Current News

Vermont Business Magazine - By Patrick Leahy More than 500 million people recently learned that the highly sensitive information they provided Yahoo was hacked and stolen.  The stolen data included usernames, masked passwords, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and security questions and answers.  This treasure trove of information has the potential to allow criminals to hack into other accounts of these same consumers, including online bank accounts or social media profiles, by decrypting the passwords or using their security questions.  As a result, anyone with a Yahoo account faces a serious risk of identity theft and financial fraud.  Making a bad situation worse, it appears that Yahoo took more than two years to notify its customers of the breach.  Americans deserve better than this.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Electric Department today is encouraging the Burlington community to contribute to the WARMTH Support Program of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), leading by example with its own $20,000 gift that will help Burlingtonians and Vermonters with heating emergencies this winter.  During last year’s 2015-16 heating season, WARMTH served 394 Burlington households with 648 assists, or direct payments to BED to keep the heat on, totaling more than $53,000.

Vermont Business Magazine - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided capital support to 17 Vermont businesses transitioning to renewable or energy efficient technologies to cut costs and reduce energy consumption this year. Vermont farms and small businesses used more than $3 million in grants and loan guarantees through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

“Energy costs remain one of the largest expenses for a rural small business,” said USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady. “By providing these businesses with capital, the USDA aims to incentivize small businesses and farms to invest in new technology that not only increases their profitability, but also reduces greenhouse gases, fossil fuel consumption, and increases our nation’s energy independence.” 

Vermont Business Magazine - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the state of Vermont jointly announced today the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model, a new initiative aimed at accelerating delivery system reform for Vermont residents. The Vermont All-Payer ACO Model aims to transform health care for the entire state and its population.

Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) voted to approve the experimental all-payer waiver agreement. Gov. Shumlin will sign the All-Payer Model (APM) into law on Thursday, once again overhauling the state’s healthcare system. Expressing a lack of confidence in the Shumlin Administration, House Republican Leader Don Turner asked GMCB Chair Al Gobeille to provide a letter before the vote, assuring that the APM complies with all the benchmarks (including the requirements for any Medicare waiver agreement made between Vermont and the federal government), as specified under Act 113 of Vermont law.

Vermont Business Magazine - Gov. Peter Shumlin today announced the appointment of Otto Trautz to replace Washington County Assistant Judge Otto Kinzel.

“Otto’s longstanding experience with state government, his budget expertise, and his thoughtful temperament make him a strong addition to Vermont’s assistant judges,” Gov. Shumlin said.

Vermont Business Magazine - Whether organizational change results from reorganization, acquisition, merger, downsizing or new strategic direction, there are unique components to a change situation that demand special communication considerations for internal and external publics.

Vermont Business Magazine - Gov. Peter Shumlin issued the following statement after the Green Mountain Care Board approved a plan that will allow Vermont to transform its health care system so it rewards quality of care rather than quantity of care. The so-called All Payer Model will align incentives across all payers in the health care system – Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance – so that doctors and others are paid for focusing on keeping people healthy rather than running tests or procedures. Vermont is the first state to pursue this transformation across all payers, statewide.

Gov. Shumlin and others plan to officially sign the agreement at a ceremony on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Governor’s Ceremonial Office.

Vermont Business Magazine This past summer Castleton University was awarded $85,000 for year one of a three year, $275,000 grant from the Davis Educational Foundation to enhance integrative learning on campus. Labeled the Integrative Learning Project, the endeavor aims to amplify Castleton’s approach to relationship-based learning by creating a signature program that will meld existing curricular and co-curricular elements to create a transformative experience for all students at Castleton.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont congressional delegation today announced that the Vermont Student Assistance Corp will receive $2.4 million over five years in a federal Educational Opportunity Center grant to promote education and workforce development with Vermont adults. In a joint statement, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) said: “While Vermont is fortunate to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, many Vermonters continue to struggle to find good-paying jobs. Employers are also seeking highly skilled workers to help their businesses grow. In this economic environment, we must continue to do more to help educate and train underemployed workers for the jobs of tomorrow.

Vermont Business Magazine Today Mayor Miro Weinberger, Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department (DPRW), the Burlington Parks Foundation, and other City officials celebrated the Parks Foundation reaching its goal of raising $1 million in support of the rehabilitation of the Waterfront Bike Path. The Parks Foundation set the goal in 2014, and today announced at one of the Bike Path’s new pause places that it has raised $1,026,622 in cash and pledges from over 250 residents and businesses, and presented a symbolic check to Mayor Weinberger.

Vermont Business Magazine VSECU announced today its going solar, unveiling a solar array in Guilford that will allow the 60,000-member, nine-branch credit union to offset its Green Mountain Power electricity consumption by purchasing the net metering credits produced by the array. In a unique partnership with East Dummerston-based solar developer Soveren Solar, VSECU will be able to retire the renewable energy credits (RECs) resulting in 100 percent renewable energy. The partnership also allows VSECU to benefit from the Federal Tax Credit for solar investment, that is typically not available for non-profits. This could be a model for non-profits statewide, further incentivizing renewable energy adoption.