Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Communities in Addison and Chittenden counties will begin the application process for receiving federal assistance to help recover from severe storms and flooding on June 9th. President Barack Obama signed a major disaster declaration for those counties earlier this week. The Public Assistance declaration allows communities in those counties to apply for federal reimbursement for 75% of response and recovery costs associated with that storm.

The Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will host two mandatory applicants' briefings next week. The briefings will outline the requirements for receiving federal awards and maximizing eligibility of repairs. All towns seeking federal reimbursement for costs associated with the June 9 storm should have a representative at one of these briefings. The briefing schedule is:

Vermont Business Magazine The employees of The New School of Montpelier (NSM) in Vermont have purchased the school from its founder and will be operating it as the state’s largest worker cooperative. Founded in 2005 by Susan Kimmerly, the NSM serves students ages 6 – 22 with intensive disabilities; primarily children and young adults with autism, cognitive disabilities, and challenging behaviors, often related to trauma. The NSM provides a safe and encouraging environment for students to form relationships, develop trust, gain life skills and the social competencies necessary to become successful learners and contributing members of their communities.

Vermont Business Magazine Gloria Relation, age 70, of Williamstown, Vermont, and Jamie LaFountain, age 27, of East Montpelier, Vermont, were each arraigned on July 30, 2015, in Vermont Superior Court for Washington County on one felony count of Medicaid fraud. Additionally, Chris Relation, age 43, of Barre, Vermont, was arraigned on one felony count each of Medicaid Fraud, False Pretenses, and Identity Theft. The Court imposed conditions of release governing the parties’ conduct while the case is pending.

Vermont Business Magazine. Addressing a rally outside the Capitol to mark the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced that he will introduce legislation to provide Medicare-for-all health insurance.

“We need to expand Medicare to cover every man, woman and child as a single-payer national health care program,” Sanders told a rally held by National Nurses United in a park near the Capitol.

Providing health insurance for everyone in the United States would result in better care, improved access and lower costs by eliminating the middle-man role played by insurance companies that now rake in billions of dollars in profits. Sanders’ bill, which he said he will soon introduce in the Senate, would set federal guidelines and strong minimum standards for states to administer single-payer health care programs.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office is warning about an imposter scam targeting Vermont businesses. Since February four Vermont businesses have reported to the Attorney General’s Office that they received fraudulent emails purporting to be company representatives, requesting wire transfers of tens of thousands of dollars. The reports involve fraudulent communications that are not associated with the businesses in question. However, the communications may appear legitimate because the scammers replicate information found on the company’s website.

The Branches of Hope cancer patient fund at Central Vermont Medical Center was formally presented $15,000 on Wednesday from the Do Good Fest and the National Life Group Foundation. The money represents proceeds from this year’s Do Good Fest music festival, as well as a matching grant by the National Life Foundation.

“The Do Good Fest is just one of the many ways National Life tries to make our community a better place to live,” said National Life President and CEO Mehran Assadi. “We have a long association with Central Vermont Medical Center. We’re especially proud that we’re able to help patients directly through the Do Good Fest.

Vermont Business Magazine “There are pictures in the hospitals, but none in the patients’ rooms.” Those words, spoken by Susan Sebastian to her mother during one of her many lengthy hospital stays, brought about the Susan Sebastian Foundation. After Susan’s death in April 2009, Elise Braun decided to honor the memory of her daughter by providing art for patient rooms in Vermont hospitals. The art chosen, all created by Vermont artists, is intended to transport the patient beyond the hospital walls that confine them.

Vermont Business Magazine In a vote of 65 to 34, the US Senate Thursday afternoon approved a comprehensive six-year authorization for transportation programs and the Highway Trust Fund. The House has not yet drafted or acted on a long-term bill. Because the six-year bill is only partially funded, the Senate today passed a stopgap fix to replenish the Highway Trust Fund for three months before its funding would have been depleted Friday at Midnight. The House is expected to also pass the stopgap measure.

US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), who has long pushed for long-term solutions for funding infrastructure investments and the Highway Trust Fund, voted for the six-year bill, while expressing concerns about some of its provisions.

Vermont Business Magazine Kevin W Donovan, CEO of Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) was recently selected to join the inaugural class of Arthur Vining Davis Fellows at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival. Fellows were selected from a competitive field of national nominees who are emerging leaders with diverse backgrounds and who represent the entrepreneurial spirit, intellectual curiosity and leadership qualities of Mr. Arthur Vining Davis, the longtime CEO of the Alcoa Corporation and supporter of the Festival.

Vermont Business Magazine The Committee for the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the inductees for 2015. Recipients are chosen based on their accomplishments and significant contributions to Vermont agriculture. These nominees will be honored on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, during the invitation only luncheon at the Champlain Valley Exposition. Also during that time, the black and white photographs of the 2014 inductees will be revealed. These photos will feature Joseph E Carrigan, Ronald Greenwood, Richard Moore, Harry Morse, Sr, and Lucien Paquette.

They are:

Vermont Business Magazine Forbes has debuted a new list of colleges touted for their entrepreneurial programs, and Middlebury College has landed very close to the top. In its list of “America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges 2015,” Forbes ranks Middlebury second out of 50, just behind first-place Cooper Union. Bennington College was fourth on the list. In the past, Forbes has ranked universities that support entrepreneurism, but the new list recognizes a growing trend among liberal arts colleges.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin announced today that he will appoint attorney John Valente, a shareholder and director at the Rutland law firm of Ryan, Smith, and Carbine, Ltd., to the Vermont trial bench. Valente fills the seat left open by the retirement of Judge David Suntag. John Valente’s practice currently centers around workers’ compensation, employment, and business disputes. He also has a mediation practice and has previously handled property, contract, and civil claims. He is the current Chair of the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank, and a member of the Vermont Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee. He also serves on the Rutland Economic Development Corporation board, and is a prior chair of the boards of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and the Rutland Regional Chamber of Commerce.