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Vermont Business Magazine Susan L Donegan, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation announced today that Travelers Insurance Company and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company have paid Vermont $154,000 in fines and repaid consumers another $54,500. The two insurance companies this week paid DFR fines totaling $154,000 for violating Vermont laws regarding the timing of policy cancellation and renewal notices, faulty practices when investigating auto liability claims and in one case, wrongly calculating auto accident deductibles.

Liberty Mutual Insurance paid an administrative penalty of $38,000 for inappropriately notifying consumers of the cancellation or non-renewal of homeowners’ policies in 2013-14. An administrative penalty of $20,000 was assessed for incorrectly calculating auto accident claims. The company voluntarily repaid policyholders more than $18,000 in addition to the administrative penalty.

Vermont Business Magazine BTV Ignite Executive Director Michael Schirling, along with local government and business leaders, on Wednesday announced that the City of Burlington has been named a White House TechHire community, part of a multi-sector White House initiative to link area employers with Burlingtonians, growing the local tech workforce and empowering community members with the skills they would need for well-paying jobs in innovation and technology. The City of Burlington and BTV Ignite will partner with local educational institutions and employers to train and employ 75 tech workers in 2016 and 400 tech workers through 2020. On Friday, an application will be submitted for the TechHire Department of Labor Grant — separate from the White House designation. That application is for $4 million.

by Jeffrey R. Wakefield UVM Vermont's maple industry contributed between $317 and $330 million in total sales to the state's economy in 2013, according to a recently completed economic contribution study conducted for the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association (VMSMA) by the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont. The industry added between $140 and $144 million to Vermont in profits and wages, the study said, and supported between 2,735 and 3,169 full-time equivalent jobs. The study's conclusions are based on a survey of Vermont maple producers and telephone interviews with maple-related businesses in the state, including maple packers/processors, equipment manufacturers, and sales and installation operations.

Vermont Business Magazine Continuing efforts to protect Vermont maple sugar producers and consumers’ right to know what is in their food, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont), joined by 28 members of Congress, Thursday urged US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf to exercise his legal authority to investigate and take action against products that falsely claim to contain maple syrup. The letter comes on the heels of Leahy, Welch and a representative from Sanders’ office joining maple sugar makers in Vermont to call for an end to the misleading labeling commonly found on products ranging from breakfast cereals to evening desserts.  Such labeling can cut into Vermont’s value-added agriculture economy while damaging the reputation of genuine maple syrup by flooding the market with inferior imitations. 

by Mike Faher/The Commons Entergy has filed official notice of the next round of layoffs at Vermont Yankee, telling state and local officials that 97 positions will be cut at the Vernon nuclear plant on May 5. That’s a smaller number than the 150 layoffs that initially had been estimated. But a spokesman said that’s only because employees have been leaving the plant, so overall staffing levels are lower than had been anticipated. After the May layoffs, administrators expect there to be roughly 150 staffers remaining at Vermont Yankee, which stopped producing power at the end of 2014.

Vermont Business Magazine In true Olympic spirit, Lenny’s customers went for the gold and raised $5,000 for local athletes with intellectual disabilities. Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel held their 5^th annual Olympic donation event, and the store and its customers collectively raised $4,325 for Special Olympics Vermont and $675 for Special Olympics New York. Lenny’s co-owner Mark McCarthy presented that donation to Lisa DeNatale, President & CEO of Special Olympics Vermont. Over the past five years, Lenny’s has donated over $32,000 to the Special Olympics.

by Mike Faher/The Commons Since Vermont Yankee’s 2014 shutdown, it’s become clear that state officials have a long list of complaints about the nuclear-decommissioning process. So it should come as no surprise that they have an equally long wish list as the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers ways to improve that process. The state’s requests range from the straightforward — for instance, enhanced public input and emergency planning — to the arcane, such as a deeper analysis of zirconium fire risks.

Projects will improve housing, services and flood resilience in eight communities

Vermont Business Magazine Brownfield clean-up and re-development in Richmond and Montpelier, and energy efficient affordable housing in Bennington and Hardwick, are among the eight projects receiving more than $2.9 million in grants from the Vermont Community Development Program announced today. “From Waitsfield to Wheelock, communities across Vermont will use these grants to build affordable housing, clean-up contaminated sites for re-development, expand services to their residents, restore historic buildings, and make their communities more resilient”, said Governor Peter Shumlin.

by Mike Faher/The Commons The battle over long-term storage of Vermont Yankee’s spent nuclear fuel has spilled into criminal court. Clay Turnbull, a trustee and staffer of the Brattleboro-based New England Coalition, was cited March 3 by the Windham County Sheriff’s Department for unlawful trespass at the plant property in Vernon. Turnbull is scheduled to appear in Windham Superior Court Criminal Division next month to answer the allegation. But in an interview the day after the incident, the 53-year-old Townshend resident said he was taking photos for use in the spent fuel debate and did not know he was on Vermont Yankee property.

Vermont Business Magazine Mary Peterson, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Taxes, along with Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon, St. Albans Mayor Liz Gamache, and other community leaders, today urged all eligible Vermont residents to use the IRS and Vermont Free File programs to save money and time during this tax season. According to the Department of Taxes, the majority of returns filed last year would have been eligible for Free File.  This year, Free File’s name-brand tax preparation software products can help more Vermonters prepare and securely file their tax return online at no cost. Mayors Lauzon and Gamache and Commissioner Peterson attended a briefing at the Vermont State House to explain how the program can ensure taxpayers receive the largest refund possible this tax season.

Vermont Business Magazine As spring approaches, maple producers throughout northern Vermont and New Hampshire are collecting sap and producing some of the world's finest maple syrup. During this exciting period, a national campaign focused on maple producers in Vermont and northern New Hampshire has been under way to raise awareness of maple as a health-conscious alternative to artificial sweeteners. Part of the campaign includes a free online recipe book of locally sourced maple-based recipes.

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont Professor Taylor Ricketts has made Thomson Reuters’ prestigious list of the world’s most-cited scholars for the second consecutive year. In its annual list of Highly Cited Researchers, Thomson Reuters recognizes Ricketts among the world’s 130 most influential researchers for the category of Environment and Ecology. Thomson Reuters’ list recognizes more than 3,000 global researchers across 21 science and social science fields – from Agricultural Sciences to Space Science – representing institutions and agencies across North America and five other continents.