more throughout our investigation. We look forward to seeing more good progress today.

Vermont Business Magazine Dorset Partners LLC is pleased to announce that it has received the National Turnaround of the Year Award, for businesses with revenue under $50 million, from The Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”) for its role in the restructuring of Vermont Aerospace Manufacturing Inc. The award was presented to Dorset Partners and other members of the restructuring team during the 2017 TMA Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Vermont Aerospace makes precision machined metal components for commercial and military aircraft, including weapons systems that were critical in turning the tide against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. For decades the company provided great jobs in their small post-industrial town and maintained a critical base of skilled craftsmanship in the region. The employees are well known for their ability to turn out the most complex precision parts, perfectly and repeatedly.

Vermont Business MagazineLedyard Financial Group, Inc(ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with an office in Vermont, on Tuesday reported record quarterly earnings for the third quarter of 2017. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, was $1,124,246 or $0.36 per share compared to $1,073,721 or $0.35 per share for the same period in 2016, an increase of $50,525 or 4.7%. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, was $3,252,706 or $1.06 per share compared to $3,141,198 or $1.02 per share for the same period in 2016, an increase of $111,508 or 3.6%.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets urges farmers seeking financial recovery assistance to apply for emergency loans as soon as possible. By Tuesday afternoon, more than 20 Vermont farms reported damage or problems caused by wind storms Sunday night and Monday morning. This storm is a multi-day event and it’s likely more farms will be impacted as energy crews work to restore power. In many cases, agricultural structures like greenhouses, high tunnels, hoop barns and other mobile field shelters were significantly damaged. Several dairy farms continue to use generators to power milking operations, presenting additional logistical challenges. As Vermont sugarmakers begin to survey the woods, damages to trees, pipelines and facilities are being reported. In some areas, full restoration could take until the weekend.

Vermont Business Magazine As of mid-day Tuesday,Vermont Electric Coop crews continue to make progress restoring power across the service territory but a significant number of members are still without electricity. For some members, it may be 2-3 days before power is restored and VEC is urging members to plan accordingly. At the height of the outage early yesterday morning, approximately 40 percent of VEC’s 38,000 members did not have power. As of11:30today, VEC crews had restored power to about 4,600 members and about 9,000 remain without power. Across New England this morning approximately 880,000 people are without power.

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Attorney General TJ Donovan reached a settlement today regarding two security breaches involving the credit card numbers of potentially thousands of Vermonters. The agreement settles allegations that Hilton lacked reasonable data security and took too long to notify consumers and the Attorney General of the breaches. It includes a $300,000 penalty and requirements that Hilton change its security practices. The Attorney General worked with New York’s Attorney General to resolve the investigation which resulted in a total penalty of $700,000.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) announced today that David Adams, Chief of Program Operations, will be retiring from the agency onNovember 17, 2017. Concurrently, Maura Collins will be promoted to the position of Deputy Director. “Dave has expertly led our programs through the turbulent economic and mortgage industry changes of the past two decades,” VHFA Executive Director Sarah Carpenter explained. “His dedication to VHFA’s mission and unmatched mortgage banking experience have led to many ground-breaking improvements in how our programs operate.”

by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) The United States faces a major crisis in primary health care, and unless Congress acts immediately it is likely to become much worse. Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their access to health care because Congress did not renew funding for the community health center program at the end of the fiscal year, September 30. Unless we renew funding immediately, 70 percent of funding will be cut, the doors of 2,800 community health centers will close, and 9 million patients will lose access to quality health care. That is unacceptable.

Vermont Business Magazine After working through the night, Green Mountain Power crews made great progress restoring power to 92,000 homes and businesses. As daylight comes on the second day since Sunday night and Monday morning’s massive windstorm, outages have now dropped to 23,000 homes and businesses. GMP crews will not stop working until all have power back on. This storm impacted 115,000 homes and businesses making it one of the biggest storms in recent history, with near hurricane force winds that toppled trees, branches and snapped poles. Crews have county level restoration times now, and expect to provide the public with town estimated restoration times tonight, though repairs could take through the end of the week.

Vermont Business MagazineVermonters are looking to move out of state more than any other place in the nation. But Vermont is also a relatively popular state to move into.LendingTree, the nation's leading online loan marketplace, has released the findings of its study on where residents in each state are looking to move, which discovered a southern tilt in preferences of out-of-state home buyers.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) in Berlin is offering in-person assistance to community members enrolling in Vermont Health Connect, the state’s health insurance marketplace. The enrollment period, Nov1 to Dec15, is shorter than in years past, highlighting the importance of planning ahead and acting quickly. Enrolling members will have a coverage start date of Jan1, 2018.

Residents can start the enrollment process by completing the 2018 Plan Comparison Tool at www.vt.checkbookhealth.org. The tool reviews which medical plan is best for individuals and families, estimates costs and identifies financial assistance available.

by Alexandra Clauss,Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer PC You’ve likely heard the appalling reports of sexual harassment against the now-disgraced Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein. Sadly, the film industry is not alone; high-profile executives in the news, hospitality, and tech industries have also been faced with similar accounts of workplace harassment.

So, what should you do if an employee complains of sexual harassment?

First, what is sexual harassment? Sexual harassment is unlawful discrimination based on sex. It is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when one of the following is also true: