Current News

Vermont Business Magazine - $5,000 grant will support Basic Needs and a Stable Home programs. VSECU, a member-owned cooperative and not for profit credit union for everybody in Vermont, today announced that it has awarded Spectrum Youth & Family Services (“Spectrum”) with a $5,000 grant for its Basic Needs and Stable Home initiatives, which help homeless and at-risk youth. This gift will ensure that young people have access to critical support, including meals, material needs, shelter, housing, and improved connections to community support services. 

In addition to the grant, VSECU’s Vice President of Accounting Kasey Furness and Burlington Branch Manager Abbi Kiley participated in the Spectrum Sleep Out for the second year in a row, to show solidarity with youth who are or are likely to become homeless. Together, the VSECU Sleep Out team raised more than $2,000.

Vermont Business Magazine - Keurig Green Mountain announced Tuesday that it has discontinued making the Keurig Kold system and has laid off over 100 employees effective immediately. According to a Keurig spokesperson, "After careful review and consideration, we are discontinuing the first generation of Keurig KOLD as of today and we are offering consumers a refund for the full purchase price of their KOLD drink-makers. The decision to discontinue KOLD also means that the roles of many of our colleagues are impacted. Earlier today, we notified 108 Vermont employees that their roles were affected by a workforce reduction. The majority of those impacted were employees on our KOLD pod manufacturing and related support team whose roles were impacted by our decision to discontinue our first generation Keurig KOLD system. Employees whose roles were affected will receive severance benefits including salary continuation and outplacement support.

Vermont Business Magazine - BalanceWorks of Rutland has received a $25,000 Regional Economic Development Grant sought by Rutland Economic Development Corporation (REDC) and provided by the State of Vermont. 

“Investment spurred by the grant will create two new jobs in the region and increase productivity at BalanceWorks through the purchase of a 3-D printer, software, technical support, and other equipment and supplies,” said Lyle Jepson, executive director of REDC.

“Recent improvements in 3-D printing technology have brought the cost of sophisticated printing and imaging equipment within reach of a growing small business,” Jepson said. “This new equipment will allow BalanceWorks to meet the increased demand for its custom foot orthotics and shoe customization.”

REDC applied for the grant on behalf of BalanceWorks owner David Goodspeed, a certified pedorthist. 

Vermont Business Magazine CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast data for April 2016 shows national home prices are up both year over year and month over month. Vermont, consistent with slow-growth in home prices the last several years, showed only a 1 percent increase year-over-year, one of the smallest increases in the US. Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year-over-year by 6.2 percent in April 2016 compared with April 2015 and increased month over month by 1.8 percent in April 2016 compared with March 2016,* according to the CoreLogic HPI.

Vermont Business Magazine On Saturday, June 11, MedAssets-Precyse will celebrate the on-boarding of 18 medical coding graduates who recently completed an intensive pre-apprenticeship education program. Earlier this year more than 350 unemployed or underemployed Vermont residents applied to be selected for one of the slots in Vermont HITEC's Certified Medical Coder Program. The program prepares the students for the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) medical coding certification exam, and upon graduation from the program participants are provided a certified medical coder apprentice position at MedAssets-Precyse. These positions receive full wages and benefits.

Vermont Business Magazine The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday released a final rule improving how Medicare pays Accountable Care Organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program for delivering better patient care. Medicare is moving away from paying for each service a physician provides towards a system that rewards physicians for coordinating with each other.

by Annette Smith In his May 25 Letter to the Editor to the Rutland Herald, Peter Yankowski asked House Speaker and Lieutenant Governor candidate Shap Smith to explain his relationship with renewable energy developer David Blittersdorf, his partner Ritchie Berger’s complaint filed against me with the Vermont Attorney General, and the apparent conflict of interest that has resulted in the refusal of the House under Speaker Smith’s leadership to pass meaningful renewable energy regulation. 

Vermont Business Magazine With overdose deaths from prescription opioids skyrocketing across America, Governor Peter Shumlin on Monday signed a law to expand Vermont's successful medical marijuana system and give doctors an alternative to highly addictive opiates when treating some conditions such as chronic pain. Under the legislation, S14, new groups of Vermonters will now have access to medical marijuana, including those with glaucoma, chronic pain, and patients under hospice care. This adds to conditions that already have access to medical marijuana, which include cachexia or wasting syndrome, cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, seizures, severe pain, and severe nausea. 

by Brattleboro Retreat President and CEO Louis Josephson The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a tragic new report showing suicide rates in the U.S. have risen to a 30-year high. While the rise was particularly sharp among women, the report also outlined increases in rates of suicide among nearly all races and age groups. Statistics on suicide rates in Vermont bring the issue closer to home. While the new CDC report indicates that the nation’s suicide rate has risen to 13 per 100,000 people since 1986, here in Vermont the rate of death from suicide has been calculated at nearly 18 per 100,000 or roughly 80 suicides per year. This is higher than the number of deaths in our state by motor vehicle accidents or homicides. Sadly, suicide is the second leading cause of death for young Vermonters between the ages of 10 and 24.

Vermont Business Magazine VSECU, a member-owned cooperative and not for profit credit union for everybody in Vermont, has launched its semi-annual blood drive series for the American Red Cross. The credit union will host six blood drives at branch locations around the state throughout June and into early July. The semi-annual blood drive series launched last year and has generated strong community support and participation. During two drives across VSECU branches in 2015, 144 units of blood were collected. Every unit has the potential to save three lives, meaning the 2015 drives collected enough blood to save as many as 432 lives. VSECU aims to exceed that total in 2016, as part of its commitment to positively impact the communities it serves. 

Vermont Business Magazine - by John McClaughry Citizens without a physical science background naturally find it hard to know what to believe about the claims put forth by those who believe in a coming human-caused climate catastrophe.

The climate alarmists – for want of a better description - define “climate change” as increasingly serious and potentially catastrophic changes in global temperatures, sea levels, sea ice, glacier melt, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and species extinction, caused by the carbon dioxide released by humans who burn fossil fuels to power their economy and lifestyles.

Vermont Business Magazine For the last couple of weeks, there have been rumblings that the governor might veto the hard-fought and much-compromised renewable energy siting bill. Today, Governor Peter Shumlin vetoed S230, An act relating to improving the siting of energy projects. The veto message is copied below. The goal of the bill was an attempt to give more authority to communities on where solar and wind energy developments can be located. Until now, there has been very little, if any, local regulation of small scale renewable energy generators. The fight in particular has been between farmers who see these resources as important to their economic viability and local officials and community members who want some say on where they can be located. The Public Service Board has had, and would continue under S230, to hold ultimate authority over siting.