Current News

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine This historically long and slow recovery is beginning to reveal real growth in the economy, with many of the downside risks theoretical and the upside risks looking pervasive, at least for now. For instance, economist Tom Kavet said, global oil prices, which have cratered over the last year, look like they will remain low through 2016, which will continue to save consumers on gasoline, home heating and associated costs. The stock market, corporate profits and a low unemployment rate are all good for individuals, businesses and government.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Retreat has been notified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that the hospital has been restored to deemed status under The Joint Commission and has also been released from the Systems Improvement Agreement (SIA) it has been under since October 2014.

The news was received in a letter dated Dec. 1, 2015 from J. William Roberson, associate regional administrator of CMS’s Northeast Consortium.

This news comes just weeks after a full and unannounced survey conducted by federal and state regulators between Nov. 16—19 found the Retreat to be in compliance with all CMS Conditions of Participation (COPs). This is a milestone the Retreat had been working toward for more than a year under the SIA.

In his letter, Roberson wrote “Based on the impressive progress and strides the [Retreat] has made over the past year, CMS releases your hospital from the Systems Improvement Agreement.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Northeast Kingdom Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation made $59,560 in grants to 24 organizations in Orleans, Essex, and Caledonia Counties this year. The Fund was established in 2011 by the Community Foundation and local partners as a permanent philanthropic resource to support the people and communities in the region.

This year’s grantmaking was supported in part by the Stony Point Foundation, Community National Bank, and the Passumpsic Savings Bank. The support of these organizations demonstrates the importance of philanthropic collaboration and partnership in advancing the work of communities in the Northeast Kingdom.

Vermont Business Magazine Merchants Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: MBVT), has announced the completion of the merger of NUVO Bank & Trust Company (NUVO), located in Springfield, Massachusetts. NUVO's banking business will be operated as a division of Merchants Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merchants. Total compensation paid by Merchants for NUVO's outstanding stock is comprised of approximately 517,100 shares of common stock and $5.106 million in cash. Merchants also paid an aggregate of approximately $878,000 to cash out NUVO stock options and a portion of its common stock warrants and issued replacement warrants to purchase Merchants common stock on adjusted terms.

With completion of the merger, Merchants Bancshares now has consolidated assets of approximately $2.0 billion and 33 banking locations, including the new office in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Vermont Business Magazine AIV's annual meeting is the premier forum for addressing critical manufacturing and economic issues facing Vermont, bringing together leaders from across business and public sectors, and we are holding our 95th Annual Meeting December 16 at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier. This year we are looking ahead to the first new administration since Vermont emerged from the worst of the recession, and we are at a critical juncture in whether and how state government might be an ally or a hindrance in trying to build a more secure and dynamic economic future in the years ahead.

This year’s meeting will feature the four leading candidates for governor, who will address what they see as the key challenges facing Vermont’s manufacturers and economy generally and what they would do as governor to help employers meet and overcome these challenges.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Peter Welch (D-VT), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are leading a bicameral, bipartisan coalition in Congress challenging a new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standard that could ban many age-old recipes for raw milk cheese and severely harm artisan cheese producers in Vermont. In a December 3^rd letter sent to FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor, the lawmakers express their concerns about FDA’s non-toxigenic E. coli standard for raw milk cheeses, and insist that the agency listen to feedback from cheese producers who would be harmed by the more stringent standard. In addition, they question whether a new FDA standard calling for a thousand-fold decrease in the presence of non-toxigenic E. coli in raw milk cheeses would actually benefit public health, whether the standards are scientifically sound, and if they were adopted in an open and transparent way.

Vermont Business Magazine Should Vermont reduce its reliance on incarceration as a response to criminal conduct? Attorney General Bill Sorrell invites the public to join him and others at one of three forums across Vermont to offer their thoughts and ideas. “Vermont leaders and legislators have taken many steps during the past two decades, both through policy and legislation, to ease prison overcrowding and minimize the need to send Vermont prisoners out of state,” said Sorrell. “In particular, I would like to hear whether Vermonters are ready to ask the Legislature to commit to a statewide policy regarding sentencing and release decisions that reduces reliance on incarceration or lengthy incarceration in response to criminal conduct.”

As the attached Fact Shhet shows, the costs of incarceration – both human and financial – continue to be high.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont's weekly unemployment claims, which have been steadily increasing since the end of the summer, jumped to over 1,200 for the week, but remain below figures from the same time last year. For the week of November 28, there were 1,257 claims, an increase of 462 from the previous week's total and 171 fewer than they were a year ago. Generally, claims in 2015 have been running below last year's totals. Total claims were down in all regions of the state year-to-year. By industry, claims increased slightly for Manufacturing, and fell for Construction. As has been the trend, Services led all categories with 54 percent of all claims, which was up significantly for the week.

Vermont Business Magazine The Middle Grades Collaborative have partnered with Protean, a Vermont based education software company, in the development of a personalized learning platform free of charge for Vermont students, teachers and schools. Protean offers students a way to set personalized learning goals, manage learning within and outside of school, reflect on that learning, and convey it to teachers, families, and mentors in accessible ways.

Protean was co-developed with leadership and expertise from the Middle Grades Collaborative to respond to the changing needs of Vermont’s students and educators. The platform will be beta tested in Vermont schools this winter by teachers, students, administrators and leaders active in the use of personalized learning pathways.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to the urgent and growing demand for child protection services largely driven by the opiate addiction crisis affecting Vermont and other states, Governor Peter Shumlin today outlined a comprehensive proposal to enhance Vermont’s child welfare system. The package will add a total of 35 staff at the Department for Children and Families (DCF) and one additional Superior Court Judge, as well as provide increased resources for the Defender General and State’s Attorneys Offices to support the increased child abuse and neglect caseload.

Vermont Business Magazine Lake Sunapee Bank Group (NASDAQ: LSBG), the holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb, today announced that it has redeemed the remaining $8.0 million of its outstanding preferred securities issued under the US Treasury's Small Business Lending Fund program. The redemption was funded with retained earnings. Following the redemption, the Company has no preferred securities outstanding under the SBLF program.

Vermont Business Magazine After adding Hunter Mountain to its portfolio on Monday, Peak Resorts acted swiftly to ensure season passholders at the Catskills resort felt welcome to the family. The company announced Tuesday that all Hunter Mountain season passes would be valid at its flagship resort, Mount Snow in southern Vermont, every day but Saturdays through Sunday, Dec. 18, 2015.

“The proximity of these two resorts and the overlapping markets provide a huge opportunity for us to offer some wonderful benefits to the season passholders of both Hunter and Mount Snow,” said Jesse Boyd, vice president of operations for Peak Resorts.

Mount Snow season passholders will also be able to visit Hunter Mountain during the same time period.