Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Environmental Conservation announced today that it has formally settled a series of environmental violations against Willie Noyes.

Vermont Business Magazine National Life Group’s Do Good Fest raised $30,000 for Central Vermont Medical Center’s Branches of Hope cancer patient fund over the weekend. The money represents nearly $24,000 in parking receipts, merchandise sales and donations on the day of the music festival, as well as a $6,000 contribution from the National Life Group Foundation.

Vermnt Business Magazine Lake Sunapee Bank Group (NASDAQ: LSBG), the holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb, with several branches in Vermont, today announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2016. Consolidated net income for the second quarter of 2016 was $2.4 million, or $0.28 per diluted common share, compared to $2.4 million, or $0.29 per diluted common share, for the same period in 2015, and $4.8 million, or $0.58 per diluted common share, for the six months ended June 30, 2016, compared to $4.7 million, or $0.56 per diluted common share, for the same period in 2015.

Vermont Business Magazine Michael S Pieciak, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, announced today the appointment of William R Carrigan as deputy commissioner of the Securities Division. Carrigan is a certified fraud examiner and joined the division in 2007 as a securities examiner. He had served as director of examinations and enforcement at DFR since 2014. He worked closely with the FBI and IRS to expose the $28 million Mac Parker Ponzi scheme, which involved hundreds of investors, and he was a member of the team that investigated the recent Jay Peak EB-5 matter that resulted in federal and civil lawsuits. Carrigan also spearheaded the inquiry that led to the recent $5.9 million settlement with Raymond James and Associates.

Pieciak said Carrigan’s experience and expertise in the field of securities is invaluable to the department.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Gas today informed the State Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Public Service Board, and Department of Public Service about an inadvertent “taking” of Harsh Sunflowers, listed as threatened in Vermont, on a Monkton parcel of land within its Addison Natural Gas Pipeline corridor. This occurred late yesterday, July 18, as contractors were preparing the site for a horizontal directional drill. A contractor cut vegetation outside of the project’s right-of-way including some areas of Harsh Sunflower, which has been the subject of recent news reports. Vermont Gas said in a statement that it is disappointed by this event and that it immediately notified its environmental experts and state regulatory agencies.

Complete investigation and analysis of impacts is still pending. While that work takes place, Vermont Gas has ordered its contractors to cease all work at the site, which is owned by the company.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont will receive over $30,000 from two online obituary websites for violations of Vermont’s laws on charitable solicitations by a paid third party and consumer protection. Legacy.com and Tributes engaged in a scheme which resulted in Vermonters incurring fees ranging from $10 and $535.50 on donations made to nonprofits in lieu of flowers to the loved ones of a deceased individual. They accomplished this by providing obituaries online which directed mourners wishing to give a donation to a select nonprofit to the website of a third party, called Givalike, rather than to the nonprofit’s website.

“We are pleased to end this practice, which has cost Vermonters unnecessary fees at a time of vulnerability. This is a good outcome for Vermont donors and nonprofits alike.” Attorney General Sorrell stated.
The Attorney General found the following problems with the scheme:

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin today signed an Executive Order to give preference to companies that are fighting climate change when awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in State contracts each year. “Climate change is the most urgent environmental issue of our time,” Governor Shumlin said. “Vermont has been a leader in America when it comes to combating global warming, but we can and must do more. By using our significant purchasing power as a state to reward climate-conscious businesses, we will help promote those efforts and encourage other businesses to adopt similar practices. It is my hope that whoever is elected as the next governor will keep this Executive Order in place.”

Vermont Business Magazine Two longtime and widely respected statewide advocates will retire from Vermont Legal Aid (VLA) in the next two months. Trinka Kerr, Vermont’s Chief Health Care Advocate, will retire on August 31 and Jackie Majoros, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman for Vermont, will retire on September 15. Both have worked at VLA throughout their legal careers.

by John McClaughry On July 7 Energy Independent Vermont, the coalition of enviro groups headed by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), announced the findings of its statewide poll on its proposal for a Vermont carbon tax. The poll found that 63 percent of respondents supported the carbon tax, while 31 percent opposed it (six percent were undecided). But before we take that seriously, maybe we ought to inquire into exactly what question was asked by the EIV pollsters.

Vermont Businiess Magazine Johnson State College has been designated Vermont’s premier public liberal arts college – a recognition that establishes JSC as the public version of Vermont’s more selective and costly private liberal arts colleges, such as Middlebury and Bennington. The designation comes from the board of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), which voted unanimously today at its annual meeting in Utah to approve JSC for membership in the organization. COPLAC recognizes institutions that “commit to providing superior liberal arts and sciences education to their students” and generally accepts only one college or university per state (or province, in Canada) for membership following an extensive application and review process.

Vermont Business Magazine Ward Group, an Aon Hewitt company, has once again recognized Vermont Mutual Insurance Group as one of the top 50 Property and Casualty insurers in the United States. This is the eighth consecutive year Ward Group has affirmed Vermont Mutual as a “Ward’s 50®” insurer. Every year, Ward Group identifies the industry’s top insurance companies through a comprehensive financial analysis of approximately 3,000 U.S. property and casualty insurers. The “Ward’s 50” recognizes insurers for their consistency, safety and superior financial performance. 

Vermont Business Magazine Matt Dunne was endorsed today by the Professional Firefighters of Vermont, a union representing firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics working for twelve of the paid professional fire, EMS paramedic services in Vermont. This is the latest in series of labor unions endorsing Matt for Governor. The endorsement was announced at an event held at the Ethan Allen Engine Co. #4 in Burlington. Members of Teamsters Local 597, Vermont State Employees' Association (VSEA) and the Executive Board of the Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO, which have all endorsed Matt’s run for governor, were also in attendance.

Matt Dunne receives endorsement of the Professional Firefighters of Vermont