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Vermont Business Magazine US Senate candidate Scott Milne made the following statement Wednesday morning: “After 42 years in Washington, Senator Leahy seems to think he should be immune from criticism, and that anyone who dares to call him out for his record of accepting millions of dollars in special interest money and tens of thousands of dollars in corporate-sponsored travel, or his hypocrisy on transparency in government as he continues to refuse to release his office records related to the EB-5 scandal, is running a negative campaign. To the contrary, reforming Washington and eliminating special interest influence peddling and ending political careerism is the most positive message a candidate can embrace, and it is required if we are to end the dysfunction in DC.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy's campaign sent the following statement: After 137 days as the Republican candidate for the US Senate, Scott Milne finally shared his position on Donald Trump's candidacy for president. Even after Mr Trump's most recent offensive remarks, and scores of his fellow Republicans rejecting Mr Trump's candidacy, Mr Milne still said, "It's not enough for me to change what I told you, which is, 'I'll tell you who I'm voting for when we get closer." (SevenDays, 10/8/2016)

Only later would Mr Milne say that as a father he would not vote for Mr Trump.

Mr Milne should explain why, as a father, he didn't deem Mr Trump unworthy of his support until now given his previous attacks on women, Gold Star parents, veterans, a federal judge, a disabled reporter, Mexicans and Muslims. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today announced that Department of Human Resources (DHR) Commissioner Maribeth Spellman will leave state government at the end of October. Replacing Spellman as Commissioner will be current Deputy Commissioner Tom Cheney. Spellman has served as DHR Commissioner since September 2014. She will be joining Hickok & Boardman HR Intelligence, a leading human resources consulting and services firm in Burlington that serves Vermont employers in the areas of employee benefits, organizational wellness, compliance and technology. She will serve as the firm’s Director of Organizational Wellness and Cost Containment.

Before being appointed Deputy Commissioner at DHR in August 2015, Cheney served as Chief of Policy, Programs, and Legislative Affairs at the Department. He has also worked for House Speaker Shap Smith and Congressman Peter Welch.

by Bill Schubart The right to vote becomes a moral obligation when voting is understood as fundamental to the functioning of our democracy. In Australia, voting is mandatory - and failure to vote is punishable by a fine or community service. But here, as many as 40% of eligible voters will stay home on Election Day. Apart from voter apathy, the next biggest threat to the democratic experiment is our historical and current efforts to make it more difficult for certain racial and political blocs to vote - especially when voter fraud is a statistical myth. Only in the last century did we fully enfranchise women and African-Americans. But discredited practices designed to favor partisan votes - like gerrymandering and voter competency and ID tests – continue to undermine the right to vote.

To vote is easy. It’s choosing your candidate that isn’t. 

Vermont Business Magazine Social Sentinel, Inc, the Burlington-based leading service that alerts campus and community leaders to actionable threats shared publicly on social media has announced it has completed a $3 million Series A round of financing. Lerer Hippeau Ventures (LHV) of New York City joined Vermont-based FreshTracks Capital in the round. The investment will help the company aggressively expand sales and marketing efforts, as well as accelerate product development. FreshTracks Capital Managing Director Lee Bouyea will join Social Sentinel’s Board of Directors. 

Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Miro Weinberger, joined by former Progressive Mayor Peter Clavelle, Progressive City Council President Jane Knodell, Democratic Councilor Joan Shannon, and Independent Councilor Dave Hartnett today announced the launch of a unity campaign in support of City ballot items #1, #2, #3, and #4 to make the City more affordable, sustainable, and vibrant. The campaign treasurer is former Mayor Peter Clavelle, and the chair is Councilor Dave Hartnett (North District). The campaign will co-ordinate its activities through the Partnership for Burlington’s Future, a campaign committee first organized by Mayor Weinberger in 2012 to advocate for local ballot questions.

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington Telecom has partnered with Green Mountain Transit to provide free, gigabit-capable wifi to commuters and GMT employees using the new Downtown Transit Center, set to open on October 13. A reliable high speed Wi-Fi connection on the Downtown Transit Center platform will improve the customer experience, allowing passengers to use their wait time more effectively as they work, connect with friends, or download an e-book to enjoy on the ride. The hotspot is just one of the many increased passenger amenities that will improve the quality of service GMT provides to its passengers at the DTC. Other features include: ADA accessibility, longer customer service hours, indoor restrooms, a climate-controlled indoor waiting area, real-time bus information along with customer information screens, radiant heat on the platform, and protection from the weather.

Vermont Business Magazine The State of Vermont, and Burlington Laboratories, Inc. and Burlington Labs, LLC (together “Burlington Labs”), have reached an agreement settling an investigation by the Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit of the Office of the Attorney General into whether Burlington submitted false claims or received overpayments from the Vermont Medicaid Program. Burlington Labs will pay $6.75 million to settle potential claims under the Vermont False Claims Act. “This settlement balances the ongoing needs for drug testing services in Vermont with ensuring proper billings for services rendered and safeguarding of state and federal monies,” said Attorney General William H. Sorrell. 

by John McClaughry Last week outgoing Governor Peter Shumlin made public the draft agreement he made with the Federal government’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Its goal is to dramatically change the way health care services are paid for in Vermont. And of course, if the method of payment is dramatically changed, there will be major changes in who provides the services, to whom, when, and where. The new All Payer Model is different from the Single Payer model enacted in 2011, but there are some troubling similarities. 

Single Payer proposed to put almost all Vermonters into a government-controlled universal health care program. Health insurance carriers would be put out of business. Vermonters would receive “free” care at the point of service, as in Quebec.

Vermont Business Magazine GE has awarded University of Vermont Medical Center and Burlington Labs, $25,000 to promote health and improve substance abuse recovery and employment in Burlington as part of the larger HealthyCities initiative, which is committed to bringing better health to more people throughout the US. Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, NH, was also a grant recipient. GE announced today the nine winners of the HealthyCities Leadership Academy Open Innovation Challenge. Each of the winning communities will receive an initial award of $25,000 in prize money to help develop population health improvements through partnerships with public and private entities, and will be eligible for a final prize award of $250,000 after a year of collaborative learning and support.

Vermont Business Magazine Passumpsic Savings Bank’s Board of Trustees announces that James Kisch, a business executive and national banking authority with over 25 years of financial institution management has been named to succeed Peter F Crosby as President and Chief Executive Officer of the St Johnsbury-based financial institution.

Vermont Business Magazine Personal Income tax revenues showed strength for the second consecutive month, after a long period of sluggish performance, which led General Fund revenues to a near-break even against expectations for September. Corporate tax revenue, which has been a strength the last few years, was below targets. Consumption revenues were all slightly down, except for motor vehicle purchases, which previously had been a weakness. However, year-to-year numbers for Personal Income (the single most important revenue source), Sales and Corporate are all down year-to-year. Since the end of the Great Recession, year-to-year revenues have been growing.

Secretary of Administration Trey Martin released on Monday Vermont’s “Preliminary” revenue results for September of 2016. Preliminary data reflected a good month for Transportation Fund and a slightly down month for the Education Fund. September is the third month of Fiscal Year 2017.