Current News

Vermont Business MagazineBlue Cross and Blue Shield of VT announced in a statement Monday that it had completeda 150 kW net metered solar array, which is installed at its Berlin campus. This system is a roof-mounted solar array comprising 860 panels, generating roughly 225,000 kW Hours per year. This project is expected to offset more than 169 tons of carbon dioxide per year andwill eventually produce enough electric power to reduce the non-profit’s utility costs by $40,000 annually. Blue Cross is the state's largest health insurer.

Vermont Business MagazineSecretary of State Jim Condos announced today that eligible Vermont voters are now able to register to vote on any day up to and including Election Day. As of January 1, 2017Act No. 44 (S29) An act relating to election day registrationofficially went into effect, and will be implemented immediately for all local and state elections going forward, including any special elections and Town Meeting Day, which is Tuesday, March 7.

Vermont became the 14^thstate to enact Election Day Registration, eliminating Vermont’s voter registration deadline. This means a person can register at their polling place on the day of an election, and can then vote in that election. Registration will still be available at a person’s Town or City Clerk’s office on any day prior to the election during normal business hours.

Vermont Business MagazineWhat do four hundred electricians, more than two thousand nurses, and nearly five hundred software developers have in common? According to a newly updated brochure from the JWarren & Lois McClure Foundation and the Vermont Department of Labor, these are some of the most promising jobs expected in Vermont over the next 10 years. Wages run from low-40s to over $100,000 a year. As this data makes clear, high-pay, high-demand jobs do exist in the Green Mountain State. However, they largely require training and/or education beyond high school.

Vermont Business Magazine A new University of Vermont study reveals notable disparities in how police officers from 29 departments across Vermont treat drivers by race. The research finds racial disparities in traffic stops, searches, arrests and outcomes – which vary by police agency. It is the first study of statewide traffic policing and race, covering Vermont’s largest police departments, and follows a 2014 state law requiring police to collect race data.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont remains in the middle of the pack for bad mortgages as the nation as a whole continues to make significant progress in unwinding from the real estate collapse during the Great Recession of 2008-2009. Vermont, which had a smaller relative level of foreclosures than most of the country, is also more slowly working through the process. As of November (the most recent data available) non-current mortgages in Vermont represented 5.6 percent of all mortgages (US 5.3 percent), while the state's year-to-year reduction was 5.9 percent, compared to the national average of 13.4 percent.

by Mike Smith On a Friday evening, just over a week ago, The Washington Post sent the entire world into a tizzy with claims that Russian hackers had penetrated this country’s electrical grid. The Post reported that it was a Vermont electric utility where hackers found entry to our electrical production and transmission systems. The mere thought of hackers gaining access to our electrical grid is frightening. Industrial, financial, medical and government operations — just to name a few — could be disrupted, or even worse, shut down. It could throw this country, and the world, into chaos.

There was just one problem with the Post story: It was wrong.

Vermont Business MagazineBrattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) has submitted to the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) a Certificate of Need (CON) application for a Modernization Project. The project includes the construction of a four story building to house replacement forthe three existing operating rooms and support areas, two floors for medical offices, and expansion of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services. The project also includes upgrading the hospital’s power plant.

The components of the Modernization Project were identified in the hospital’s Master Plan, which was adopted by BMH’s Board of Directors in 2009. Over the past two years the Hospital staff and Board worked with architects and engineers to develop plans for the new project. The cost of the project is approximately $22 million.The GMCB and State of Vermont require a CON application for proposed hospital projects costing more than $3 million.

Vermont Business MagazineThe public is invited to offer suggestions to the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC) for transportation planning projects that would benefit Washington County and the towns of Orange, Washington, and Williamstown.CVRPC is asking for help to make getting around easier, safer, and more convenient for everyone by contributing your transportation planning and study ideas.

CVRPC will complete up to $70,000 in transportation special projects and studies using funding from the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s Transportation Planning Initiative. We would appreciate your ideas for projects that would benefit Central Vermont. While our funds cannot be used for construction, our planning helps shape projects for future construction.

Vermont Business MagazineSenator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) issued the following commentFridayafter the release of areporton Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Earlier this week, Leahy joined other Democratic Senators inintroducing legislation calling for anindependent, nonpartisan commission to comprehensively investigate the matter.

Vermont Business Magazine NG Advantage LLC, based in Colchester, which is majority owned by Clean Energy Fuels Corp., (NASDAQ: CLNE) has announced it has begun delivering compressed natural gas (CNG) for the first time to customers in the state of Maine. The expansion was made possible through an asset acquisition from Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP). NG Advantage specializes in transporting CNG to industrial, institutional, and commercial customers who are beyond the reach of a natural gas pipeline, allowing them to realize the economic and environmental benefits of the cleaner burning fuel.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Scott Friday evening announced more appointments to his extended cabinet and key policy directors within his Administration.Michael Snyderhas been reappointedCommissioner of Forest, Parks & Recreation.Jolinda LaClair has been namedDirector of Drug Abuse Prevention.Mary Kate MMohlman, PhD, MS, has been named theDirector of Health Reform.Sam Lincolnof Randolph Center has been appointedDeputy Commissioner of Forests Parks & Recreation.Darwin Thompsonhas been namedCommissioner of Information and Innovation.

“I’m pleased to add each of these talented individuals to my growing team,” said Governor Scott. “My entire cabinet, extended cabinet and senior leadership team is already hard at work for Vermonters, and each of these appointees will be a great addition to our team.”

Vermont Business Magazine When Keurig Green Mountain Inc was bought last year in a blockbuster, $13.9 billion deal by European holding company JAB, it shortly thereafter severed its partnership with Coca Cola to market Keurig Kold, a home-based beverage system. Apparently its thirst for ice cold refreshment has not been slaked. On Friday, Waterbury-based Keurig quietly announced on its Website that it will develop a beer-making system with Budweiser, which also will include a variety of alcoholic drinks.

The Website press release states thatAnheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) and Keurig Green Mountain have entered into a joint venture focused on the research and development of an in-home alcohol drink system.