Current News

by Jim Condos Vermont Secretary of State Vermonters deserve good government — and that includes an open and transparent government! We are proud of our state and our collective ability to overcome any difficult issue we may encounter. As Vermonters, when we see a problem, we know we can fix it through hard work and a dose of common sense. We expect the same of our government.

Vermont’s constitution (Chapter 1, Article 6) states that the power is “derived from the people, therefore, all officers of government, whether legislative or executive, are their trustees and servants; and at all times, in a legal way, accountable to them.”

The public’s access to open and transparent government is key to our democracy.

This sacred trust must not be taken lightly. We must either restore that accountability or risk Vermonters’ faith in our ability to govern.

Vermont Business Magazine. The message for a long time has been, "Retire to Florida to save money," but now it appears that it could be amended with "...but don't get sick." Vermont, meanwhile, is among those states with the lowest health care costs for retirees. A new app developed by HealthView Services shows that Michigan, Florida, Nevada and Maryland are the most expensive states for key components of retirement health care costs. Meanwhile, Hawaii, Vermont and Maine are shown to be the least expensive in the nation.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Bill Stenger, a developer in the Northeast Kingdom, unveiled plans for a 10,000-square-foot airline terminal, warehouse and flight design assembly facility at the Newport State Airport in Coventry Thursday. The $20 million facility is a key part of Stenger’s master plan for more than $600 million worth of developments in the region, including a Renaissance office building in downtown Newport, a $300 million expansion of Jay Peak ski resort, a $110 million biotech plant in Newport and a $198 million overhaul of Q Burke ski resort in East Burke.

by Joshua Brown UVM New research confirms that the land under the Chesapeake Bay is sinking rapidly and projects that Washington, DC, could drop by six or more inches in the next century—adding to the problems of sea-level rise. The new research was conducted by a team of geologists from the University of Vermont, the US Geological Survey, and other institutions. The results were presented online July 27 in the journal GSA Today.

Vermont Business Magazine For the seventh consecutive year, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® has been recognized as one of the top 50 Property and Casualty insurers in the United States by Ward Group, one of the industry’s most respected benchmarking organizations. Ward Group, an Aon Hewitt company, is the leading provider of operational and compensation benchmarking and best practices services for insurance companies. Every year Ward Group identifies the industry’s top insurance companies through a comprehensive financial analysis of over 3,000 property and casualty insurers situated in the United States. The Ward’s 50® recognizes safety, consistency and superior financial performance.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Small Business Administration announced today certain Private NonProfit (PNP) organizations that do not provide critical services of a governmental nature may be eligible to apply for low-interest rate disaster loans. These loans are available following a Presidential disaster declaration for Public Assistance resulting from damages caused by a severe storm and flooding on June 9, 2015.

PNPs located in Addison and Chittenden counties in Vermont are eligible to apply to SBA. Examples of eligible non-critical PNP organizations include, but are not limited to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges.

Vermont Business Magazine Going against the recommendation of the Vermont Department of Public Service and the request of Vermont Gas System, the Vermont Public Service board in an order filed today, has fined VGS $100,000 for waiting six months to report cost increases for its Addison pipeline project. The fine amount was recommended by the Conservation Law Foundation. The PSB ruled that it must be paid within 30 days. The department, which recommended a $35,000 fine, acts the the public advocate before the board. The board is the regulator.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Public Service Department (PSD) announced today it has reached agreements with Green Mountain Power (GMP) which will result in a net bill decrease for GMP customers of .76% for the year beginning October 1, 2015. This is on top of the 2.46 percent decrease for GMP customers over the past year. In a separate agreement with GMP and AARP, the Department is advocating for a return of Electric Assistance Program (EAP) fund balances to ratepayers and a lowering of the EAP customer charge going forward.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont’s 8.4 percent rate increase request for their 2016 Vermont Health Connect health insurance plans (now reduced to 7.2 percent), the Healthcare is a Human Right campaign released an opposing statement (see below.) Supporters of the campaign stated their case in Montpelier Wednesday by calling on the Green Mountain Care Board to reject the rate hikes and resume its role in guiding Vermont to a universal, publicly financed healthcare system. MVP Health Care has requested an annual rate increase of 3.0 percent. The Green Mountain Care Board will decide on the rate requests by August 13.

BCBSVT in its filing said the rate increase would be 5.3 percent if not for Affordable Care Act mandates. It said the rest of the increase essentially is to cover the expected increase of health care costs, plus 1 percent to maintain its required reserve fund.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine According to a national industry analyst, 2015’s second half represents a strong expectation, in Vermont and across the country, that motorists will spend even less on gasoline this year than they did in 2014. GasBuddy experts say that before Christmas, as many as 20 states could have average gas prices below $2 per gallon as the national average for December slips to $1.98. Vermont is not one of those states expected to fall under $2. However, at an average price $2.65 today, Vermont is a penny lower than the US average. Vermont gasoline prices have dropped 5 cents from last month and just over a dollar from the same time last year.

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.