Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Patients whose hearts have a faulty mitral valve and are considered high risk for open-heart surgery now have a treatment option offered by cardiologists at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Called Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair (TMVR), the procedure uses a catheter inserted through a vein in the leg to reach the heart and make the repair.

Vermont Business MagazineGeneral Surgeon DrOvleto Ciccarelli is offering skin cancer screenings at Gifford’s Community Health Centers throughout the summer. These private screenings are free and open to everyone, not just Gifford patients. Ciccarelli notes that early skin cancer warning signs can appear on hard-to-see areas of the body, or in areas that might be difficult to find for the elderly or people living alone. He is concerned about an increase in the number of patients he sees with basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, and malignant melanomas.

“Melanoma is curable if caught early, and other skin cancers are more treatable if caught early,” he said. “Vermonters, who are largely fair-skinned and exposed to short intervals of intense sun, are especially vulnerable to skin cancers.”

by John McClaughry The smoke has cleared from the legislative battlefield of 2017, and it’s a good time to review the outcome to see who got what – and what lies ahead. In January Governor Phil Scott strongly urged a budget with no tax rate increases. To their credit, the Democrats in the legislature obliged, ending six years of annual scrambling to find taxes to pay for the eternally ambitious agenda of Scott’s predecessor. That’s a big plus.

The big battle was over the use of “up to $26 million a year savings” from switching teachers health insurance plans from exorbitant “Cadillac” plans favored by the Vermont-NEA teachers’ union to less expensive plans offered through the Vermont Educational Health Initiative (VEHI).

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan has settled litigation alleging consumer protection act violations against Literati Creative Group, which published the wedding magazines Vermont Vows and Well Wed. Literati went out of business in early 2016. The Attorney General sought reimbursement for advertisers who purchased ads in magazines that were not published or were published much later than anticipated.

The owner of Literati lacked sufficient funds to provide reimbursement, but must reimburse $17,000 if she demonstrates ability to pay within the next five years. The owner is prohibited from starting a new publication for the next five years without posting a bond.

According to the Secretary of State's database, Krista Washburn is named as the president of Literati Creative Group Inc, located at 18 Morse Drive in Essex. The registration for the business has been "terminated."

Vermont Business MagazineIn response to a letter sent by Election Integrity Commission Co-Chair Kris Kobach requesting sensitive voter data, including social security numbers, driver’s license numbers and dates of birth, Vermont Secretary of State JimCondos has issued the following statement refusing to comply with this request: “Over the weekend I have heard from many Vermonters who have contacted me with their concerns about sending their personal information to President Trump’s so-called Election Integrity Commission. I want to make one thing perfectly clear: Vermont will NOT be complying with the Commission’s request for Vermont voters’ private and sensitive information. Social security numbers, dates of birth and driver’s license numbers are all off limits.

Vermont Business MagazineFeaturing a flurry of share buying just before the final early bell on the eveof Independence Day,Consolidated CommunicationsHoldings, Inc(NASDAQ:CNSL) announced today it has completed its acquisition of FairPoint Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRP), an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion including debt and based on present equity value. The merger further positions the company as a leading broadband and business service provider across a 24-state service area.

Vermont Business Magazine The recent storms in Vermont were not kind to many of our farmers. The Agency of Agriculture is urging farmers to document any losses from the flash floods. It’s helpful to take pictures and keep detailed records. This information could be valuable for farmers, state and federal officials as they calculate the economic impact of the wet weather this spring and summer.

“This has challenging start to the growing season for our farmers. The torrential rains just added another layer of difficulty for our farmers. It’s important our farmers track their losses,” said Anson Tebbetts.

If you have specific questions, please call the Agency of Agriculture (802) 828-2430 or contact the Farm Service Agency at (802) 658-2803.

Vermont Business Magazine The following are Public Alerts submitted by Wastewater Treatment Facilities to the Agency of Natural Resources for prompt public awareness of untreated discharges and their locations. These alerts have been directly reported by Wastewater Treatment Facilities and may have not yet been reviewed by the State. Wastewater Treatment facilities are required to submit a public alert as soon as possible, but no longer than one hour from discovery of an untreated discharge from the wastewater treatment facility.

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, July 25 and Wednesday, July 26, 2017, meetings will be held at which any interested person may provide comments on data broker regulatory legislation. Broadly speaking, a data broker collects information, including citizens’ personal information, from a variety of sources and then sells that information to advertisers and others for various purposes.

Vermont Business MagazineUSCitizenship and Immigration Services will present 20 citizenship candidates to the Honorable JGarvan Murtha, USDistrict Judge, USDistrict Court of Vermont at an Independence Day-themed naturalization ceremony to take place at President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth. The naturalization ceremony is one of many taking place across the country in the days leading up to and on July 4th. It is also part of the Calivin Coolidge Home July 4thcelebration ofevents.

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Public Safety has announced that in accordance with Act 65, the Department is now accepting applications for an additional dispensary registration certificate. This will increase the number of marijuana dispensaries in Vermont to five. To apply for a dispensary registration certificate, visit the Vermont Marijuana Registry (VMR) webpage. The Rules Regulating Cannabis for Symptom Relief as well as the Dispensary Registration Application are available on the VMR webpage. The rules contain information related to the VMR; definitions of terms, procedures for issuing registry identification cards and registration certificates a dispensary, operating requirements for registered dispensaries, criminal history procedures, fees, confidentiality, and enforcement.

byMike Smith Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s deputy press secretary, said at a recent White House press briefing, “We have gone to a place where, if the media can’t be trusted to report the news, then that is a dangerous place for America.”

Sanders is right. We are seemingly headed towards a dangerous place for America. But what Sanders fails to point out is that her boss, President Trump, is a significant player in determining the direction we are headed.

Trump wants the media to report on stories that don’t offend or challenge him; and when a reporter or the news organization doesn’t comply, his immediate political instinct is to try to delegitimize the source.

What Trump ultimately wants is a press that reports information that he deems important and in a manner he believes appropriate.