Current News

By Michael Bielawski Vermont Watchdog.org Democrat gubernatorial candidate Sue Minter says her proposal to expand the sales tax to services will be aimed at the wealthiest Vermonters. While barbers are apparently safe, she might inadvertently clip a few high schoolers on prom dates or skydivers out for a weekend of fun. Economists say keeping the tax narrow essentially defeats the purpose and means it won't do much except create more red tape for government and business.

“I will not add any new tax or services that will hurt middle-class Vermonters,” Minter said last week. “I will not add taxes on your haircut or mine.”

by Jennifer Nachbur On September 21, 2016, the National Institutes of Health announced $157 million in awards in fiscal year 2016 to launch a seven-year initiative calledEnvironmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO). The ECHO program will investigate how exposure to a range of environmental factors in early development — from conception through early childhood — influences the health of children and adolescents. Kelly Cowan, MD, a pediatric pulmonologist at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at The Robert Larner, MD College of Medicine at The University of Vermont, received a $1.84 million four-year grant as part of this program. 

Vermont Business Magazine Susan G Komen announced this week nearly $33 million in new research awards for investigators across the country whose research will contribute to Komen’s goal of reducing breast cancer deaths by 50 percent over the next decade. University of Vermont Cancer Center researcher and Assistant Professor Jason Stumpff, PhD, earned one of the highly competitive Komen grants, totaling nearly $500,000, to advance research focused on developing a targeted intervention for triple negative breast cancer—a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.

Vermont Business Magazine A new report ranks Vermont second overall in the nation for women and children's health. United Health Foundation's 2016 America's Health Rankings Health of Women and Children Report provides an in-depth look at state successes and challenges in promoting the health of women, infants and children. Vermont does very well in all the health care data points, but poorly in a few of the behavior categories, particularly for the percentage of women who drink alcohol during pregnancy (15.8 percent) and smoke (20.8 percent). The report evaluates and ranks the 50 states based on more than 60 measures of health and well-being from 18 individual sources of data. Vermont is joined at the top with its neighboring Northeast states, Massachusetts (#1) and New Hampshire (#3).

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Vermont Business Magazine Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont) kicked off Vermont’s October campaign to file the Fafsa, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid at the Center for Technology in Essex,  highlighting important changes to help students and families apply for financial aid. Welch authored legislation that ultimately led to the White House simplifying the federal form earlier this year. Two major changes – making the Fafsa available three months earlier, beginning Oct. 1, and using last year’s tax returns – means families will have a an earlier starting point to make education more affordable.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group Foundation’s board of directors approved a 33 percent increase in its annual budget, raising to $1 million the amount of charitable grants the foundation will be able to award starting in 2017. National Life formalized its philanthropic giving by establishing a charitable foundation in 2006. Since then, the Foundation has awarded $4.2 million in grants to nonprofits large and small, including $750,000 in 2016.

Vermont Busness Magazine On September 9, 2016, the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) awarded the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets $500,000 to develop a Vermont State Produce Safety Program. The award will support Vermont in its collaboration with FDA to cooperatively implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. The $500,000 is the first award of a planned five-year, $3.625 million investment in Vermont’s program by FDA, pending congressional budget allocation.

Vermont Business Magazine Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, head of the US Small Business Administration, today announced $18.85 million to support export growth among American small businesses. Vermont is getting over $250,000. The funding was awarded through SBA’s competitive State Trade Expansion Program (STEP).

Vermont Business Magazine This year’s Con Hogan Award for Creative, Entrepreneurial, Community Leadership, presented by the Vermont Community Foundation, will go to Michael Monte. Monte serves as Chief Financial and Operating Officer of Champlain Housing Trust. He has more than 30 years of experience in the community and economic development field. The award will be presented at a celebration at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier on Wednesday, October 5 at 4 pm.

Michael Monte, Champlain Housing Trust.

Vermont Business Magazine New England Federal Credit Union is donating $100,000 toward completion of the Robert E and Holly D Miller Building at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Brlington, which will contain 128 new single-patient rooms. The hospital says patients in the Miller Building will experience enhanced quality of care due to the privacy, space for families, and healing environment single-bed rooms provide. The hospital says studies show that rooms designed with the needs of patients and families in mind result in better outcomes and a better experience overall. Currently, only 30 percent of patient rooms at the UVM Medical Center have one bed. 

by Timothy McQuiston State Auditor Doug Hoffer today released a report on Vermont’s statewide health information network. Hoffer concluded that despite millions being spent on it, the state has no idea whether or not the network has improved health outcomes. The Vermont Health Information Exchange (VHIE), is managed by the Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc (VITL). The state has paid VITL over $38 million since 2005. Almost one-third of this amount ($12.3 million) was expended in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 through grants and contracts with the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA).

The objective of Hoffer’s audit was to assess whether and how the state evaluated VITL’s activities and measured VITL’s performance in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 grant and contract agreements executed by DVHA as of June 30, 2016. For certain agreements, DVHA shared oversight responsibilities with the Agency of Administration (AOA).

Vermont Business Magazine Thanks to the efforts of the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee, the City of Montpelier is getting a significant portion of its electricity from the sun. Partnering with Novus, a Montpelier-based firm specializing in the development of solar powered projects, the city government has entered into a 20 year Power Purchase Agreement for municipal electrical use.

Last month the first 500KW array located in Sharon came on line and the power produced is shared by the city and the Montpelier school district. A second 500KW array will be built off Log Road in Montpelier. Still in the permitting phase, this project will come on line in the fall of 2017. 100% of the energy produced from the second array will help to offset municipal power consumption.