Current News

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Deputy Housing Commissioner Jennifer Hollar is leaving her position in state government to work for the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board in Montpelier. Already experienced in community housing efforts, Hollar was among the first appointments of the Shumlin Administration and an important member of the team dedicated to the recovery efforts after Tropical Storm Irene hit in late August 2011. Hollar is stepping down at the end of September and will join VHCB November 1.

by Mike Smith There is nothing quite like the experience of bicycling past the glistening shores of the Champlain Islands, pedaling through Smugglers’ Notch or over the covered bridge in Woodstock. You don’t get the same sights, smells and exhilaration of accomplishment riding in a car as you do riding a bicycle. For these precious opportunities, we endure long, dark winters and the challenges of a rural state. Tragically, for four Vermonters this year, the joy of bicycling took a deadly turn as they were hit and killed by cars while bicycling the state’s roads. These deaths play out quickly in the media, but they will impact families, friends and communities forever. I know. I felt the impact two weeks ago.

Chances are you never knew Tim Holden. But you have a friend like him.

Vermont Business Magazine Anyone driving anywhere near an apple orchard these days has noticed trees heavy with fruit. In preparation for a banner year, Vermont's pick-your-own orchards will offer a chance to win an Apple product during the "Apples to iPods" promotion that kicks off today. “We're looking at one of the best crops in years-- possibly topping one million bushels,” said Steve Justis, Executive Director of the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association. “We had heavy rain early in the season, but the honeybees stepped up to provide excellent pollination and fruit set. The rest of the summer has given us excellent growing conditions.”

Justis went on to say the annual Apples to iPods contest has been an effective promotion for Vermont’s apple industry.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) is hosting a Job Fair with 90 Vermont businesses on Tuesday from 10 AM to 5:30 PM at the Sheraton Inn & Conference Center on Williston Road in South Burlington. More than 90 employers will have booths and will meet and greet the job seekers who attend. Some of the largest employers in the state will be attending, including Dealer.com, Ben & Jerry’s, Darn Tough Socks, Comcast, State of Vermont (multiple departments and agencies), General Dynamics, GMP, Keurig, Lane Press, Cabot, Mylan, Perrigo, National Life, UVM and UVM Medical, Revision, US government (TSA, Homeland Security), Peoples United, Rhino Foods and many others.

by Erin Mansfield vtdigger.org GlobalFoundries, the company that acquired IBM’s Essex Junction plant on July 1, said Friday it is offering retirement incentives to an undetermined number of employees across the company. The buyouts were first reported by the Albany Business Review. Company spokespeople confirmed the “voluntary separation program” as a retirement program but declined to say how many people would be leaving the company as part of the buyouts. They are part of company-wide “cost-savings measures to help us achieve a more competitive cost structure while our industry is in a downturn” according to James Keller, a spokesperson for GlobalFoundries.

by Beth Fastiggi Having spent nearly 30 years as part of the telecommunications industry in New England, one thing is clear to me: the industry has changed tremendously and now there is vigorous competition and more customer choice than ever before. This is good for consumers here and elsewhere. I grew up in Vermont, received my Mechanical Engineering degree from UVM, and have been working in telecommunications ever since, now serving as FairPoint’s Vermont president. As a former engineer, I’ve enjoyed seeing the game-changing technological advances in telecommunications over nearly three decades. I could not have imagined, when I began my career, the amazing convergence of computing and communications that anyone with a smart phone or a tablet now takes for granted.

by Erin Mansfield vtdigger.org Doctors are buried in paperwork, overburdened by student loans, worried about patients finding doctors and concerned about the shortfalls of the state’s mental health system. That’s according to a recent survey by the Vermont Medical Society, the state’s largest member organization for primary care doctors. The organization has about 2,000 members, or about three-quarters of doctors in the state, and is loosely affiliated with the American Medical Association.

Because it’s a survey, the Vermont Medical Society data contains response bias, whereby the most agitated members tend to submit responses. But many of the 117 doctors who completed the survey clearly agreed on issues related to administrative burden, student loans, access to primary care physicians and beds for Vermonters in psychiatric crisis.

Among the findings:

Vermont Business Magazine After completing its review of Vermont’s hospitals’ budget requests for fiscal year 2016, the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) has set the total fiscal year 2016 budget increase for Vermont’s hospital system at 3.5%, including 0.5% that qualifies as investments in health reform. This marks the third year in a row that Vermont’s 14 hospitals as a group have kept net patient revenue increases at or below the target set by the GMCB. Total revenue would be $2.3 billion or $77 million more than in 2015 for the 14 community hospitals. FY 2016 begins October 1.

by Bea Grause Vermont’s regulators have just about finished their annual review and approval of hospital budgets, so naturally there has been a lot of dialogue about the work hospitals are doing to create a system where everyone gets care they can afford, from the hospital and doctor of their choice. Vermont’s hospitals are doing what Vermonters have asked them to do. We’ve held spending growth to historic lows for the third consecutive year. We are improving the delivery and coordination of care within hospitals and throughout our communities. And we are ensuring access for everyone – regardless of ability to pay.

RELATED STORY: Vermont hospital budgets up 3.5 percent for FY2016

But there’s more work to do to make care, and insurance, affordable for everyone.

by Brian Dubie In 2009, when I was serving as lieutenant governor, I was invited to the Bolton Valley Ski Area resort to take part in the commissioning of a 100 kw wind turbine manufactured by Vermont workers in Barre. Its blade height was a very modest 120 feet, and the tower was on a scale to fit in with the ski resort profile. Bolton became only the second ski resort in the country to be powered in part by renewable wind electricity.

From Governor Shumlin's Office In keeping with the Presidential Proclamation, Governor Peter Shumlin has ordered flags at all state buildings and facilities be lowered to half-staff on September 11, 2015, in observance of Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Where the flags will be lowered:

The Vermont State House, all Federal and State Facilities around the state and public buildings and grounds around the state.

Which flags will be lowered:

The U.S flag, Vermont State flag, POW flags, and any other flags *

Date the flags are to be lowered: (at sunrise):

Friday, September 11, 2015

Date flags are to return to full staff: (at sunset):

Friday, September 11, 2015

Name of person being honored/Reason to Lower Flag:

Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance