Current News

Vermont Business Magazine FirstLight, a leading fiber-optic bandwidth infrastructure services provider operating in the Northeast, announced Wednesday that it has completed the next step in its integration process with Sovernet Communications, which is that Sovernet has been rebranded to FirstLight. FirstLight said in a statement that this brand change marks an exciting time of growth for the company. FirstLight will retain the former Sovernet offices and staffing in Bellows Falls, where it was formed in 1995.

Both FirstLight and Sovernet have been serving the communications needs of Vermonters for more than 15 years, and now combined, FirstLight has expanded its network reach and enhanced its capabilities throughout the state of Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Regulators in Maine and New Hampshire reached settlements with Consolidated Communications this week that help clear the way for the FairPoint sale to Consolidated. The company is still meeting with regulators in Vermont, and a settlement is expected there soon, according to the IBEW union. FairPoint is Vermont's largest telecom. Consolidated is expected to acquire FairPoint this quarter.FairPoint agreed to be acquired by Consolidated last December in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion (includes $887 million in debt).

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Thomas J Donovan, Jr has announced that Vermont has joined with 46 other states and the District of Columbia in an $18.5 million settlement with the Target Corporation to resolve the states' investigation into the retail company's 2013 data breach. The settlement represents the largest multistate data breach settlement achieved to date. Vermont will receive $170,000 from the settlement. Although there is no Target in the state of Vermont, the breach is estimated to have affected approximately 120,000 Vermonters.

eSmartwater program is 0.99centsper month for anAquanta water heater controller and Nest Learning Thermostat to reduce customers’overall energy costs

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power is excited to offer its customers a new opportunity to be part of the energy revolution by reducing energy use, saving money and helping GMP reduce peak energy demand for all customers.

GMP’s new eSmartwater program includes anAquanta^TMsmart water heater controllerthat lets you heat water when you need it, andsave money when you don’t.The Aquantagets installed on your existing water heater tobring it out of the basement and into the palm of your hand to provide convenient control and hot water usage information.

Vermont Business Magazine Markowitz, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources from 2011 until 2017, was one of seven 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients invited to the EPA New England Environmental Merit Awards Ceremony in Boston in May.

“The Rubenstein School is very fortunate to have Deb Markowitz as part of our faculty,” said Dean Nancy Mathews. “Her significant contributions to environmental protection and leadership serve to make her a role model for students and faculty alike.”

Vermont Business Magazine At a well-attended press conference at noon today in the governor's fifth floor conference room, Governor Scott said he would veto S22, the marijuana legalization bill the Legislature passed late in the session. The bill would legalize possession of a small amount of pot while allowing individuals very limited production only for personal use. Unlike in Colorado, the Vermont law would not establish commercial production and sale of marijuana. Scott then sent the official veto letter to the Senate: "I cannot support this legislation and return it without my signature." This could be just the first of three vetoes for the first term governor, as he indicated last week he would also "return" the budget and property tax bills over the teacher health insurance issue. The Legislature is scheduled to reconvene June 21 to address the vetoes and possibly attempt to override them.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Attorneys General have reached a$33 million settlementwith Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson (“Defendants”), the settlement resolves claims that Defendants, through subsidiary McNeil-PPC, Inc, unlawfully promoted over-the-counter drugs as complying with federal current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) when they did not comply. Under the terms of the settlement agreement Vermont will receive $377,832.59 for costs and fees associated with the litigation.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network has named Eric Miller as the Network’s deputy general counsel and senior advisor. The appointment was effective Monday, May 22. Miller served as the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont from June 2015 to February 2017. He also served on the UVM Medical Center Board of Trustees from January 2014 to June 2015 while practicing law as a principal in the law firm of Sheehey, Furlong & Behm PC. During his tenure at the firm from 1999 to 2015, Miller provided strategic advice and representation to businesses and individuals, with a special focus on health care related matters.

Vermont Business Magazine One of the most influential members of the state Senate will now lead one of the state's most complex and important regulatory bodies. Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Kevin Mullin as chair of the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB). The Board is responsible for regulation, innovation and evaluation within Vermont’s healthcare system, with a mission to reduce the rate of healthcare cost growth while ensuring high-quality, accessible care for Vermonters. Scott also named Maureen Usifer as a board member. The five-member Board was down to three members. The appointments begin immediately.

byJohn McClaughry The sudden political struggle over health insurance for unionized teachers isn’t over but some useful lessons are emerging. This struggle was triggered by a provision of ObamaCare called “the Cadillac tax”. Starting in 2018, plans with premiums of over $10,800 a year for individuals and $29,500 for families will face a crushing 40% tax on those premiums.

Congress has delayed the Cadillac tax before, and could do so again. But next year school employees need to be in one of the Vermont Education Health Initiative plans designed to escape the tax.

In mid-April, with the Senate hard at work on the House-passed budget, GovernorPhil Scott suddenly produced a major new proposal or, it turned out, a demand.

Public Assets InstituteEmploymentticked down slightly in April. But the drop followed a slow 17-month growth trend. Vermont’s unemployment declined after therecession, but not all of the people who left the unemployment lines went back to work. Employment also dropped for many months, until 2015, when it began to climb again.

Vermont Business Magazine ThePeople’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced that it has awarded $2,500 to Mobius for its Quality Mentoring System (QMS).

QMS is a national evaluation system developed by MENTOR (The National Mentoring Partnership) to ensure that mentoring programs are meeting all of the best practices in the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™. In collaboration with Vermont mentoring programs, Mobius - a statewide nonprofit supporting more than 140 adult-to-youth mentoring program sites serving 2,300 mentor pairs - has adjusted this national system to fit the local needs of the Vermont mentoring community.